My last post was about a patient with MS plaques, but that same patient also had a meningioma against the mastoid air cells on the left side. I really didn't want to write about the same patient, so I did some research and I was very interested in Bell's Palsy.
I work as an x-ray tech/MA at an Urgent Care. A few days ago, we had a patient come in with symptoms of left sided numbness and weakness and a headache behind the left ear. When the patient would squint, her left side would not squint as well as the right and when she tried to open her mouth, her left side would not open as much.
After the doctor had told me her diagnosis, I began to ask lots of questions. My patients' diagnosis was, of course, Bell's palsy. Bell's palsy is a paralysis of the seventh cranial nerve (facial nerve). It could be the consequence of a tumor, stroke, infection, swelling, etc. When I got home I did more research and found that the most common cause of Bell's palsy is the herpes simplex virus (HSV).
Most of the time the symptoms will go away on its own, but for some unlucky patients surgery may be their only option. My patient, however, was prescribed prednisone to help with the swelling of the nerve. Hopefully her symptoms will start to dissipate, but only time will tell.
References:
http://mayoclinic.com/
http://yassermetwally.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/bell.jpg
Herbal Treatment for Bell's Palsy read about the Symptoms, Causes and Diagnosis. Natural Herbal Treatment for Bell's Palsy with Herbal Product Pebneton Natural Supplement for weak or paralyzed the muscles on one side of face. You can lessen the Symptoms and Causes of Bell's Palsy Naturally.
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