by missy

Created on: February 26, 2007   Last Updated: April 18, 2007

I am writing this review in the hope that it lets people know how it can affect not only your appearance but also your mental health.

Ok first of all what is Bell's palsy?

Bell's palsy is a condition which affects the facial nerves (the 7th cranial nerve to be exact) It causes the facial muscles to weaken or become paralysedand is usually temporary!
This is thought to be caused by a viral infection getting into the nerve, It is generally thought by doctors that the herpes simplex virus (HSV - the virus which causes cold sores) is to blame for this condition, (although there is no concrete proof of this) instead of breaking out in cold sores the virus attacks the nerve.with no way of the virus to release, it causes the nerve to swell which means there can be no signal from the brain to the facial muscles that the nerve supplies.

It is named after the Scottish surgeon Sir Charles Bell who studied the facial muscles about 200 years ago.

How common is it?

It is not as uncommon as I first thought, I have researched some information on this, the NHS24 website says this can affect 1 in 70 people in the UK, and www.bellspalsy.ws says it can affect 1 in 5000 people worldwide.

Who can get it?

In a word.anyone!
It affects both males and females, of any age, but the most likely to get it is anyone between ages of 20-50.

Symptoms?

The symptoms vary for each individual but the onset is very quick.I have made a list of all the symptoms I have myself encountered,
Loss of taste.everything has a metallic taste.

Numbness in facesimilar to the wearing off of an
anaesthetic after being to dentist.

Tingling sensation in ear, face and twitching eye.

Noticeable droop on one side of face.

Not being able to drink, eat, and speak properly. Everything feels forced. Drinking through a straw is impossible. Spitting out after brushing teeth is difficultthe list goes on.

Left eyelid doesn't close.

Excessive watering of left eye, but also a feeling of dryness as the cornea isn't being coated in the tears.

Feeling tired a lot of the time.

.Feeling an constant ache or one which comes and go in and behind the ear.

I suffered from Bells Palsy twice. The first time I had it was at the beginning of October 2004, and it lasted just over 2 months that time.

The second time - my first symptoms appeared on Christmas Day (2005) I woke up feeling as excited as the kids, went downstairs as normal.watched with delight as the kids opened all their presents and the went to make breakfastI was aware of a metallic kind of taste in

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