Bell's Palsy
Bell’s Palsy
It is defined as the condition in which half of your face’s muscles weaken or paralyzed. The condition may be temporary and resolve after some weeks. It affects unilaterally and weaken the muscles of half face.
Symptoms
Below mention are the sign and symptoms of bell’s palsy:
- Loss of taste
- Decrease amount of lacrimation
- Difficulty in closing eyes
- Difficulty in making smile
- Headache
- Increase sensitivity of that part of face
- Drooling
Causes
The exact cause of bell’s palsy is still not known but it may be assumed the certain viral infection may cause this condition which include:
- Mumps
- German measles
- Chickenpox
- Cytomegalovirus infections
- Epstein-Barr virus
- Influenza virus
- Herpes simplex
Complications
If it does not resolve in 2 to 4 weeks then it may lead to the following complications:
- Blindness due to the incomplete closure of the eyes which causes dryness in cornea.
- Abnormal action of the re-growth nerve fibers.
- Permanent damage to the facial nerve.
Diagnosis
Your doctor may diagnosis the bells palsy through physical examination of your face. No specific test is available for bell’s palsy but electromyography helps to check the extent of nerve damage and imaging tests rule out the other causes of nerve damage.
Treatment
Mild sign and symptom may cure without any treatment but severe and chronic disease might require some treatment which include:
- Antiviral drugs to treat the underlying viral infection.
- Corticosteroids to reduce the inflammatory causes which damage the facial nerve.
- Physical therapy to exercise the facial muscles.
Home remedies
Home remedies include:
- Take pain killers to reduce the pain
- Stick to your physical therapy
- Use eye drop to protect the unclose eye