Published: 10/01/2014 - Updated: 11/10/2014
Author: MSc. Miriam Reyes
Facial paralysis is the loss of voluntary muscular movement in one side of the face. In the majority of cases this condition is due to inflammation of the facial nerve, a condition known as Bell’s Palsy.
Bell’s Palsy
This is a type of temporary facial paralysis which is produced by damage or trauma to one of the two facial nerves. Each nerve in the face is responsible for managing the muscles for one specific side of the face, like those involved in blinking, closing the eyes, making facial expressions like smiling, opening your mouth, wrinkling your brow, etc. Facial nerves also transport nerve impulses to the tear glands and salivary glands, as well as to the muscles on the tine bone in the middle of the ear, called the stirrup. The facial nerve is also in charge of receiving and transmitting taste sensations located on the tongue.
In regards to Bell’s Palsy, normal facial nerve functions are interrupted, causing cerebral messages to weaken or become unproductive. Following the interruption, or if the cause of the nervous block increases, facial paralysis is produced.
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What causes facial paralysis?
The following are the possible causes of this condition:
- Cerebrovascular accident: in this case, the individual may be able to wrinkle their forehead or close their eye on the affected side. People with Bell’s Palsy cannot do either of these things. A cerebrovascular accident could affect other muscles on that side of the body.
- Brain tumor: this could develop slowly and cause headaches, as well as epileptic attacks or crises.
- Newborns: trauma during birth could cause facial paralysis in newborns.
- Viral infection (particularly those that are part of the herpes virus family).
- Lyme disease
- Excessive tension in the nervous system
Emotional causes of facial paralysis:
As with every condition, emotions powerfully influence the body’s health states. In regards to paralysis, one must analyze whether or not the person has strong feelings of fear or resistance. There may exist a deep desire to escape or flee from some situation, person, or place. Wanting to escape from a place or situation without doing it causes a lot of anxiety and pressure which irritates the nervous system and accumulates in the muscles. In this case, the face in some way does not want to look at or confront a situation it fears.
Possible symptoms of facial paralysis:
- Feeling a tickling or numbness in the face
- Feeling your facial muscles as weak.
- Intense headaches.
- Epileptic crisis.
- Vision loss or blindness, visual problems.
- Inability to close your mouth completely (drooling), excessive water in the eye, etc.
Natural treatment for facial paralysis
Treatment depends completely on the cause of the problem. In some cases doctors can prescribe medications which can help, but none can reach the emotional cause of the root of the problem. Therefore, you must care for this aspect simultaneously while following medical recommendations.
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- If you are not able to completely close your eye, the cornea will need protecting so as to avoid dryness and irritation. It is advisable to use drops or lubricating eye gels for this, while also drinking a lot of fresh water, at least two liters a day. Cornea moisture depends a lot of the amount of liquid circulating inside the body.
- Practicing some type of activity that helps relax the nervous system is an excellent remedy: yoga, taichi, etc.
- NATURAL RECOMMENDED THERAPIES: neural therapy, bioenergetic therapy, physiotherapy, hydrotherapy, magnetic resonance, reflexology, digitopuncture and acupuncture are all truly effective natural alternative therapies not only for fighting the symptom, but also for eradicating the condition’s deep cause.
- EMOTIONAL OBSERVATION: symptoms are just the body’s messages to notify us that something in the body needs urgent tending to. If you have a few mild symptoms of this condition, it would be good to observe, more than anything, the emotional causes. You could prevent the worsening of symptoms.
Revised by: Dra. Loredana Lunadei on 11/10/2014
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