What Is Bell's Palsey?

When facial nerves become weakened or paralyzed due to trauma of the seventh cranial nerve, Bell's Palsy occurs. You will notice a drooping on one side of the face, inability to smile with both sides of your mouth and the eye on the weakened side will be teary and not close.

History

• The condition was named after Scottish surgeon, Sir Charles Bell, who studied the seventh cranial nerves connection with facial muscles.

Cause

• Infection or virus attacks the seventh cranial nerve and it becomes inflamed and pinched in the small corridor of bone that leads to the face. The pressure resulting from the nerve being caught damages the protective covering on the nerve and causes a communication breakdown between the nerve and facial muscles.

Symptoms

• Along with the symptoms already listed, pain around and in the ear on the affected side of the face, along with sounds being louder in that ear, headache, loss of taste and a change in the amount of saliva and tear production are other signs associated with Bell's Palsy.

Statistics

• According to the Bell's Palsy information website, 1 in every 5,000 people gets Bell's Palsy yearly, with 40,000 of them being in the United States.

Risk Factors

• Risk factors for Bell's Palsy include being pregnant, having an upper respiratory infection, diabetes and being over age 15 but under age 60.