Bell’s Palsy

                      I developed Bell’s palsy in my second pregnancy. Just thought I would let you know a little about it.

                     Bell’s palsy is a facial

  Symptoms

n      One side of your face feels numb and does not move as normal

n      Headaches

n      Your smile appears lop sided

n      Your eye brow will not move on the affected side

n      Your eye may not close

                  Bell’s palsy can happen in children and adults alike, but it is more common in pregnant women. Bell’s palsy is not really jet understood; they think it may be caused by pressure or inflammation of the nerve. Pressure may be caused by a bang to the head, ear infections, and infection to the salivary gland. Usually there is no cause found.

                 Your main concern when you develop Bell’s palsy is to take care of your eye; because it may not shut it could cause damage to your cornea. Blinking spreads out moisture over your cornea and keeps your eye moist and healthy, when Bell’s palsy happens and there is no blinking your eye will become dry causing erosion and ulcer formation on the cornea which could result in the loss of your eye. Eye care should involve eye drops during the day and ointment at night, I found that to make sure my eye was closed properly I would apply the ointment and then cover my eye with a patch, this guaranteed that my eye would remain shut and not be damaged. You are actually not aware that your eye is not blinking or shutting as it should.

                If your Doctor thinks an infection is the cause of your Bell’s palsy, then antibiotics will be prescribed to fight the bacteria. If your Doctor thinks it is the cause of swelling steroids will be prescribed.

               They say Bell’s palsy is not permanent, but it can be in some very rare cases. At the moment there is no real cure. Recovery will usually begin 2 weeks to 6 months of the onset of the symptoms. The majority of people will recover full facial strength. I happen to be one of the rare cases and the right side of my face has never recovered properly, yes it’s better than what it was at the beginning but I still find that when I am tired my eye droops and when I smile I still have a lop sided smile.

              The symptoms of Bell’s palsy may resemble other medical conditions, so please always consult your Doctor for a diagnosis.

               I hope this helps……………..