Information on Bell's Palsy from the National Library of Medicine
If you have Bell's palsy, the muscles in your face become temporarily paralyzed. It usually affects just one side of the face. Symptoms appear suddenly - you can't shut your eye and your mouth droops. Symptoms are usually worst about 48 hours after they start. Scientists think that a viral infection makes the facial nerve swell or become inflamed. You are most likely to get Bell's palsy if you are pregnant, diabetic or sick with a cold or flu.
Read more at the National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health.
Information on Bell's Palsy from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
Bell's palsy is a sudden weakness and paralysis on one side of the face due to injury to the facial nerve. It occurs in approximately 40,000 Americans each year. It affects men and women equally. Read more at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center website.
Information on Bell's Palsy at New York-Presbyterian Hospital
Bell's palsy is an unexplained episode of facial muscle weakness or paralysis that begins suddenly and worsens over three to five days. This condition results from damage to the 7th (facial) cranial nerve, and pain and discomfort usually occurs on one side of the face or head. Read more at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.
Information on Bell's Palsy at Mayo Clinic
MayoClinic.com Bell's Palsy Information
Bell's palsy: Essentials at Consumer Reports
What is it? What are the symptoms? How common is it? What will happen? Key points about treatments and more at Consumer Reports.
Bell's Palsy: Facial Exercises
Before you start to exercise, get familiar with your face. We suggest you print the diagram of the muscles and the list of the muscles' actions. Refer to them as you exercise. Use them to get to know your facial muscles and what each muscle is doing as it moves. This can help you learn to isolate muscle actions as well as coordinate multiple muscle movement. Regaining balanced, symmetrical movements is key to restoring the face as it was before. Read more, including descriptions of facial exercises, from the Bells Palsy Information Site.
Video: What is Bell's Palsy
Bell's Palsy is a condition that can strike 1 in 60 of us at any time of life. In 93% of those 1 in 60, it will only ever happen once. Watch the video at The Doctors Videos website.
Video: Understanding Bell's Palsy
Learn about Bell's Palsy from Dr. Steve Pavlakis MD Ped Neuro at
DrMDK.com.
Podcast: Treatment for Bell's Palsy
Dr. Ebell and Dr. Wilkes discuss the POEM ("Patient-Oriented Evidence that Matters") titled "Steroids beneficial, but antiviral agents are of uncertain value for Bell palsy" at Essential Evidence Plus.
Podcast: Antiviral treatment for Bell's palsy (idiopathic facial paralysis)
Listen to the podcast from the Cochrane Collaboration.
The benefits of steroids versus steroids plus antivirals for treatment of Bell's palsy: a meta-analysis.
Bell’s palsy is the abrupt paralysis of the facial nerve, resulting in an inability to control facial muscles on the affected side. A common condition, Bell’s palsy has an annual incidence of 11 to 40 cases per 100 000 population.1 Many patients recover without intervention; however, up to 30% have poor recovery of facial muscle control and experience facial disfigurement, psychological trauma, and facial pain.2 Two main types of pharmacological treatment have been used to improve outcomes from Bell’s palsy: steroids and antivirals. Full text available free at BMJ.com.
Abstract: Facial nerve decompression for idiopathic Bell's palsy: report of 13 cases and literature review.
Abstract: Introduction: The prognosis for cases of idiopathic facial palsy is usually good. However, some cases develop disabling sequelae, such as synkinesis or severe facial hemispasm, despite targeted medical treatment. Objectives:The authors try to achieve that electromyography is useful to identify patients with severe palsy and an unfavourable prognosis. These patients would probably benefit from facial nerve decompression. See Abstract at PubMed.
Abstract: Bell's palsy preceding Parkinson's disease: a case-control study.
We investigated the association of Bell's palsy (BP) with the subsequent risk of Parkinson's disease (PD) using a case-control study design. We matched 196 incident cases of PD in Olmsted County, MN, to 196 general population controls with same age (+/-1 year) and sex, and we reviewed the complete medical records of cases and controls in a medical records-linkage system to detect BP. See Abstract at PubMed.
Abstract: Acute facial nerve palsy in children: how often is it lyme borreliosis?
Acute facial nerve palsy in children may be caused by infection by Borrelia burgdorferi, but the incidence of facial nerve palsy and the proportion of facial nerve palsy caused by Lyme borreliosis may vary considerably between areas. Furthermore, it is not well known how often facial nerve palsy caused by Lyme borreliosis is associated with meningitis. See Abstract at PubMed.
Management of peripheral facial nerve palsy
Peripheral facial nerve palsy (FNP) may (secondary FNP) or may not have a detectable cause (Bell’s palsy). Three quarters of peripheral FNP are primary and one quarter secondary. The most prevalent causes of secondary FNP are systemic viral infections, trauma, surgery, diabetes, local infections, tumor, immunological disorders, or drugs. The diagnosis of FNP relies upon the presence of typical symptoms and signs, blood chemical investigations, cerebro-spinal-fluid-investigations, X-ray of the scull and mastoid, cerebral MRI, or nerve conduction studies. Bell’s palsy may be diagnosed after exclusion of all secondary causes, but causes of secondary FNP and Bell’s palsy may coexist. Full text available free through PubMed.
Abstract: The phenomenon of the late recovered Bell's palsy: treatment options to improve facial symmetry.
BACKGROUND: Bell's palsy is an idiopathic neuropathy of cranial nerve VII, and the incidence ranges from 15 to 40 per 100,000. The majority of patients recover, but up to 16 percent of patients have significant sequelae. The phenomenon of the "late recovered" Bell's palsy has the following specific features and has not formerly been described: See Abstract at PubMed.
Abstract: Effects of exercises on Bell's palsy: systematic review of randomized controlled trials.
OBJECTIVE: This study examined the effects of facial exercises associated either with mirror or electromyogram (EMG) biofeedback with respect to complications of delayed recovery in Bell's palsy. PATIENTS: Patients with unilateral idiopathic facial palsy were included in this review. INTERVENTIONS: Facial exercises associated with mirror and/or EMG biofeedback as treatment. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Report of facial symmetry, synkinesis, lip mobility, and physical and social aspects. See Abstract at PubMed.
Abstract: Acupuncture for Bell's palsy.
BACKGROUND: Bell's palsy or idiopathic facial palsy is an acute facial paralysis due to inflammation of the facial nerve. A number of studies published in China have suggested acupuncture is beneficial for facial palsy. OBJECTIVES: The objective of this review was to examine the efficacy of acupuncture in hastening recovery and reducing long-term morbidity from Bell's palsy. See Abstract at PubMed.
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