Care and prevention of facial palsy

  Recently, the cold weather, coupled with the decline in immune function due to work stress, has triggered facial palsy, and in some cases, left-sided facial palsy in winter and spring, and right-sided facial palsy in early autumn and winter.  There are two main types of facial palsy: central and peripheral. This article mainly focuses on peripheral facial nerve palsy; that is, facial nerve palsy, facial neuritis, commonly known as “crooked mouth”, is a relatively common clinical disease, due to various causes of facial nerve infection virus and the onset of the disease. In the acute phase of the disease, hormones, neurotrophic activators, B vitamins and Chinese herbal medicine plus physical therapy are mainly used to treat the disease.  Facial palsy is a very painful condition that not only affects the beauty of the face, but also affects speech, eating and drinking, and even eye diseases, affecting the eyesight and seriously endangering the physical and mental health of the patient.  When you have facial palsy, Western doctors usually tell you to rest more, and there is no special medicine for treatment. In contrast, there are various methods of Chinese medicine, such as acupuncture and moxibustion, internal and external application of Chinese medicine, etc., which can achieve better results, greatly improve the symptoms of facial palsy, promote the recovery of facial palsy, and reduce the occurrence of sequelae. Generally speaking, facial palsy can be recovered in about three years with timely and active treatment, but a combination of Chinese and Western medicine must be used as a prerequisite.  Although facial palsy may go into remission on its own or from the acute stage to the static and stable stage, if it is not treated actively, it is likely to leave sequelae, so it should not be taken lightly and regular treatment should be actively carried out to control and improve the condition.  The onset of facial palsy is mostly related to factors such as wind and cold, viral infection, overwork and stress. According to the doctor’s analysis, Cai Kang Yong’s facial palsy is caused by excessive stress and fatigue, and the immunity of the body decreases.  The north wind whistles, the temperature difference between indoor and outdoor, the body’s immunity decreases, and the virus takes advantage of the situation, which also easily induces facial palsy. Modern medicine believes that peripheral facial palsy is mostly related to viral infection and cold stimulation. According to traditional Chinese medicine, facial palsy is caused by the lack of positive energy in the human body, and the veins and arteries are empty, so that wind and phlegm enter the facial veins and arteries, resulting in the blockage of qi and blood, the loss of nourishment of tendons and veins, and the sluggishness of muscles. Therefore, its formation is based on wind, phlegm and stasis as the surface and deficiency as the root, and the treatment is also based on searching for wind, resolving phlegm, eliminating stasis, activating blood circulation, tonifying deficiency and benefiting qi. In the treatment of wind and phlegm, the wind is the main cause of the problem. In Chinese medicine, “wind” is divided into internal and external wind: cold wind blowing directly on the face, the “thieves wind” into the complex, the mouth and eyes are distorted, cheeks weak; if excessive fatigue, tension and stress, it is easy to endogenous liver wind, disturb the face and cause facial paralysis. Therefore, after the weather turns cool, you should be careful not to let the cold wind attack your face, and do not open the windows wide at night to avoid the cold wind blowing directly on your face.  In addition, you should actively exercise to improve your body’s ability to resist diseases, avoid overwork, reduce work pressure, and provide timely treatment for diseases such as colds, toothache or otitis media to prevent viral infection of the facial nerve.  Once the disease develops, in addition to active treatment, it is also important to keep warm, avoid cold and wind, bring goggles in strong light to prevent foreign bodies and tears in eyes that cannot be closed, and wear a mask when going out. In addition, chewing gum on the affected side, massaging facial muscles and related acupuncture points, practicing cheek puffing, frowning, eye closing and mouth opening can help facial palsy recover.