Bells Palsy

When To Call A Professional

Call your doctor immediately at the first sign of decreased strength in your face, difficulty eating or drinking, or a droopy eyelid. Also call your doctor if your ear suddenly hurts, especially if you see blisters around your ear or inside your ear canal.

If you have been diagnosed with Bell's palsy, call your doctor immediately if your eye starts hurting or feels irritated. Call if your arms or legs feel weak, your vision changes, you get dizzy, have trouble swallowing or get a headache that keeps getting worse. Contact your doctor promptly if any symptoms get worse.

Prognosis

Although the symptoms of Bell's palsy are frightening, there's a good chance that the nerve will be able to work properly again. Eighty-five percent of people with Bell's palsy recover completely within a few months. Children almost always recover completely.

Taste returns before facial strength. If taste returns within five to seven days after symptoms began, it's more likely you will recover completely. It's also more likely you will recover completely if your facial muscles were not fully paralyzed at the most severe point of the illness.

Factors associated with a poorer outlook include a higher degree of impairment, a longer time before symptoms start to improve, advanced age, and severe pain in or around the ear. In general, the prognosis for Ramsay-Hunt syndrome is not as good as the prognosis for Bell's palsy.

Additional Info

American Academy of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery One Prince St. Alexandria, VA 22314-3357 Phone: (703) 836-4444 http://www.entnet.org/