Question
I’ve been experiencing discomfort with my eyes and mouth lately. After a thorough examination at the hospital, I was told I have facial paralysis. What is facial paralysis?
Answer
The recurrence of facial paralysis can be quite harmful. Facial paralysis primarily manifests as the disappearance of forehead lines, inability to furrow the brows, incomplete closure of the eyelids. When trying to close the eyes, the affected side’s eye ball rapidly rotates upwards and outwards, revealing the white sclera, a phenomenon known as Bell’s phenomenon. On the affected side, the nasolabial fold becomes shallow and the corners of the mouth droop, tilting the teeth to the healthy side when smiling. This does not affect the movement of the limbs. When blowing out cheeks or whistling, due to the inability to close the lips on the affected side, air leaks out. When eating dinner, food residue often remains in the gaps between the teeth and cheeks on the affected side, and saliva may also dribble down from this side due to tears not being properly drained as they follow the lower eyelid.
