Quote:
>A couple of days ago, the left side of my face felt numb. I went to the
>emergency room because I thought I may have had a stroke. I am 24 years
>old with no history of high {*filter*} pressure. The doctor diagnosed it as
>Bell's Palsy. He said that the paralysis would probably go away in a
>few weeks. My left eye will not close or even blink. Yesterday when I
>went for a check-up with my physician at my HMO, he could not tell me
>what caused this condition. Is Bell's palsy caused by stress or is it
>hereditary?
No. The cause is not generally known, although there is a higher
incidence of it in certain conditions like pregnancy or Lyme disease.
Quote:
>How long does it last?
Anywhere from several weeks to a year. In about 10% of cases it never
does clear up completely. If you note some improvement however slight
by 2 weeks, you are very likely to recover completely. There is no
treatment that has been proven to speed healing or make it more likely
to clear up completely. In some cases in which it is evident that it is
not going to clear up on its own, surgery, usually either a decompressive
or reinnervation procedure, may be offered.
Quote:
>Is this a prelude to a stroke?
No. It is completely unrelated.
David Nye, MD * Neurology Dept., Midelfort Clinic, Eau Claire, Wisconsin
Cigarette smoking kills 1 in 5 Americans. Almost half of those who
smoke die from it. Even {*filter*} and {*filter*} aren't that bad for you.
Bell's Palsy or Stroke