Treatment of Bell's palsy in Cherkasy

Facial nerve neuritis is an inflammatory disease affecting the cranial nerve pairs and disabling a person of controlling the muscles of half the face. The disease develops in the setting of general hypothermia, but other causes can also provoke it: hypertension, cerebral edema, uncontrolled medication.

Facial nerve crosses the narrow bony canals of the skull, so the slightest inflammation of the tissues causes its compression and oxygen starvation. The patient feels this as the appearance of sharp pain in the ears, a partial or complete loss of control over the facial muscles of half of the face.

Timely treatment allows you to restore fully the normal functioning of nervous tissue and avoid relapse of the facial nerve neuritis. But a late visit to a neurologist can cause irreversible damage, as a result of which the asymmetry of the face is preserved.

Causes and symptoms

In addition to hypothermia, other external and internal causes can lead to facial nerve neuritis.

The disease often develops in the setting of other pathologies:

• viral herpes. It affects nerve fibers causing their destruction and edema. Hence the neuritis of the facial nerve occurs;
• hypertension. It is also an indirect cause of neuritis. Increased blood pressure provokes intracranial abnormalities, causes strokes in which the facial nerve is affected;
• diabetes mellitus. Due to impaired metabolism, the risk of edema and inflammation increases;
• ENT diseases. Any inflammation of the nasopharynx can spread to nerve tissue.

With regard to external causes, excessive alcohol consumption, unbalanced nutrition when the body does not receive the necessary micro and macro elements, and insufficient physical activity, can cause neuritis.

The following symptoms indicate the development of neuritis:

• appearance of a sharp, not passing pain behind the ear;
• control over facial muscles decreases: it is difficult to raise eyebrows, smile;
• skin sensitivity on the face disappears: the sensation is comparable to dental anesthesia;
• the face becomes like a mask (on the affected side), may look asymmetrical, the corner of the mouth drops down;
• dry mouth appears – the facial nerve controls not only the muscles, but also controls salivation, lacrimation;
• the eyelid fails to function properly – it is impossible to completely close your eyes;
• taste perceptual disturbance;
• hearing aggravation: sounds are heard louder than usual (especially bass).

Facial nerve neuritis usually affects one half of the face but can affect both sides; in this case the signs are more acute.

Treatment procedure

An early visit to a neurologist will relieve quickly the inflammation and prevent damage to nerve nuclei. The specialist’s task is to exclude other diseases with similar symptoms (for example, strokes). To do this, he examines the patient and prescribes additional examinations.

Diagnosis includes blood tests, MRI or CT scan. The doctor not only makes a diagnosis, but also establishes the causes of neuritis for complex therapy. The next step is to develop a treatment plan.

In order to remove swelling, a patient is prescribed with diuretics and anti-inflammatory drugs and antispasmodics. If the pathology arose in the setting of a virus, antiviral drugs are also administered. To increase immunity and improve overall well-being, a neuropathologist may recommend vitamins B.

In the complex of rehabilitation treatment, physiotherapeutic procedures and physiotherapy exercises also have a positive effect.

The entire treatment process is monitored by qualified neurologists at “ON Clinic Cherkasy”. If necessary, courses are adjusted, the dosage of drugs is changed to fully restore patients.