These symptoms are not associated with Bell's palsy, but this will help to rule out other causes of facial weakness.Your doctor will look for a shingles like rash on your face and ear.
Bell’s Palsy, or facial palsy, is a paralysis or severe weakness of the facial muscles on one side of the face.It is believed to be due to a swelling of the nerve that controls the muscles of the face.It can be worrying, but most people make a full recovery.Bell’s palsy involves a weakness or paralysis on one side of the face. The main branch controls most of the muscles on one side of the face, including the muscles that control facial expression and the muscles that close and open the eyes and the lips. Call if your arms or legs feel weak, your vision changes, you get dizzy, have trouble swallowing, or get a headache that keeps getting worse. A person wakes up and finds that one side of their face does not move.The person may find that they suddenly cannot control their facial muscles, usually on one side. The facial nerve goes through a narrow gap of bone from the brain to the face.If the facial nerve is inflamed, it will press against the cheekbone or may pinch in the narrow gap. The eye drops are usually taken during the waking hours, while the ointment is applied before going to sleep.Patients who cannot close their eye properly during sleep will need to use surgical tape to keep it shut. In some cases, the symptoms do not go away completely and there is some permanent facial weakness.If the symptoms are very mild, treatment may not be necessary. Treatment. We comply with the HONcode standard for trustworthy health information - Bell's palsy related to Lyme disease is treated with antibiotics active against the bacteria that cause Lyme disease.If Bell's palsy is affecting your ability to close your eyes, your cornea can become dry and possibly get scratched. Patients take it by mouth, usually two tablets a day for 10 days.These side effects normally get better after a couple of days.Any allergic reaction to prednisolone should be reported to the doctor immediately.If the patient feels dizzy or drowsy they should refrain from driving or operating heavy machinery. The specialist will examine the patient and may also order the following tests: Most patients make a full recovery within 9 months. Other smaller branches go to the tongue and ear.In most cases, the exact cause of nerve inflammation in people with Bell's palsy is unclear. Bell’s palsy symptoms typically peak within a few days, although it can take as long as 2 weeks.
Your doctor will test for weakness in the muscles of the face, paying special attention to your ability to close both eyes and hold them closed. How severe are your symptoms? What, if anything, seems to improve your symptoms? As the condition progresses, a person typically has trouble closing his or her mouth and eye on one side of the face and may complain of being unable to hold food in the mouth. A blood sugar test may be ordered if you have not had one recently, because people with diabetes are more likely to get Bell's palsy. If you have this rash, especially if it is painful, your doctor will diagnose Ramsay-Hunt syndrome caused by reactivation of the herpes zoster virus.If there are no other symptoms, and the only problem is weakness in facial muscles, your doctor can diagnose Bell's palsy without further testing.
Have you had any symptoms of a more generalized infection?
If all other causes can be excluded, the doctor will diagnose Bell’s palsy.If the diagnosis is still unsure, the patient may be referred to an ear, nose, and throat (ENT) specialist, or otolaryngologist. A variant of Bell's palsy, called Ramsay-Hunt syndrome, is caused by the herpes zoster virus, the virus that causes chickenpox and shingles. Symptoms which vary by individual.
Researchers suspect the inflammation is most often triggered by a viral infection, such as herpes simplex, the same virus that causes cold sores (fever blisters).