What is Bell’s Palsy NOT?
You have not had a stroke. This is the most common assumption (the one I jumped to) and the one with which most doctors are approached and need to rule out.
What is going to happen?
How far will it spread?
When it will stop getting worse?
It probably already has stopped.
The onset of Bell’s Palsy happens very quickly. Usually people wake up one morning and they have it. Sometimes a slight symptom may be noticed the night before or within the same 24 hours and within those 24 hours all the symptoms have been manifested.
It can, however, take longer; from a couple of days up to around 72 hours, as did my bilateral experience. This is very worrying because one wonders, or more accurately, panics, about what is going to happen next.
The main thing to remember is that this will only affect your face as that is the only purpose of the 7th cranial nerve and that is the only thing that has been affected.
It IS going to stop, which was my major worry especially as it started to go down the other side of my face (see above – a very rare occurrence).
Remember – it is the 7th cranial nerve that is struggling, not anything else. This point is well worth remembering – very often at first.
For further information on all the various symptoms please see Symptoms of Bell’s Palsy Post or search “Symptoms”
For further information on the stages of recovery please see Stages of recovery Post or search “Stages”
What is NOT going to happen?
You are NOT going to:
Lose your sense of smell or all of your taste (1st cranial nerve)
Lose your eyesight or conscious awareness (2nd cranial nerve)
Lose your ability to move your eyes (3rd, 4th, 6th Cranial nerves)
Lose the power to open and close your jaw (5th Cranial nerve)
Lose your hearing (8th cranial nerve)
Lose all of your taste (if any) (9th Cranial nerve)
Lose the power to swallow (10th cranial nerve)
Lose the power to turn your head or move your neck (11th Cranial nerve)
Lose the use of your tongue or swallow your tongue (12th Cranial nerve)
The 7th Cranial nerve is called the Facial nerve and this is the only one with which we are concerned.
It is almost entirely a motor nerve and supplies the muscles involved with eye closure, facial expression and lip movements. It also supplies taste to the anterior (front) 2/3 of the tongue on the same side as the facial paralysis (not all people lose their taste – I myself didn’t).
For more detailed information on the 7th Cranial nerve please see the Medical Information Category
For further information on all the various symptoms please see Symptoms of Bell’s Palsy Post or search “Symptoms”
Please Buy The Book
To find out about the Bell’s Palsy Guide Book “All Bells and No whistle” and what it contains Just CLICK HERE.
“All Bells and No whistle” is the definitive helper. Over 200 pages of encouragement, explaining everything about living with and recovering from Bell’s Palsy, written by someone who knows what that actually means.
