R.X.

26 year old female patient comes in with sudden onset of left facial paralysis that began today with no other complaints. No extremity weakness was found so it would be odd to think it was a stroke. CT head scan ruled it out. She has a condition called Bell’s Palsy. Another way to differentiate is that Bell’s Palsy involves complete forehead paralysis (look at the movement of the eyebrows, too). It’s a temporary facial paralysis cause by a virus that inflames one of the cranial nerves in your face. Patient does mention that she recently just had some cold sx’s in the past week. Ah, the culprit. The only tx is prescription anti-virals and the symptoms should clear up in a few weeks, sometimes a month or two. Most episodes resolve completely, but a small percentage of people who develop Bell’s Palsy do have permanent deficits and having one episode will leave the patient susceptible to additional episodes later in life.