Whether tearing in facial paralysis is a sign of improvement or not needs to be combined with the appearance of tearing symptoms in the early stage, during the treatment process, and in the late stage of recovery to make a comprehensive judgment.
1. If the damaged facial nerve of facial paralysis does not involve the Iwata nerve that innervates the lacrimal gland, the patient will have tearing in the early stage when the eyelid closure is often impaired. After treatment, if the facial nerve function recovers well, the tearing will disappear, and no more tearing is a sign of improvement.
2. If the damaged facial nerve involves the Iwata nerve, dry eyes without tears often appear in the acute stage. If the patient starts to shed tears after treatment, it means that the function of the Iwata nerve is recovering, and shedding tears at this time is a sign of improvement.
3. There is a branch of the facial nerve distributed in the eye, which governs the function of lacrimal gland secretion. If the facial nerve becomes dysfunctional in the later stages of recovery, the secretion function of the lacrimal gland will also become abnormal. When chewing, the ophthalmic branch of the facial nerve will be stimulated, resulting in tearing and “crocodile sign”, which still needs active treatment, and tearing is not a good phenomenon.
If symptoms of facial paralysis and tearing occur, please consult a professional hospital in time to avoid delayed treatment.