Bell’s Palsy is more common than you may think. If you’re lucky, it’s only temporary, lasting a few weeks, or up to 6 months. Unfortunately, on rare occasions, some experience bell’s palsy permanently.
Bell’s palsy creates a very noticeable paralysis of one side of the face with facial muscle weakness. Classically, it presents all of a sudden, worsening over 48 hours. Pain or discomfort occur, stemming from damage to the 7th cranial nerve of the face. It can occur at any age, but is most common age 15-60.
Symptoms include diminished ability to smile, squint, blink, or close the eyelid, headache, tearing, drooling, loss of feeling in the face, loss of taste in part of the tongue, sensitivity to sound, inability to close the eye.
Bell’s palsy is usually unknown cause, it is sometimes associated with:
- Diabetes
- High Blood Pressure
- Injury
- Toxins
- Lyme disease
- Guillain-Barre Syndrome
- Sarcoidosis
- Myasthenia gravis
- Multiple Sclerosis
- Infection (especially viruses, from Herpes simplex virus that causes “cold sores” to Covid, Influenza, etc.)
Traditionally, bell’s palsy is treated in western medicine possibly with steriods, antivirals, pain relievers, or physical therapy.
Acupuncture is a great option for speeding up the recovery of bell’s palsy.
At Cloud 9 Acupuncture & Integrative Medicine, we have over a 90% success rate in reversing Bell’s Palsy. However, we always begin with a consultation to determine if you are a good candidate for treatments.
With bell’s palsy, it is absolutely imperative to begin treatments as soon as possible. Once a patient has had bell’s palsy for over 18 months, it is much harder to reverse it, but not impossible, so be sure to call today.
Call 410-847-4766 to begin with a consultation and evaluation with our medical director today.
