Bells Palsy

Bells Palsy – Its Symptoms and Treatments

Bells Palsy is commonly found among people but there are not many who are aware of it. It affects one side of the face and results in temporary weakness or muscle paralysis. It affects the facial nerve of a persons face. These nerves are present on both sides of the face but it generally affects only one side.

Bells palsy effects only one nerve and hence people who suffer from this experience weakness or stiffness on only one side of their face. It is important for the facial nerve to work properly as it helps in carrying messages to the face from the brains of the person. These messages may include instructions like asking the eyelid to close, wanting the salivary glands to spit or the mouth to frown or smile.

These nerves also helps us to taste food and our bodies to make tears. But when affected by bells palsy, these nerves are not able to pass on the instructions correctly as it swells and gets compressed. This in turn results in temporary weakness or muscle paralysis on one side of the persons face.

Causes

It is often caused by viral infection. Viral infection like herpes which causes cold sores, influenza or Epstein-Barr are the ones which leads to bells palsy. It is also caused by infectious agents which also leads to Lyme disease. However, it does not necessarily mean that everyone who suffers from this disease will suffer from bells palsy.

There are, however, certain cases wherein a persons immune system responds to the viral infections in such a way that it leads to the nerve inflammation. This leads to the swelling which in turn results in the nerve getting compressed. This results in people especially from the adult age group in being affected by this disease. Though it can affect people from all age group, it is more common among pregnant women and people suffering from diabetes.