Bell's Palsy & Acupuncture

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It seems we are on a oriental medicine theme of late!

Be Well,

Misty L. Trepke

http://www..com

 

Good Morning!

 

Bell's palsy

 

Bell's palsy is a form of facial paralysis resulting from damage to

the VII (facial) cranial nerve. This nerve disorder afflicts

approximately 40,000 Americans each year. It can strike almost

anyone at any age; however, it disproportionately attacks pregnant

women and people who have diabetes, influenza, a cold, or some other

upper respiratory ailment. In addition to one-sided facial paralysis

with possible inability to close the eye, symptoms of Bell's palsy

may include pain, tearing, drooling, hypersensitivity to sound in

the affected ear, and impairment of taste. The common cold sore

virus, herpes simplex, and other herpes viruses are the likely cause

of many cases of Bell's palsy.

 

In Western medicine, recent studies have shown that steroids are

probably effective and that the drug acyclovir combined with

prednisone is possibly effective in improving facial function. Other

treatments are usually aimed at protecting the eye from drying at

nighttime. Some physicians may prescribe a corticosteroid drug to

help reduce inflammation and an analgesic to relieve pain.

 

The prognosis for Bell's palsy is generally very good. With or

without treatment, most patients begin to get significantly better

within 2 weeks, and about 80 percent recover completely within 3

months. For some, however, the symptoms may last longer. In a few

cases, the symptoms may never completely disappear.

 

I have seen acupuncture get incredible results. Something I would

highly reccommend. Bell's Palsy is the most common disease of the

facial nerve. It is presumably due to an inflammatory reaction in or

around the facial nerve near the stylomastoid foramen. According to

Liu (1995), when acupuncture was initiated within three days post-

onset in 684 cases of facial nerve paralysis, 100 percent of the

patients were cured or there was a marked improvement (5). Other

studies (Gao, Chen, 1991) revealed that 80% of cases that were

treated at more than 2 months post-onset, and 83 percent of severe

cases, were cured or had excellent effect (6). Treatment, as with

this patient, may include numerous diagnostic procedures, different

classes of medications, lifestyle alterations, and still, continued

suffering. Acupuncture may often lead to significant clinical

improvement (7).

 

 

Andrew Pacholyk, LMT, MT-BC, CA

Peacefulmind.com

Therapies for healing

mind, body and spirit

 

 

 

REFERENCES

1. O'Connor J, Bensky D. Acupuncture a comprehensive text. Seattle:

Eastland Press 1981; 367-372.

2. Ibid, 609-610.

3. Stux G, Pomeranz B. Acupuncture textbook and atlas. Berlin:

Springer-Verlag 1987; 296.

4. Evans RA, Hames ML, Baguley DM, Moffat DA. Reliability of the

House and Brackmann grading system for facial palsy. J Laryngol Otol

Nov 1989; 103(11): 1045.

5. Liu YT. A new classification system and combined treatment method

for idiopathic facial nerve paralysis: report of 718 cases. Am JAcup

1995; 23(3),205-210.

6. Gao HB, Chen D. Clinical observation on 60 cases of peripheral

facial paralysis treated with acupointure penetration needling. Int

J Clin Acup 1991; 2(1),25-28.

7. NIH Consensus Development Conference on Acupuncture, National

Institutes of Health, Bethesda MD, Nov 1997; 93-109.