Facial Paralysis is a condition in which an individual loses muscle movement on either side of the face or the entire face, mainly due to damage to the nerves.
The most gossiped, and common kind is Bell’s palsy which affects one in 65 people at some points of their lives. A facial paralysis is generally curable with striking recovery results observed within 6 months of the commencement of treatment.
Many different reasons lead to facial paralysis and treatment is fully complimentary to the severity of the underlying condition. In some unfortunate events, permanent paralysis of the face also occurs.
Today’s article focuses on a structural breakdown of face paralysis and interconnected subject topics. Let’s get started!
Types Of Facial Paralysis
Different forms of face paralysis occur as a result of various causative agents that glide along. Here is a list of the types of facial paralysis:
- Bell’s Palsy: This is the most common form of facial paralysis with thousands of cases each year.
- Stroke (Cerebrovascular Accident)
- Ramsay Hunt Syndrome
- Traumatic Facial Paralysis
- Congenital Facial Paralysis
- Hemifacial Spasm
- Chronic Facial Paralysis
- Idiopathic Facial Paralysis
We will surely, sketch a detailed article with a full explanation of each of these types of facial paralysis in the days to come! For this writing, let’s zoom into discussing Bell’s Palsy.
Bell’s Palsy
Bell’s Palsy a frequently observed form of face paralysis that causes temporary weakness of the facial muscles leading to paralysis. Statistics suggest, young children aren’t touched by this condition as onset is usually noticed in individuals aged 15 to 60.
Speaking of an average number, the average age of contracting this facial movement loss is 40. Individuals with this palsy are characterized by droopy structure and appearance on one or even both sides of their face.
The good news lies in the word “temporary” as recovery is almost fully expected in most cases. Within the 6-month time frame recovery is expected and a second re-occurrence at some point in life is very rare.
Symptoms Of Face Paralysis
Common symptoms that represent paralysis of the face are stroke and Bell’s palsy which we have already covered above. Other common symptoms in the arena are as follows:
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- Weakness or Drooping: Drooping of either side of the face is observed very prominently, usually in areas of the mouth, eyelid, or brow.
- Losing the ability to twitch, contract, and control facial muscles: This symptom is a dysfunctional symptom that takes away the sufferer’s ability to move various muscle areas in the face such as eyes, lips, nose, jaw, eyelid, and many more.
- Loss of facial harmony and onset of asymmetry: As paralysis kicks in, a person’s symmetry in the face gradually worsens, ending up with an asymmetrical face.
Other, symptoms that may pop up are loss of facial sensations, throbbing head or ear pain, altered taste, and magnified sensitivity to sound. Some symptoms are progressive and hint to you early on regarding the gradual development of paralysis such as difficulty in swallowing or speaking.
Diagnosis And Treatment
Upon one’s observation, the arrival of symptoms or gradual progression of symptoms is an early alarm to walk towards your health care provider.
Compiling and adhering to the questions and directions of health care providers is very important. Medical history reports are examined along with physical examinations to find out the reason for face paralysis.
Movements such as opening and closing the eyes, raising eyebrows, smiling, grinning, and ear movements are performed to check the intensity of the situation.
Advance screening tests such as MRI(magnetic resonance imaging), CT (computed tomography) scan, EMG(electromyography) further provide clarity of diagnosis.
After diagnosing the root of the condition, either of these treatment paths is chosen:
- Tumor removal for paralysis caused by a tumor
- For temporary paralysis such as Bell’s palsy, medications, and personalized exercises, physiotherapy is the approaches.
- Non-surgical treatments such as corticosteroids, antivirals, and Botox injections are some ways to restore originality in the face non-surgically.
- If surgery becomes mandatory following a severe case of paralysis and face asymmetry, eyelid surgery, cosmetic surgery, and reanimation surgery are performed
How Can The Risk Of Facial Paralysis Be Reduced?
Let’s hear that infamous health line, shall we? Prevention is better than cure! Here you go. Now, face paralysis has various tunnels of origin, some may silently make their way like Bell’s palsy leaving us no room for precaution.
However, one can eliminate risks such as stroke injuries or health complications that trigger a stroke so that the overall risk of stroke-related facial paralysis is diminished:
- Keeping blood pressure and cholesterol in check
- Diabetes should be kept under great observation.
- keeping the heart light and healthy
- Quitting smoking, or excessive alcohol consumption.
- Maintaining a quality diet and sufficient liquid intake
- Regular exercises
