Essay On Bell's Palsy

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Bell’s palsy is also known as facial palsy. It is the paralysis or weakness of muscles in one side of the face caused by several different viruses. In some rare cases it can affect both sides of the face. It has similar symptoms to a stroke but if it just affects the facial muscles it is likely not a stroke. It was first described in 1821 but can be traced back to 5th century BCE (Sajadi, 2011).
Sir Charles Bell was the first person to describe, anatomically, the correlation between the facial nerve and facial paralysis which is why it was named after him. However, talk of peripheral paralysis of the facial nerve can be traced all the way back to Hippocrates (Sajadi, 2011). Viral infections are the cause of Bell’s, a few of them are chickenpox, shingles, herpes simplex virus 1 and 2, mononucleosis, cytomegalovirus, mumps, influenza B and hand-foot-and-mouth disease. When the facial nerve becomes inflamed following a viral infection it can press against bone or become pinched inside the small gap in the bone which damages the protective coating and is what causes the facial weakness or paralysis (Nordqvist, 2017). …show more content…

Treating Bell’s palsy is as simple as letting it resolve itself or in more severe cases the use of steroids will be necessary. Often, prednisone is used in treating it. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as, ibuprofen, acetaminophen, and aspirin will reduce pain and inflammation as well. In more severe cases the eye on the affected side will be unable to close so it needs to be kept lubricated and protected from debris throughout the day and especially while an individual is sleeping (“Bell’s Palsy Fact Sheet”,

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