BELL'S PALSY

What is Bell’s Palsy(facial paralysis)?

Facial paralysis is also known as Bell’s palsy, which is a facial disease caused by facial nerve. 

Facial nerve is the seventh pair of nerves branched from the brain stem. It mainly controls facial muscles, various facial expressions and the opening and closing of eyes.

Facial nerve palsy is generally divided into central type and peripheral type.  

The central type is mostly caused by stroke or intracerebral lesions. Only the lower half of the face is paralyzed, and the patient cannot perform actions such as showing teeth, whistling, blowing air, etc., and can still wrinkle the forehead, frown, and close the eyes.

The peripheral type is mostly caused by viral infection (such as: herpes zoster), trauma and infection, and patients cannot make actions such as closing the forehead, frowning, closing eyes, grinning teeth, whistling, and blowing air. Facial nerve palsy with no apparent cause is classified as Bell ‘s palsy.

Bell’s Palsy with TCM treatment 

From the respective of TCM, the main causes of Bell’s palsy include two aspects of “cold” and “deficiency”. The facial paralysis is caused by the facial swells that occurs when facial nerves are stimulated on the conditions of cold, infection and extrusion, and it is also because of overtired, staying up late and blowing the wind on the face for a long time. When you sleep, your body is in a fragile state and have a weak immune system, making you susceptible to be attached by external evils that easily cause illness. If you stay in air-condition room for long time, there will be evil wind. Furthermore, there are rich in meridians on the head and face, staying in air conditioner room for a long time may attack the meridians channels of the face, resulting in mild cases of Belly’s palsy, or even more serious cause leads to stroke and hemiplegia.

According to TCM theory, Bell’s palsy is caused by external wind-cold attacking channels of the face, while acupuncture can dispel wind, dredge meridians and collaterals and promote Qi and blood circulation. Therefore, acupuncture is one for effective treatment for Bell’s palsy.

In TCM, the treatment of Bell’s palsy is mainly acupuncture combined with Chinese medicine. Moxibustion can be used to warm and dredge the meridians for people with cold constitution, while plum blossom acupuncture accompanied with scraping therapy be used to treat severe local congestion. Selected points for acupuncture include Cuanzhu, Sizhukong, Yangbai, Sibai, Zygomatica, Jacara, Dicang, Hegu, Quchi, Taichong, etc. During the recovery period, massage can be used to relieve muscle stagnation. The combined use of acupuncture and herbal medicine can speed up the cure rate of Bell’s palsy and shorten the course of the disease. You can refer to the article ” Can TCM acupuncture heals Bell’s palsy?, if you want to know more about how acupuncture cure Bell’s palsy. 

The incidence and treatment of Bell’s Palsy 

The incidence of Bell’s palsy can be reached a peak within hours and 1-7 days, the treatment period is around 1-2 months. The treatment for Bell’s palsy include 3 stages as follows:

1. Acute stage ( Weakness or total paralysis on 1 side of your face that develops quickly within 1-7 days )  

Although the initial treatment can slightly alleviate symptoms, it can get worse anytime. There is no need to worry, as it is normal in the disease progress. Studies have shown that it is the best time to perform acupuncture for the treatment of bell’s palsy during this time, which can reduce facial nerve inflammation, promote the absorption of edema, and speed up facial nerve recovery.  

Acupoints selected: Yangming Meridian of hand and foot on the affected side, choose Yifeng, Hegu, Yangbai, Dicang, Zygomatic, and Jacara.

Functions: dredging the meridians.

2. Resting stage (Days 8-17)

The facial weakness did not get worse, and it was relieved after treatment, the symptoms remains the same.

Acupoints selected: Fengchi on the affected side, Hegu, Yangbai, Sibai, Shangguan, Yingxiang, Xiaguan, Qianzheng, Dicang, Jiache, Jiachengjiang.

Functions:  Eliminating pathogenic factors and relaxing collaterals.

3. Recovery stage (days 18-40)

The forehead lines gradually recovered, the nasolabial folds deepened, the eye fissures became smaller or completely closed, and one corner of drooping mouth were gradually corrected. In a small treatment clinical trial, the acupuncture treatment exhibited greater improvements in the Facial Disability Index and stiffness scale after 8 weeks. This shows that acupuncture had better therapeutic effects on the physical aspects of the sequelae of Bell’s palsy.

Acupoint selected: Stomach Meridian of Foot Yangming on the affected side, select acupoints Yangbai, Sibai, Zygomatica, Hegu, Dicang, and Jiache.

Functions: Invigorating blood and activate qi.

Advantages of acupuncture for Bell’s Palsy

Acupuncture can be an effective treatment for Bell’s palsy that have a higher cure rate. A lauge-scale clinical trial that investigated the effects of acupuncture treatment on Bell’s palsy indicated that acupuncture could be advantageous compared with other therapies:

• The clinical cure rate is relatively high.
• The course of treatment is shorter. Acupuncture can effectively improve the symptoms in a short period of time, and the course of treatment is shorter than other methods.
• The cost is low with fewer side effects.

Tips for rehibilitation of Bell’s Palsy 

There are During treatment, people with Bell’s palsy should know how to do self-care, there are five tips that can promote recovery:  

1. It is recommended to avoid blowing directly, washingface with cold water, and catching a cold. As the pores of the body are open after bathing or drinking, it is needed to keep warm to prevent the invasion of wind and cold. At the same time, doing proper exercise can improve your immunity and physical fitness, and avoid the entry of external evils accoroding to your own situation.
2. For peoplewith Bell’s palsy, it generally manifest as abnormal eyelid closure, unable to close completely, delay blinking action, corneal reflex, etc., because the cornea is exposed for a long time, causing intraocular infection and damage to the cornea. Therefore, it needed to pay attention to eye protection, use less eyes, strictly control the time of watching TV and mobile phones, and drive appropriately; when going out, remember to wear sunglasses to avoid damage to eyes caused by sunlight; In addition, it is recommended to use eye drops for disinfection and wear eye masks to protect the eyes.  
3. It is recommended to practice with the mirror2 or 3 times a day, and the paralyzed lateral muscles can perform exercises such as frowning, closing eyes, and opening eyes, and stop when tired. Then massage the facial muscles of the affected side to promote blood circulation. The time for one session should not be too long, and it should be controlled within 10 minutes.
4. For peoplewith swelling and pain around the ears and cheeks, local hot compresses are given to help reduce swelling, activate blood circulation, and relieve pain. Perform facial hot compress 1-2 times a day, pay attention to use a wet towel, the temperature should not be too high, and the time of each time should be controlled at about 10 minutes.
5. It need to pay attention to daily dietary. Spicy, cold, stimulating foodsshould be avoided.
6. It need to develop healthy living habits, ensure rest time, and maintain a happy mood, which is conducive to the early recovery of facial paralysis.