What is viral facial palsy?

  Facial palsy includes central facial palsy and peripheral facial palsy. Viral facial palsy refers to facial neuritis caused by viral infection. Facial palsy caused by viral infection usually has an acute onset, mostly peaking at about 3 days, and manifests as unilateral peripheral facial palsy. The disease is self-healing, but early treatment can speed up the recovery of facial palsy and reduce complications.  The symptoms are: paralysis of facial expression muscles, pressure pain behind the ear, disappearance of forehead wrinkles, enlargement of eye fissures, drooping of the corners of the mouth, drooping of the corners of the mouth and skewing of the face are more obvious when smiling or showing teeth, and the sick side cannot make movements such as frowning, frowning, closing the eyes, puffing and pouting. When eating, food residues are often retained in the gap between the teeth and cheeks on the affected side, and saliva often flows out from that side; because the tear dots follow the lower eyelid ectropion, the tears cannot flow out according to normal drainage. Depending on the site of facial nerve involvement, it may be accompanied by loss of taste in the anterior 2/3 of the ipsilateral tongue, auditory hypersensitivity, and impaired tear and salivary secretion. A few patients may experience discomfort in the lips and cheeks of the mouth. Some patients may have ipsilateral corneal or conjunctival injury secondary to reduced or delayed eye closing movements or incomplete eye closure, and eye redness and swelling.  Viral facial palsy can be treated with drugs combined with acupuncture, physiotherapy and rehabilitation, etc. Anti-viral treatment combined with B vitamins and other drugs injections or oral treatment can be used. For patients without contraindications, glucocorticoids can be used for short-term treatment, combined with Chinese herbal medicine to clear heat and detoxify the body, invigorate blood circulation and benefit qi, which can relieve symptoms and speed up recovery; acupuncture treatment can unblock qi and blood, invigorate blood circulation and promote recovery of facial palsy; rehabilitation The rehabilitation treatment includes massage physiotherapy, ultra-short wave, low and medium frequency electrotherapy, laser, drug introduction and other treatment methods, all of which have certain auxiliary therapeutic effects. While actively taking medication, care should be strengthened to prevent direct wind blowing on the face; when patients have incomplete eyelid closure, attention should be paid to protecting the cornea, and eye shields should be worn for protection or eye drops should be used to prevent corneal infection; attention should be paid to rest and prevention of overwork; diet should be light and avoid spicy and oily diet.  In conclusion, when you find that you have facial palsy, you should seek medical attention in a timely manner, make a clear diagnosis, and use comprehensive treatment, which can effectively reduce the sequelae and shorten the recovery time.