Living with Bell's Palsy

Bell's Palsy can be scary and unnerving. Learn the facts about this uncommon condition and how to take care of yourself.

What is Bells Palsy?

Bells Palsy is a temporary condition where-in a person may experience partial facial paralysis. This is caused by a trauma to the 7^th cranial nerve. Or, put more simply, it leaves half of your face resembling that of a recent stroke victim. In most cases it is not anything serious and it goes away within a few weeks. However, it is very scary and nerve-racking. For me, I not smile, drink through a straw, or even blink my eyelid on the right side of my face.

What causes Bells Palsy?

The majority of the time a direct cause cannot be linked to this condition. A nerve trauma could be a result of a head injury or a viral infection. Some doctors will argue that it is stress-induced. For me, it is certainly very likely that it was a result of severe stress. I had certainly had plenty of that in my life leading up to my experience with Bells Palsy. It just snuck up on me. I just woke up one morning and my face didn't work.

How do you treat Bells Palsy?

Well, you don't. As with any injury, your body just needs time to heal. The quality and duration of recovery depends on the severity of the nerve damage. Recovery from Bells Palsy can take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months. For me, luckily, it lasted only about a week and a half. It definitely was a scary couple of weeks.

Some doctors might prescribe an anti-viral medication. However, I believe I have complex Vitamin B to thank for my comparatively short recovery. B can help reduce inflammation and strengthen the immune system. It also assists in repairing your damaged nerves. Also, as my local pharmacist told me, you really can't overdo it on Vitamin B as it doesn't really stay in your system long. I took one of the complex vitamins twice a day to speed along my recovery.

Also, don't forget to take extra special care of your eyes while your eyelids are inoperable. Since you can't blink, your eye will have a hard time staying hydrated. It is a good idea to manually blink your eye in order to see it gets the necessary hydration. Just use your finger gently. You can also use hydrating eye drops. For me, my eyes were constantly the worst part of this experience. Taking proper care of your mouth is also important. After you eat, swipe your finger through your mouth just to make sure no food gets lodged there.

In Conclusion

Throughout this process, just remember to be patient. For more information, check out the following sources:

http://www.bellspalsy.ws

http://www.webmd.com/brain/tc/bells-palsy-topic-overview