What is facial palsy? Facial palsy is a complex facial disease, the onset of which is mostly caused by cold, physical injury or viral invasion of the face. The onset of facial nerve is initially manifested as inflammation of the facial nerve, which has not yet formed obvious facial symptoms. According to Chinese medicine, the cause of facial palsy is mainly due to the vacuity of the veins and channels, the wind and cold evil invading the facial Yangming and Shaoyang meridians, resulting in the blockage of the meridians, the loss of nourishment of the meridians and tendons, and the onset of the tendons and muscles sluggishly not closing. Therefore, it is important to understand the symptoms of facial nerve to facilitate timely detection of this disease, so as to take effective preventive and control measures and prevent the condition from deepening due to untimely treatment. What are the clinical symptoms of facial palsy in Guilin People’s Hospital, Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion Hu Tao? Most patients often suddenly find that one cheek does not move well and the mouth is crooked when washing the face or rinsing the mouth in the early morning. If the facial expression muscle is completely paralyzed, the forehead wrinkles disappear, the eye fissures are enlarged, the nasolabial folds are flattened, the corners of the mouth droop, and the corners of the mouth are skewed to the healthy side when the teeth are exposed. The patient’s side cannot make movements such as forehead wrinkles, frowning, eye closure, puffing and pouting. When puffing the cheeks and whistling, the affected side of the mouth leaks air because the lips cannot be closed. When eating, food residues are often left in the gap between the teeth and cheeks of the affected side, and saliva often flows down from that side. Because the tear dots are ectropioned with the lower lid, the tears do not drain as normal and spill out. It is divided into two types: peripheral and central (subtypes of facial nerve palsy). The incidence of peripheral facial palsy is very high, while the most common one is facial neuritis or Bell’s palsy. Facial palsy is often referred to as facial neuritis in most cases, and this condition is relatively easy to treat. Because facial palsy can cause a very strange facial appearance, it is often referred to as a “disfiguring disease”. The sequelae of facial palsy usually refers to a condition that has lasted for more than six months and has been delayed due to improper treatment or has not been cured by multiple treatments. The sequelae of facial palsy are composed of two parts, one is the partial disease left behind by the incomplete activation of the paralyzed nerve on the affected side and the incomplete recovery of function; the other part is due to the irreversible damage formed by the excessive disease. Specific manifestations: no eyebrow raising movement or low eyebrow raising, large or small eyes or loose upper eyelids, wrong corner of the mouth when raising the eyebrows, pulling the corner of the mouth when closing the eyes, small eyes when puffing the mouth, shallow nasolabial folds, facial stiffness, stagnant food, lacrimation, etc. In general, if the damage to nerve cells (e.g., demyelination of the nerve trunk) is not repaired in time due to untimely treatment (within half a day after the best treatment time for facial paralysis) or bad habits (smoking, drinking, staying up late, etc.) during treatment, the facial nerve will become generalized, and clinical manifestations such as crocodile lacrimation and mouth-eye linkage will occur, and some patients will also develop facial muscle spasm secondary to the disease. Some patients will develop facial myasthenia gravis, which may further develop into dystrophic myasthenia. The central type is caused by damage to supranuclear tissues (including the cortex, cortical brainstem fibers, internal capsule, and cerebral bridge) and results in paralysis of the lower facial muscles on the opposite side of the lesion. From top to bottom, the palsy is characterized by shallowing of the nasolabial folds, drooping of the corners of the mouth when the teeth are exposed (or the corners of the mouth are skewed to the side of the lesion, i.e., the opposite side of the paralyzed facial muscles), and inability to whistle and puff the cheeks. It is often seen in cerebrovascular lesions, brain tumors, and encephalitis. The peripheral type is caused by damage to the facial nerve nucleus or facial nerve, and all facial muscles on the ipsilateral side of the lesion are paralyzed, from top to bottom, which manifests as inability to frown, frown, close the eyes, loss of corneal reflex, shallow nasolabial folds, inability to show teeth, puff cheeks, whistle, and drooping corners of the mouth (or the corners of the mouth are crooked to the opposite side of the lesion, i.e., the opposite side of the paralyzed facial muscles). It is mostly seen in peripheral type facial nerve palsy caused by cold, ear or meningeal infection, or neurofibroma. In addition, there may be disorders of taste in the front 2/3 of the tongue and unclear speech. This type of facial palsy usually develops due to cold in the face, but there are also cases where the patient suffers from infection. This type of facial palsy is usually caused by cold in the face, but there are also cases of infection. Chinese medicine explains that wind or cold evil invades the body, resulting in the onset of the disease due to poor local qi and blood flow. Acupuncture is more effective in this type of facial palsy, and the effect can be seen within 2 weeks. Secondly, patients with this onset feature of facial palsy are mostly affected by trauma to the face and jaw, thus leading to serious damage to the health of the mouth and eyes. And the TCM typology of this facial palsy is caused by facial nerve damage, which is more difficult to treat. From the TCM point of view, it is believed that the poor flow of Qi and blood after trauma or surgery leads to the accumulation of blood stasis and damage to the meridians. Treatment is based on activating the blood and dispelling stasis to clear the channels, but this type of facial palsy requires a longer treatment time and requires the patient to be patient. Western medical treatment for facial palsy mainly advocates early application of anti-viral, nerve-nourishing, glucocorticoid, and blood circulation improving drugs. However, if too many antibiotics are applied, it may produce many side effects and counter-effects, causing the appearance of symptoms such as decreased immunity, slow recovery, difficult separation of fat and swelling, and water and sodium retention in facial palsy patients. In contrast, acupuncture treatment for facial palsy is based on the diagnosis and treatment, selecting localized acupuncture points on the face to activate blood circulation, de-tune the meridians and tendons, and dispel wind and cold. Acupuncture is an ideal treatment for facial palsy with good efficacy, no side effects and no liver or kidney damage.