Bell's Palsy

• published: 08 Jun 2015
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EmpoweRN.com For more information specifically about Bell's Palsy: http://empowern.com/2015/06/bells-palsy/ The seventh cranial nerve is the facial nerve that comes from the brain and connects to the small muscles of the face. Each facial nerve connecting to the facial muscle comes through a small tunnel in the skull that lies under the ears. Their function is to help the facial muscles move during different facial expressions such as smiling, frowning, closing eyes, moving lips and cheeks, lifting eyebrows and even during conveying taste sensation. If the seventh cranial nerve fails to function properly, the facial muscles may suddenly weaken or get paralyzed temporarily leading to the a medical condition known as Bell’s palsy. Mostly, only one side of the face gets affected in this condition but it is possible to happen to both sides too. The real cause of Bell’s Palsy is not certain but lately, it is considered to be due to an autoimmune disorder that causes the facial nerves to swell, or due to viral infection that causes muscle weakness and paralysis. The leading causes of Bell’s palsy may be: Shingles, and Infection by herpes simplex virus type 1, that results in mouth infections like colds Other viral causes of Bell’s palsy can be: Cytomegalovirus, that causes herpes Coxsackievirus, cox-sack-ie-virus that causes diseases of the mouth, hands and foot Viruses that are responsible for influenza, rubella, mumps and mononucleosis Viral infection leads to inflammation. If there is inflammation around the facial nerves, it can press the nerves causing them to completely or partially stop working. When the nerves stop functioning, the muscles associated with them also stop working. Hence, the facial muscles are weakened or paralyzed temporarily until the inflammation goes away and the nerves start functioning again. Signs and Symptoms Signs and symptoms of Bell’s palsy appear suddenly and they include: Heavy or numb feeling on the face Facial droop and difficulty in moving facial muscles during smiling and closing eyes etc Sudden weakness or total paralysis on one side of the face, occurring within hours to days Reduced taste sensation Drooling Changes in the amount of saliva and tears produced High sensitivity to sound on the affected side Pain behind or in the ear or around the jaw on the affected side Headache Although it’s very rare, bell’s palsy can occur on both sides of the face too. The signs and symptoms of this disease show up suddenly but in a few days, they intensify gradually. However, it’s not a progressive. Instead, it is steady paralysis that develops over days and declines within weeks, sometimes months; in which case it is no more a sign of Bell’s palsy. Diagnosis The diagnosis of Bell’s Palsy relies on signs and symptoms as there isn’t any particular test to detect this disease yet. Usually, the patient’s physical condition is closely examined by a doctor. To do this, certain tests such as MRI, x-ray and blood-tests may also be used to obtain more information and to rule out other diseases causing similar symptoms. Once the doctor is certain that the signs and symptoms are not caused by other conditions such as head trauma, tumour, bone fracture, stroke or Lyme disease, then he will confirm the facial paralysis to be due to Bell’s Palsy.