What are the symptoms and treatments of facial paralysis

Facial paralysis is not unfamiliar to many people. It is also a common clinical disease. Facial paralysis has a great impact on people's lives, and the symptoms and treatment of facial paralysis are also very important. Patients with facial paralysis must actively seek treatment, which can be achieved through medication and traditional Chinese medicine acupuncture.

1. Symptoms

Most patients often find that one side of their cheek cannot move properly and their mouth is crooked when they wash their face or gargle in the early morning. The facial expression muscles on the affected side are completely paralyzed, the forehead wrinkles disappear, the palpebral fissure widens, the nasolabial groove is flat, the corners of the mouth droop, and the corners of the mouth deviate to the healthy side when showing the teeth. The affected side cannot frown, frown, close the eyes, inflate, or purse the lips. When inflating the cheeks and whistling, air leaks out because the lips on the affected side cannot close. When eating, food residues are often retained in the tooth-cheek gap on the affected side, and saliva often drips down from that side. Because the lacrimal points are turned inward with the lower eyelid, the tears cannot be drained normally and overflow.

2. Antiviral drug treatment:

Many doctors believe that Bell's palsy is caused by a viral infection of the facial nerve, which leads to nerve swelling. The increased pressure inside the facial nerve canal compresses the nerve, causing nerve ischemia and leading to facial paralysis symptoms. Therefore, antiviral drugs are used. The drugs have an inhibitory effect on a variety of RNA and DNA viruses, can hinder the replication of viruses, thereby inhibiting viral synthesis and showing antiviral efficacy. For example, ribavirin 100-200 ml per day, intravenous drip, for 5-7 days; acyclovir 200 mg each time, orally, 5 times a day, for 5-7 days, or 400 mg dissolved in glucose injection or normal saline, intravenous drip once a day, for 5-7 days; there are also ribavirin, interferon and the traditional Chinese medicine Isatis root, etc.

3. Glucocorticoid treatment:

Glucocorticoids are a commonly used method for treating Bell's palsy. They can prevent tissue degeneration, prevent facial muscle twitching, reduce the occurrence of associated movements, and prevent further deterioration of the disease. It is generally believed that the cure rate of mild paralysis has little to do with whether medication is given or not, but for moderate or severe paralysis, medication can shorten the cure time and increase the cure rate. Wallerian degeneration of the nerves is completed 2 weeks after the onset of paralysis symptoms, so the drug should be administered early before nerve degeneration occurs, otherwise the prognosis will be poor.