Bell’s Palsy: Let’s Find the Other Half of Your Smile
A palsy where one side of your face gets paralyzed
I don’t know if you have or not heard of Bell’s palsy, but it is very common. Let me first tell you what it is in simple language.
“Suddenly, one side of your face starts to paralyze, and within no time, you lose control of that side.”
It can happen at any age, even without a known cause.
We call ourselves idiots unless we find a cause
The one without a cause is called primary or idiopathic Bell’s palsy because we are idiots who couldn’t find what caused it.
The other one is secondary Bell’s palsy, which is secondary to some other cause. The cause may be trauma to the face or head, ear or throat infection, or surgery in the vicinity of the facial nerve.
60% of the patients I have seen with Bell’s palsy are children or adolescents under the age of 17 years.
Here begins the story
A 12-year-old boy came into the outpatient department with his mother. I asked with a smile, “Hey! What brings this little angel here?”
His mother told me that the right side of his face had not moved since this morning. I understood what had happened because it was not my first case of Bell’s palsy. I asked the boy to smile. He smiled, but half of his face was smiling, the reason I call it the “half-smile palsy.” He was referred to physiotherapy by the neurology department.
Was the Bell’s palsy secondary to something, or would I look like an idiot?
He had no trauma or surgery, so I suspected an ear or throat infection because if it was not an ear or throat infection, then I was going to be an idiot.
I asked his mother if he had an ear or throat infection or even pain in the ear or anywhere on the neck. She negated any type of infection or pain. I palpated his thyroids, and those were normal.
To be sure I was not an idiot, I palpated the front of the ear and pressed a little. There it was, a sigh of discomfort and slight pain. Yeah! It was an ear infection.
I referred him to the otorhinolaryngology (ENT) clinic for a thorough evaluation. He returned with the diagnosis of otitis media (infection of the middle ear) and a prescription for a one-week course of antibiotics.
Here is how the boy got his smile back
I performed PNF (Proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation) exercises for facial muscles, a set of specialized exercises for Bell’s palsy. I also prescribed a few for home and scheduled a follow-up for the day after tomorrow.
On our next session, the boy was 60% recovered, and his smile was somewhat complete but still not what we call a smile. I substituted some more progressive exercises.
During the session, his mother told me that she talked to a neighbor about her son’s condition, and the neighbor suggested feeding some bird meat to the boy. She thanked God for not going with bird meat, and I thanked God for making her do the right thing.
We had five sessions, and on the fifth session, the boy’s smile was complete, exactly what we call a complete smile. His medications were tapered off, and he was exercising regularly. His facial muscles toned up, his mother was happy, and he was back to school.
Conclusion
So, in conclusion, take your ear and throat infections seriously and get them examined by an ENT specialist as soon as possible to avoid any complications. And God forbid, even if you develop Bell’s palsy, don’t panic. You need a few medications and a couple of exercises for a couple of weeks, and your complete smile will be back in no time!
Avoid any home remedies as these may worsen the condition.
Stay blessed!
