Bell's palsy

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Facial drooping

Ptosis, drooping of the eyelid

Facial palsy; Idiopathic peripheral facial palsy; Cranial mononeuropathy

Often, no treatment is needed. Symptoms often begin to improve right away. However, it may take weeks or even months for the muscles to get stronger, and this may be frustrating.

Your health care provider may give you lubricating eye drops or eye ointments to keep the surface of the eye moist if you cannot close it completely. You may need to wear an eye patch while you sleep.

Sometimes medicines may be used, but it is not clear how much they help. If medicines are used, they should be started right away.

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• Corticosteroids may reduce swelling around the facial nerve
• Medications can fight the virus that may be causing Bell's palsy

Surgery to relieve pressure on the nerve (decompression surgery) is controversial and has not been shown to routinely benefit people with Bell's palsy.

Most cases go away completely within a few weeks to months.

If you did not lose all of your nerve function and symptoms began to improve within 3 weeks, you're more likely to regain all or most of the strength in your facial muscles.

Sometimes, the following symptoms still may be present:

• Long-term changes in taste
• Spasms of muscles or eyelids
• Weakness that remains in facial muscles

Excess drying of the eye surface, leading to eye ulcers or infections.

Call your health care provider right away if your face droops or you have other symptoms of Bell's palsy. Your health care provider can rule out other, more serious conditions, such as stroke.

Review Date: 07/12/2010
Reviewed By: David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine; and Luc Jasmin, MD, PhD, Department of Anatomy, Cedars Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, and Department of Anatomy, University of California, San Francisco, CA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org).