Bell’s palsy, also known as an acute peripheral facial palsy of a cause that is unknown, is said to occur when there is an unexpected form of weakness in the muscles of one side of the individual’s face. Predominantly, the weakness is only temporary and goes away in a few weeks.
However, this weakness makes a face look like its slight droop. It can cause the smile to be only one-sided, and the eye on the impacted side tends to resist being able to shut. Although the exact reason for this is not known, experts tend to believe that it may be happening due to the swelling of the nerve that controls the muscles on one side of the face.
The symptoms do, however, improve over the course of a couple of weeks. Rarely, but surely, some individuals do live with some signs of Bell’s palsy their whole lives. It is, however, not a recurring disease that usually only happens once in an individual’s lifetime.
Symptoms:
– Drooling
– Pain in the jaw or behind the ear of the impacted area
– A recurring headache and a loss of taste
– A change in the number of tears or saliva that you are now producing versus what you may have been producing
– Difficulty in making facial expressions and a mild form of paralysis in one side of the face resulting in difficulty in smiling in half your face and resistance by your eye in terms of closing in the impacted area
Causes:
Although the exact cause of this may occur is yet to be found, Bell’s palsy is often linked to a viral infection. These include:
– Cold sores and herpes simplex
– Respiratory diseases
– Chickenpox
– German measles and mumps
– Flu
– Hand-foot-and-mouth illness
Risk factors:
– During the later stages of pregnancy, such as the third trimester or a week after giving birth to the child
– If you have a preexisting condition of diabetes
– If you have a respiratory disease such as cold and flu
– If you have high blood pressure and suffer from obesity which can lead to fats accumulating within your body and putting you at a higher risk
Complications:
Consequently, there can be many issues that come up as a result of getting Bell’s palsy. This includes:
– Irreversible facial nerve damage
– Half of the total blindness of the eye resists closing during Bell’s palsy. This can be due to the extreme scratching of the cornea present in the eye
– Uneven growth of the nerve fibers can result in an involuntary contraction of specific muscles while you try to move other muscles.
Therefore, if you wish to see a doctor concerning any questions or queries you may have about Bell’s palsy or any other ENT issues, then we have the best specialists available for you. You can find the best ENT Specialist in Lahore and the best ENT Specialist in Islamabad, according to where you live.
