The left side of the face was paralyzed. Facial nerve paresis - symptoms and treatment. What is the difference between a stroke and facial neuritis?

Doctors call facial paralysis with a complex word “ prosopoplegia" With this condition, paralysis of the facial muscles develops.

Why does this condition develop and is it treatable?

If you want to learn more about facial paralysis, read this article and the medical board of tiensmed.ru (www.tiensmed.ru) will try to tell you about it.

The symptoms of facial paralysis are quite obvious. The victim may not wrinkle his forehead, or one eye may not close, and one corner of his mouth may hang down.

All these unfortunate manifestations of facial paralysis come from damage to the facial nerve. How can this nerve be damaged?

Yes, very simple. You can wash your face with ice water from a well or tap in the morning and get facial paralysis. See how simple it is. You can also work in a draft - half of your head is blown through - and that’s paralysis of your face. In addition, the cause of facial paralysis can be self-poisoning of the body due to diabetes mellitus. Very often, facial paralysis is a consequence of a stroke. Facial paralysis can also develop as a result of an injury in the temple area.

As easy as it is to get facial paralysis, it is also easy to prevent it. If you at least wear a hat when walking or working in a cold room, the risk of inflammation of the facial nerve will be significantly reduced.

In cases of hypothermia, facial paralysis affects only one part of the face. At first you will feel pain and increased body temperature. After all, inflammation of the facial nerve is an inflammatory process that occurs with all its classic signs. Such paralysis can also affect the nerve endings responsible for the activity of the salivary glands and lacrimal glands. Therefore, the patient may have tears flowing from one eye and saliva from the mouth. In addition, hearing on the damaged side may also deteriorate.

If facial paralysis is caused by a stroke, then it manifests itself somewhat differently. The patient has one corner of his mouth drooping and the fold running from the wing of the nose to the corner of the mouth disappears. Most often, the upper part of the face is not affected by a stroke. Quite often, facial paralysis during a stroke is accompanied by paralysis of the limbs on this side of the body. Almost

Eighty percent of stroke patients suffer from similar symptoms to a greater or lesser extent.

If the stroke affects the brain stem. then facial paralysis is very strong. The patient has no sensitivity of the skin. Such paralysis is very dangerous because it can also affect those areas of the brain that regulate the functioning of the lungs and heart. If such paralysis develops, urgently take care of hospitalization of the patient.

With a stroke, paralysis of the muscles that move the eyelid often develops. In such a patient, one eyelid stops moving completely or partially. This phenomenon is called ptosis. The eyelid stops moving exactly on the side on which there was hemorrhage. But the limbs are paralyzed on the other side of the body.

For facial paralysis of any origin, it is very important to do special gymnastics. If you can at least slightly control the facial expressions of the affected parts of the face, then you need to do this. If the movements do not work out at all, then it is necessary to imitate passive gymnastics, moving the necessary areas with your hands. To do this, you need to place your finger on the place that should move and slowly try to repeat the movement of this area. The duration of the gymnastics is ten to fifteen minutes in the morning and evening.

In addition to gymnastics, you should definitely take a course of special massage. During the massage, both parts of the face are worked out: both the sick and the healthy ones equally. You should not contact home-grown specialists for massage. They will not be able to properly work the muscles and will only waste your time. Find a qualified massage therapist.

During treatment and rehabilitation after facial paralysis, take vitamin and mineral dietary supplements (dietary supplements) to maintain the body.

Before use, you should consult a specialist.

Facial neuritis: treatment, symptoms, causes

Facial neuritis is an inflammation of the VII cranial nerve, leading to disruption or loss of its function.

The facial nerve is the VII pair of cranial nerves; it innervates the facial muscles. As a rule, neuritis occurs on one side. In this case, paralysis of the facial muscles on one side is observed.

The facial nerve passes in its own canal in the skull; when an inflammatory process occurs, its swelling appears; if the canal of the facial nerve is narrow, the nerve is pinched there, which leads to disruption of its blood supply, therefore, the dysfunction increases.

Causes of neuritis of the facial nerve

In most cases, the specific cause of facial neuritis cannot be determined. Doctors identify only probable provoking factors.

Trigger factors include:

  • Local hypothermia. Sometimes it may be enough to sit under the air conditioner or drive a car with the window open.
  • Previous infectious disease, for example, acute respiratory viral infection.
  • Chronic inflammatory processes of the ENT organs, for example, otitis media, mesotympanitis. Also, the occurrence of facial neuritis can be facilitated by operations performed for purulent lesions of these organs.
  • Trauma (crack or fracture) to the jaw or base of the skull.
  • Systemic diseases, metabolic disorders. There is a decrease in the body's reactivity, in this case the immune system may not be able to cope with even mild inflammation.

Classification of facial neuritis

Primary neuritis is distinguished; it occurs as a result of hypothermia, for example. Secondary is also isolated; it occurs as a result of existing inflammation, for example, with otitis media. Separately, some forms of facial neuritis should be noted.

  • Hunt's syndrome - facial neuritis in herpes zoster

Damage to the facial nerve is combined with other manifestations of this disease, such as characteristic rashes on the tongue, mucous membrane of the oral cavity and pharynx, as well as in the area of ​​the auricle (see symptoms and treatment of herpes zoster). In this case, the herpes virus affects the ganglion, from which the hearing aid, tonsils and palate receive innervation. The motor branches of the facial nerve are located close to this ganglion. The disease begins with shooting pains in the ear area, followed by facial asymmetry, decreased taste sensitivity in the anterior third of the tongue, dizziness, ringing in the ears and horizontal nystagmus.

  • Neuritis due to mumps (mumps)

Can be one-sided or two-sided. Accompanied by fever, signs of intoxication and enlargement of the parotid salivary glands.

  • Neuritis due to borreliosis

Bilateral damage to the facial nerve is always observed. Accompanied by a rise in temperature, erythema and widespread neurological symptoms.

  • Neuritis with otitis media

Symptoms of neuritis of the facial nerve in this case are accompanied by pain in the ear area, which is acute. An infection from the middle ear contacts the branches of the facial nerve.

  • Melkerson-Rosenthal syndrome

This is a hereditary disease, which is quite rare, and is characterized by a paroxysmal course. During an exacerbation, swelling of the face, neuritis of the facial nerve and folding of the tongue are observed.

Clinical picture of the disease - symptoms of neuritis

1 smooth forehead

2 impossible to close the eyelid

3. drooping corner of the mouth

4. facial nerves

Facial neuritis develops slowly.

  • At first, only pain behind the ear may appear.
  • After a few days, facial asymmetry appears. In this case, there is a smoothing of the nasolabial fold on the affected side, and drooping of the corner of the mouth.
  • Also, the patient cannot close the eyelids on the same side, and when trying to do this, Bell’s symptom appears - the eyeball turns upward.
  • The patient cannot bare his teeth, smile, raise his eyebrows, close his eyes, or make his lips appear like a tube.
  • On the affected side, the eyelids are wide open, the eyeball seems to be pushed forward (lagophthalmos). The symptom of a “hare’s eye” is always present - a white strip of sclera is visible between the iris and the lower eyelid.

Since the facial nerve has several bundles that provide sensory innervation, the following symptoms may occur:

  • loss of taste sensitivity in the anterior third of the tongue
  • salivation
  • dry eye or, conversely, lacrimation
  • Some patients exhibit an interesting feature. Dry eyes cause tearing when eating
  • A number of patients experience hyperacusis - ordinary sounds seem loud and too harsh to them

Diagnosis of facial neuritis

As a rule, the clinical picture of the disease allows an immediate, unmistakable diagnosis to be made. Additionally, electromyography, evoked potentials, or magnetic resonance imaging may be prescribed to identify the underlying disease that could cause the development of facial neuritis (tumor, inflammatory process).

During a neurological examination, the patient is asked:

  • close your eyes
  • raise your eyebrows
  • smile or bare teeth
  • and also depict blowing out a candle

With all these tests, facial asymmetry and the inability to fully perform these actions are observed. Sensitivity in the anterior third of the tongue is also examined by tingling this area. Observe whether there is tearing or dryness of the eye, which helps determine the level of nerve damage.

Treatment methods for facial neuritis

There are several important points regarding how to treat facial neuritis. If it is determined that secondary facial neuritis occurs, treatment begins with the underlying disease that caused the pathology of the facial nerves.

Treatment of neuritis is not limited to drugs; many other auxiliary methods are used, including physiotherapy, massage, gymnastics, acupuncture and other non-drug methods.

Massage and self-massage

Massage for neuritis of the facial nerves can be performed by both a specialist and the patient himself. In the second case, you should know exactly how to do it. Below is a technique for performing self-massage for this disease.

  • Place your hands on the areas of your face located in front of the ear. Massage and pull the muscles on the healthy half of the face down, and on the affected side – up.
  • Close eyes. Use your fingers to massage the orbicularis oculi muscle. On the healthy side, the movement should go from above, outwards and downwards, and on the affected side, from below up and from the inside outwards.
  • Place your index fingers on both sides of your nose. On the healthy side, stroke from top to bottom, and on the affected side, vice versa.
  • Use your fingers to smooth out the muscles in the area of ​​the corners of the lips. On the healthy side, from the nasolabial fold to the chin, and on the affected side, from the chin to the nasolabial fold.
  • Massage the muscles above the eyebrows in different directions. On the healthy side to the bridge of the nose and down, on the affected side - to the bridge of the nose and up.
Acupuncture

With neuritis of the facial nerve, rehabilitation can be lengthy and often a similar treatment method is used to achieve the fastest possible effect.

Not all doctors are proficient in this method; only a specially trained doctor can perform acupuncture. In this case, sterile thin needles are inserted into certain reflexogenic points on the face, which allow irritation of the nerve fibers. According to numerous studies in Asia and European countries, this method has proven itself to be excellent in the treatment of this pathology.

Physiotherapy

Gymnastics for facial neuritis is done several times a day for 20-30 minutes. It should be done in front of a mirror, concentrating on the work of the facial muscles of the affected side. When performing exercises, it is necessary to hold the muscles on the healthy half of the face with your hand, since otherwise they can “pull” the entire load onto themselves.

A set of exercises for facial neuritis
  • Close your eyes tightly for 10-15 seconds.
  • Raise your upper eyelids and eyebrows up as much as possible and hold the position for a few seconds.
  • Slowly frown your eyebrows and hold this position for a few seconds.
  • Try to slowly inflate the wings of your nose.
  • Slowly inhale air through your nose, while placing your fingers on the wings of your nose and pressing on them, resisting the air flow.
  • Smile as widely as possible, try to make your molars visible when smiling.
  • Smile widely with your mouth closed and lips closed, making the sound “i”.
  • Place a small walnut behind the cheek on the affected side and try to talk like that.
  • Puff out your cheeks and hold your breath for 15 seconds.
  • Curl your tongue, cover your lips, and slowly inhale and exhale through your mouth.
  • Move your tongue between your cheek and teeth in a circle.
Surgery

If there is no effect within 10 months from the start of conservative treatment, then autotransplantation has to be done. Typically, a nerve is taken from the patient's leg and sutured to the branches of the facial nerve on the healthy side, and the other end is sutured to the muscles on the affected side. Thus, the resulting nerve impulse causes the facial muscles to contract on both sides simultaneously. This treatment method is carried out no later than one year from the onset of the disease. Later, irreversible atrophy of the facial muscles on the affected side occurs.

Treatment with folk remedies

Folk remedies for facial neuritis are not very effective and can lead to worsening of the condition and prolong the disease. Some people use chamomile decoction compresses, dry heat, or rubbing ointments with herbal extracts. All these methods are practically ineffective, so you need to consult a doctor for help.

Prognosis and prevention

In most cases, with adequate treatment, the disease is completely cured. In some cases, there may be consequences in the form of poor facial expressions on the affected side. If there is no effect of treatment after 3 months, the likelihood of complete recovery decreases sharply.

Prevention of the disease includes two main ways to prevent this disease:

  • Avoid hypothermia and drafts
  • Timely and adequate treatment of inflammatory processes in the ear and nasopharynx

Treatment of facial paralysis with folk remedies

Treatment of facial paralysis with elderberries

The facial nerve communicates with arteries and nerve plexuses. Many nerve plexuses from the ear canal, temporal artery, oral cavity, back of the head, and so on go to the facial nerve. Often it is women who suffer from facial nerve disease in adulthood. This disease occurs suddenly. Just one day you may feel severe pain on the side of your face in the area of ​​the facial nerve. You can apply ice for the first time, the pain will subside, but in any case it will return to you again and again. And this pain will appear more and more often.

Japanese Shiatsu massage

Shiatsu massage is a good folk method for treating the facial nerve. It relieves heat and fatigue from facial nerves without having to buy or drink anything. There are eight points on the face and neck that should be rubbed with pieces of ice in order to remove heat from the main points of the nerve branches. Wear gloves before wiping ice on your face. Massage the points in order.

The first point is located above the eyebrow.

The second point is located above the eye.

The third point is located under the cheekbone.

The fourth point is where the wing of the nose is, on the edge.

The fifth point is between the lower lip and chin.

The sixth point is located at the temples.

The seventh is the point located in front of the ear.

And the last - the eighth point - on the neck, more precisely, on its back side

Massaging the neck on both sides of the spine, you need to go lower and make rotational movements with ice. At the last, eighth point, stop for ten seconds. And don’t forget that each point takes the same amount of time on average. After you have done the ice massage, you need to take off your gloves and touch the cooled points with warm hands. And then massage each point again with ice while wearing gloves for ten seconds. And warm up these points again. This needs to be done about three times - and then you will feel relief, since it is the sharp changes from cold to warmth that help get rid of pain.

- Inaccurate recipe? — write to us about it, we will definitely clarify it from the original source!

FACIAL NERVE DAMAGE

manifested by paralysis of facial muscles (prosopoplegia). Peripheral facial paralysis can develop alone or in combination with other lesions of the nervous system.

Isolated paralysis in the vast majority of cases is unilateral, but can also be bilateral. Unilateral paralysis most often occurs in the form of the so-called Bell's palsy, the cause of which may be a syndrome caused by compression of the facial nerve in the narrow facial (fallopian) canal, leading to ischemia of the nerve. Facial nerve paralysis sometimes develops with a viral infection, otitis media, fracture of the base of the skull, mumps, and hypertensive crisis.

Symptoms The main manifestation of the disease is a sudden distortion of the face, poor closure of the palpebral fissure and food getting stuck between the gum and cheek when chewing. On the affected side, the nasolabial fold is smoothed, the corner of the mouth is lowered, and saliva flows from it. The eyelids on the side of the paralysis are open due to paresis of the orbicularis oculi muscle. The frontal folds on the affected side are smoothed, the eyebrow does not rise. These symptoms are especially noticeable when the patient performs voluntary movements - frowning eyebrows, closing eyes and baring teeth. Damage to the facial nerve in the area of ​​the facial canal is often accompanied by a taste disturbance in the anterior 2/3 of the tongue and hyperacusis; with high damage to the nerve at the entrance to the bony canal, there is no lacrimation.

The differential diagnosis of peripheral paralysis of the facial muscles caused by damage to the facial nerve should be made with central type paralysis, in which only the lower half of the face is affected (the nasolabial fold is smoothed) and the function of the upper part of the facial muscles is preserved. As a rule, central facial paralysis is combined with hemiparesis or hemiplegia.

In peripheral paralysis of the facial nerve caused by chronic mesotympanitis, purulent discharge from the ear is characteristic. Prosopoplegia can develop as a result of ischemia of the brain stem involving the nucleus of the facial nerve.

Peripheral paralysis of the facial nerve is usually observed with tumors of the cerebellopontine angle, with signs of damage to the auditory, trigeminal nerves and cerebellum developing. Bilateral paralysis of the facial nerve is observed in sarcoidosis. Paralysis of the facial nerve with a fracture of the base of the skull is usually combined with damage to the auditory nerve, bleeding from the ear or nose, bruising around the eyes and liquorrhea.

Urgent Care. Prednisolone - 60 mg/day orally for a week or methylprednisolone - 500 mg/day intravenously for 3-5 days with a transition to prednisolone, starting from 60-80 mg, and subsequent (within a week) dose reduction; lasix - 20-40 mg orally, pentoxifylline orally or intravenously, rheopolyglucin intravenously - 400 ml for 3-4 days, for dry eyes - moisturizers

Hospitalization may be determined by the severity of the underlying disease.

GAZE PARALYSIS is manifested by a violation of the voluntary movements of the eyeballs. Associated with damage to certain parts of the brain. Impaired cerebral circulation and brain tumors are the most common causes. When the pathological focus is localized in the cerebral cortex, “the patient looks at the focus,” with brain stem localization, “at the paralyzed limbs.” Upward gaze palsy occurs when the midbrain is damaged.

PTOSIS - partial or complete drooping of the upper eyelid. Can be unilateral or bilateral. The most common causes of ptosis are cerebral circulation disorders in the area of ​​the cerebral peduncles (Weber syndrome - ptosis on the side of the lesion and hemiparesis of the limbs on the opposite side), aneurysm of the arterial circle of the brain, subarachnoid hemorrhage, meningitis, botulism, diabetes mellitus , ophthalmoplegic migraine, myasthenia gravis and myopathy.

Emergency care and hospitalization for gaze paralysis and ptosis are determined by the nature of the underlying disease.

The diagnosis is written on the face of such patients.

  • The forehead does not wrinkle.
  • The eyebrow does not rise or move.
  • The eye does not close, a white stripe of the sclera is visible.
  • The corner of the mouth is fixed like a question mark lying horizontally.
  • Moreover, tears flow from the eyes by themselves.

The movements of the facial muscles of both halves of the face are controlled by the facial nerves. Each of them passes through the temporal bone from the brain stem through a special canal and exits the cranial cavity behind the earlobes through the stylomastoid foramen. Penetrates the parotid salivary gland and bifurcates. One part ends in the facial muscles of the upper half, and the other in the same muscles of the lower half of the face.

They differ in that they are not attached through tendons and joints to two different bones. At one end, the facial muscles are connected to the bones of the facial skeleton, and at the opposite end they are intertwined with other facial muscles. They are thin and gentle, and the movements (facial expressions) produced by them are complex and varied. It is with their help that our emotions are conveyed - anger, rage, contempt, sympathy, tenderness, compassion.

There are several main facial muscles. The orbicularis oculi muscle is responsible for everything from blinking to squinting the eye. The zygomaticus major pulls the corner of the mouth upward, the subcutaneous muscle of the neck - downward. Thanks to the occipitofrontal muscle, the eyebrow rises and the forehead wrinkles.

Causes of the disease

There are many causes of facial nerve damage:

  • injury to the temporal bone or tumor of the auditory nerve (it runs nearby inside the brain),
  • intoxication in diabetes mellitus...
  • But the most common is unilateral hypothermia of the face. Hence the full name of the disease - “cold paralysis of the facial muscles.”

Among these “facial distortions” there are also typical ones. One of them is even called “railway”. Remember: “I keep looking, I keep looking out the carriage window, I just can’t get enough of it...”? I especially want to expose my head to the breeze when it’s hot. And such a passenger gets off at the final station often with a very “strange” expression on his face.

  • Paralysis of a new resident is also associated with hypothermia. When making repairs, a person creates a draft in the apartment, imperceptibly but strongly affecting one half of the head, especially the “weak” place - the parotid area.
  • Washing with ice water in hot weather is also extremely dangerous.

And in cold weather the risk is no less. Usually this is long work in a poorly heated room or near a window from which it is blowing, a long stay in one position in one place without a headdress, when the icy wind is directed at one half of the head.

Isn’t it true that it’s easy to avoid illness? But how many future victims of a dangerous disease are walking around bareheaded, blown by the icy December or January wind? You won't count!

Prolonged and sudden hypothermia of the facial skin and subcutaneous tissue transmitted to the adjacent temporal bone. It contains the facial nerve in a long, narrow, winding canal. The mucous membrane of the canal becomes inflamed, swollen, and blood flow in the vessels passing next to the nerve is hampered, which is compressed and ceases to conduct impulses that control the movement of the facial muscles.

Because one side is usually hypothermic, the paralysis is usually one-sided. It begins, like any inflammation, with a high temperature and is accompanied by severe pain.

The facial nerve also includes a small group of fibers that control the secretion of saliva and tear fluid, which influence the perception of sound tone. Therefore, paralysis of the facial muscles is often accompanied by severe lacrimation of one eye, dry mucous membranes, and changes in hearing.

A little test

Facial paralysis does not develop in everyone, but only in those predisposed to it. If the canal of the facial nerve in the temporal bone is narrow and long, the risk of developing paralysis is high; if it is wide, the danger is much less. This can be determined using an x-ray of the temporal bone pyramid or computed tomography. It is clear that a healthy person seems to have no need to do such complex research.

And yet there is a special test that can, to some extent, indicate good or weakened facial nerve function. Try to close your right eye first and then your left eye. If this can be done easily, the function of the facial nerve is quite preserved, and its damage is possible to a lesser extent than in those who cannot perform such an exercise. Although, as you understand, there is no absolute guarantee in this case either.

How to treat?

It’s easy to get sick, but treatment... takes a long time, meticulously. When prescribing anti-inflammatory, decongestant drugs and drugs that improve nerve conduction, the doctor tries to take into account the individual characteristics and concomitant diseases of the patient. However, all this is not enough; special gymnastics is also needed. Moreover, success is predetermined by the energy and determination of the patient, his desire to actively cope with the disease.
Gymnastics are prescribed 10-12 days after the onset of the disease. It includes positional treatment, passive and active movements.

Treatment by position allows you to restore the symmetry of the face by bringing together its “separated” muscles using an adhesive plaster. They need to tighten the muscles every day for 2-4 weeks and keep the patch on for 1-1.5 hours.

Special gymnastics

At the same time it is necessary passive gymnastics in front of the mirror.
Place your index finger on the motor point of the corresponding muscle and very slowly reproduce its normal physiological movement for 10-15 minutes. For example, for the frontalis muscle, this point is located above the middle of the eyebrow by the thickness of two fingers. The same is done with the motor points of other facial muscles - at the inner corner of the eyebrow; at the wing of the nose; at the intersection of a line drawn horizontally from the nostril to the nasolabial fold; at the corner of the mouth; at the chin.

Active gymnastics begins only with the appearance of small voluntary muscle movements. It is also done in front of a mirror every day for 10-15 minutes, 2 times a day. If the volume of independent movements is insufficient, you need to help yourself with your fingers, as in passive gymnastics.

Basic techniques:

  • raise your eyebrows;
  • frown;
  • close the eye on the side of paralysis (the lower eyelid is raised with the help of the index finger lying on the zygomatic arch);
  • squint an eye;
  • extend your lips to whistle, holding the corner of your mouth in the right place with your fingers;
  • puff out your cheeks, holding the corner of your mouth with your fingers;
  • puff out your cheeks without holding the corner of your mouth with your fingers;
  • roll the air bubble behind the cheeks;
  • suck in the cheeks;
  • alternately pull the corners of the mouth up and down;
  • lower your lower lip, exposing your teeth;
  • raise the upper lip, exposing the teeth;
  • smile with your mouth open and closed;
  • pronounce the sounds “O-I-U-P-F-V” and the sound combination “OH-FU-FI” without holding your lips with your fingers.

Prescribed simultaneously with gymnastics massage- on both halves of the face symmetrically. But only a massage therapist with special education can do it. After 10-12 days, paralysis of the facial nerve often takes a chronic form with contracture (spasm) of the facial muscles. This complication occurs, paradoxically, more often not with severe paralysis, but with minor or moderate muscle disorders. This is why an amateur massage therapist can do more harm than help.

Treatment of this disease is long-term, multi-stage and painstaking; the disease does not always respond on the first try. Relapses are possible, and therefore do not forget that it is much easier to prevent than to treat.

In his practice, the dentist often observes patients with various lesions of the facial nerve. More often, neuropathies of various etiologies are observed without damaging the integrity of the nerve and traumatic lesions with damage to it, which result in movement disorders in the form of paresis or paralysis of facial muscles.

Primary neuropathy of the facial nerve usually occurs due to diseases such as tonsillitis, influenza, etc. Isolated lesions of the facial nerve can be observed in diabetes. Often the process in the nerve develops as a result of arachnoiditis, multiple sclerosis, purulent inflammation of the middle ear, etc.

There are ischemic, infectious (otogenic), traumatic paralysis (prosoparesis).

The number of idiopathic prosoparesis of unknown etiology, differing in seasonality of development (autumn or winter), is quite large.

Despite the polyetiology of lesions of the facial nerve, it is recognized that the basis of the disease is vascular changes and nutritional disorders. The latter leads to compression of the nerve in a narrow bone canal. In some cases, compression occurs due to congenital narrowing of the canal.

Clinical picture. The patient's functions of all facial muscles and general sensitivity are impaired on the corresponding half of the face. Vegetative-vascular disorders are observed: injection of the conjunctiva, different colors of the skin and mucous membrane, a decrease in the temperature of the latter on the affected side. The lip fold is smoothed, the corner of the mouth is lowered, and saliva flows out of it, the natural furrows of the face - wrinkles - disappear; the palpebral fissure is widened and sometimes gapes. These phenomena are sometimes accompanied by taste disturbances, increased lacrimation or dry eyes. Sometimes paresis is preceded by pain. The disease is often accompanied by impaired sensitivity on the face and in the area behind the ear. The severity of various symptoms depends on the location of the lesion of the facial nerve.

Pathognomonic is Bell's symptom: when the patient tries to close his eyes, the eyelids on the affected side do not close, and through the gaping palpebral fissure one can see that the eyeball is displaced upward; in this case, only the sclera remains visible. This syndrome is physiological, but in healthy people it is not visible due to the complete closure of the eyelids.

In case of paralysis of facial muscles, there are three variants of Bell's symptom:

    the eyeball deviates upward and slightly outward (most common);

    the eyeball deviates upward and significantly outward;

    the eyeball deviates in one of the following ways - upward and inward; only inwards; only outward; up, and then oscillates like a pendulum; very slowly outward or inward.

Diagnosis. When establishing a diagnosis, it is necessary to substantiate movement disorders and determine the peripheral and central genesis of the syndrome.

Paralysis of facial muscles is differentiated from facial hemispasm and paraspasm, which have a variety of accompanying symptoms.

Treatment. In complex treatment, the main thing is to eliminate the underlying disease that caused damage to the facial nerve. It should include anti-inflammatory, desensitizing, restorative and stimulating therapy. In the first days of the disease, antipyretics and painkillers (amidopyrine, analgin, acetylsalicylic acid), antibiotics and other anti-inflammatory drugs are prescribed. B vitamins and anticholinesterase drugs are recommended: prozerin orally 0.015 g 3 times a day and by injection under the skin daily 1 ml of 0.05% solution, nivalin 1 ml of 0.25-0.5% solution, galantamine 1 ml 1% solution, a total of 20-30 injections per course. Biogenic stimulants are also prescribed. It is recommended to include glucocorticoid therapy according to the regimen (V.A. Karlov) in complex treatment.

In the first days of the disease, blockades using an anesthetic around the stylomastoid foramen, hydrocortisone electrophoresis, or subcutaneous blockades with this drug have a good effect. Dry heat, paraffin, bandages with a 33% solution of dimexide, as well as their combinations with a 2% solution of novocaine or nicotinic acid are used locally. After 5-6 days, galvanization with calcium chloride and salicylates and short-wave diathermy are indicated. They recommend acupuncture, light massage, exercise therapy, as well as electrical stimulation of the affected facial muscles.

In cases of persistent irreversible paralysis of the facial muscles, surgical treatment is indicated. It is divided into static and kinetic suspension of sagging tissues and restoration of muscle function. To create collateral innervation to the affected muscles, the ends of the affected nerve are sutured to another nerve (for example, accessory, phrenic, or hypoglossal). They also perform neuromuscular plasty, i.e. suturing a nerve into a paralyzed muscle, as well as muscle plasty - suturing a paralyzed muscle with an unaffected muscle taken nearby (myoplasty according to the method of Mukhin, Naumov, myoplasty and blephoplasty according to the methods of Mukhin and Bulatovskaya , myoexplantodermoplasty according to Mukhin-Vernadsky).

Currently, for paralysis of the facial muscles, the method of kinetic suspension of the lowered soft tissues to the coronoid process of the jaw branch according to M. E. Yagizarov and muscle plasticity by splitting the masticatory muscle at the site of its attachment to the lower jaw and suturing its part in the form of a leg to the lowered corner are more often used mouth or by cutting off the entire masticatory muscle from its attachment point in the area of ​​the angle of the lower jaw and transplanting it to the area of ​​the angle of the mouth (P.V. Naumov).

For myoplasty of the corner of the mouth, the sternocleidomastoid and temporal muscles will be used.

To reduce the orbital fissure (lashphthalmos), a canteraphy operation is used, in which the lateral sections of the upper and lower eyelids are sutured, as well as scleroblepharorrhaphy (M. E. Yagizarov).

  • Inability to stretch lips into a tube
  • Inability to wrinkle forehead
  • Inability to completely close eyelids
  • Unnaturally wide eye
  • Hearing enhancement
  • Drooping of the upper eyelid
  • Drooping corner of the mouth
  • Open mouth
  • Smoothing the nasolabial fold
  • Smoothing forehead wrinkles
  • Facial nerve paresis is a disease of the nervous system characterized by impaired functioning of the facial muscles. As a rule, a unilateral lesion is observed, but total paresis is not excluded. The pathogenesis of the disease is based on a disruption in the transmission of nerve impulses due to trauma to the trigeminal nerve. The main symptom indicating the progression of facial nerve paresis is facial asymmetry or the complete absence of motor activity of muscle structures on the side of the lesion.

    The most common cause of paresis is an infectious disease that affects the upper airways. But in fact, there are much more reasons that can provoke nerve paresis. This pathology can be eliminated if you contact a medical facility in a timely manner and undergo a full course of treatment, including drug therapy, massage, and physiotherapy.

    Facial nerve paresis is a disease that is not uncommon. Medical statistics are such that it is diagnosed in approximately 20 people out of 100 thousand people. More often it progresses in people over 40 years of age. Pathology has no restrictions regarding gender. It affects both men and women with equal frequency. Trigeminal nerve palsy is often detected in newborns.

    The main task of the trigeminal nerve is to innervate the muscle structures of the face. If it is injured, nerve impulses cannot fully travel along the nerve fiber. As a result, muscle structures weaken and cannot fully perform their functions. The trigeminal nerve also innervates the lacrimal and salivary glands, sensory fibers of the epidermis on the face and taste buds located on the surface of the tongue. If the nerve fiber is damaged, all of these elements cease to function normally.

    Etiology

    Paresis of the facial nerve can act in two qualities - an independent nosological unit, and a symptom of a pathology already progressing in the human body. The reasons for the progression of the disease are different, therefore, based on them, it is classified into:

    • idiopathic lesion;
    • secondary damage (progressing due to trauma or inflammation).

    The most common cause of nerve fiber paresis in the facial area is severe hypothermia of the head and parotid area. But the following reasons can also provoke the disease:

    • pathogenic activity of the virus;
    • respiratory pathologies of the upper airways;
    • head injuries of varying severity;
    • damage to the nerve fiber;
    • damage to the nerve fiber during surgery in the facial area;

    Another reason that can provoke paresis is a violation of blood circulation in the facial area. This is often observed with the following ailments:

    The trigeminal nerve is often damaged during various dental procedures. For example, tooth extraction, root apex resection, opening of abscesses, root canal treatment.

    Varieties

    Clinicians distinguish three types of trigeminal nerve paresis:

    • peripheral. This is the type that is diagnosed most often. It can manifest itself in both an adult and a child. The first symptom of peripheral paresis is severe pain behind the ears. As a rule, it appears on one side of the head. If you palpate the muscle structures at this time, you can identify their weakness. The peripheral form of the disease is usually a consequence of the progression of inflammatory processes that provoke swelling of the nerve fiber. As a result, nerve impulses sent by the brain cannot fully pass through the face. In the medical literature, peripheral paralysis is also called Bell's palsy;
    • central. This form of the disease is diagnosed somewhat less frequently than the peripheral one. It is very severe and difficult to treat. It can develop in both adults and children. With central paresis, atrophy of the muscle structures on the face is observed, as a result of which everything that is localized below the nose sags. The pathological process does not affect the forehead and visual apparatus. It is noteworthy that as a result of this the patient does not lose his ability to distinguish taste. During palpation, it can be noted that the muscles are under strong tension. Central paresis does not always manifest itself unilaterally. Bilateral damage is also possible. The main reason for the progression of the disease is damage to neurons located in the brain;
    • congenital. Trigeminal nerve palsy in newborns is rarely diagnosed. If the pathology is mild or moderate in severity, then doctors prescribe massage and gymnastics for the child. Massage of the facial area will help normalize the functioning of the affected nerve fiber, and also normalize blood circulation in this area. In severe cases, massage is not an effective treatment method, so doctors resort to surgical intervention. Only this method of treatment will restore innervation to the facial area.

    Degrees

    Doctors divide the severity of trigeminal nerve paresis into three degrees:

    • light. In this case, the symptoms are mild. A slight distortion of the mouth may occur on the side where the lesion is localized. A sick person must make an effort to frown or close his eyes;
    • average. A characteristic symptom is lagophthalmos. A person can practically not move the muscles in the upper part of the face. If you ask him to move his lips or puff out his cheeks, he will not be able to do this;
    • heavy. The asymmetry of the face is very pronounced. Characteristic symptoms are that the mouth is severely distorted, the eye on the affected side practically cannot close.

    Symptoms

    The severity of symptoms directly depends on the type of lesion, as well as on the severity of the pathological process:

    • smoothing the nasolabial fold;
    • drooping corner of the mouth;
    • the eye on the affected side may be unnaturally wide open. Lagophthalmos is also observed;
    • water and food flows out of the slightly open half of the mouth;
    • a sick person cannot wrinkle his forehead much;
    • a characteristic symptom is deterioration or complete loss of taste;
    • auditory function may become somewhat worse in the first few days of pathology progression. This causes great discomfort to the patient;
    • lacrimation. This symptom manifests itself especially clearly during meals;
    • the patient cannot pull the lip into a “tube”;
    • pain syndrome localized behind the ear.

    Diagnostics

    A doctor’s pathology clinic usually leaves no doubt that the patient’s trigeminal nerve paresis is progressing. In order to exclude pathologies of the ENT organs, the patient may additionally be referred for a consultation with an otolaryngologist. If the cause of such symptoms cannot be clarified, then the following diagnostic techniques may be additionally prescribed:

    • head scan;
    • electromyography.

    Therapeutic measures

    This disease must be treated as soon as the diagnosis has been made. Timely and complete treatment is the key to restoring the functioning of the nerve fibers of the facial area. If the disease is neglected, the consequences can be disastrous.

    Treatment of paresis should only be comprehensive and include:

    • eliminating the factor that provoked the disease;
    • drug treatment;
    • physiotherapeutic procedures;
    • massage;
    • surgical intervention (in severe cases).

    Drug treatment of paresis involves the use of the following pharmaceuticals:

    • analgesics;
    • decongestants;
    • vitamin and mineral complexes;
    • corticosteroids. Prescribe with caution if the pathology progresses in the child;
    • vasodilators;
    • artificial tears;
    • sedatives.

    Physiotherapeutic treatment:

    • Sollux lamp;
    • paraffin therapy;
    • phonophoresis.

    Massage for paresis is prescribed to everyone - from newborns to adults. This method of treatment produces the most positive results in cases of mild to moderate damage. Massage helps restore the functioning of muscle structures. Sessions are carried out a week after the onset of paresis progression. It is worth considering that massage has specific features, so it should be entrusted only to a highly qualified specialist.

    Massage technique:

    • warming up the neck muscles - you should bend your head;
    • massage begins with the neck and back of the head;
    • You should massage not only the sore side, but also the healthy one;
    • an important condition for a quality massage is that all movements should be carried out along the lines of lymph outflow;
    • if the muscle structures are very painful, then the massage should be superficial and light;
    • It is not recommended to massage the localization of lymph nodes.

    Pathology should be treated only in a hospital setting. Only in this way will doctors have the opportunity to monitor the patient’s condition and observe if there are positive dynamics from the chosen treatment tactics. If necessary, the treatment plan can be adjusted.

    Some people prefer traditional medicine, but it is not recommended to treat paresis in this way alone. They can be used as an adjunct to primary therapy, but not as individual therapy. Otherwise, the consequences of such treatment can be disastrous.

    Complications

    In case of untimely or incomplete therapy, the consequences may be as follows:

    • irreversible damage to the nerve fiber;
    • improper nerve restoration;
    • complete or partial blindness.


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