High prevalence of pediatric hand, foot, and mouth disease in winter and vigilance against pediatric acute facial paralysis

    Recently, the Department of Encephalopathy of the Second Traditional Chinese Medicine in Luoyang City treated a 1.5-year-old child with acute facial palsy after hand, foot and mouth disease, who has basically recovered without any sequelae.  The child had acute hand, foot and mouth disease on November 4, and improved after symptomatic treatment. On November 8, the child suddenly developed acute facial palsy, manifesting as incomplete closure of the left eye and right distortion of the corner of the mouth, and three days after the onset of the disease, the child came to the Department of Encephalopathy of our hospital.  This case was the youngest patient treated in our department, only 1.5 years old, which means that we should be more vigilant in daily life to prevent infantile facial palsy, especially in children with hand, foot and mouth disease, who are at higher risk of developing acute facial palsy secondary to hand, foot and mouth disease. Meanwhile, patients with acute facial palsy, regardless of age, can recover completely through timely and effective formal treatment, and active cooperation with Chinese medicine and acupuncture is an important factor for successful treatment.  Facial palsy, also known as crooked mouth wind, is a medical condition called facial neuritis, the cause of which is multifaceted, but the most common clinical cause is cold after overexertion. When eating, food is often left on the affected side or drooling from the corner of the affected side of the mouth, and the above symptoms are more obvious when speaking or smiling.  Patients usually start to recover within 1-2 weeks after the onset of the disease, and about 80% of patients basically recover within a few weeks or 1-2 months through active medication, together with acupuncture and massage physiotherapy treatment, but a few patients do not recover completely. Therefore, it is very important to be alert, early detection, early diagnosis and timely treatment!