Patient's question:
My uncle has been speaking a bit unclearly since last year, with his mouth and some twitching. We always thought it was caused by his trigeminal neuralgia; he has been taking medications for neuralgia, which were completely off-target. This year, when the condition worsened, he finally went to the hospital, where the doctor diagnosed him with facial paralysis.Doctor's answer:
Bell's palsy is a common disease characterized by dysfunction of the facial expression muscle group, with the general symptom being drooping of the mouth and eyes. It is a prevalent and frequently occurring condition that is not limited by age. Patients often cannot even perform basic facial movements such as raising the eyebrows, closing the eyes, or pouting. The onset is sudden, and earache behind the ear may occur several hours before the onset of facial paralysis. The paralysis is usually confined to one side of the face, with varying severity, reaching its peak within hours to 1–2 days.