Bell's Palsy Knowledge Base

Is it better to sleep on the affected side of the face after facial palsy?

We were asked, "Is it true that sleeping on the affected side of the face is better?" In general, it does not matter whether you sleep on the side affected by facial palsy or on the healthy side. In most cases, there is no special need to prefer one side over the other. If you [...]

Why do I lack tears after facial palsy? What are crocodile tears?

Quite often after the acute facial palsy phase finishes and some complications and residual effects develop, you may still notice that your eye does not produce enough tears. Your eye may feel dry and irritated. Why does my eye feel dry after facial palsy? There are three possible reasons why your eye may remain dry [...]

Does an emotional state have any influence on Bell’s palsy?

In this post, we would like to add another short commentary on how the emotional state can influence the manifestations of your complications and residuals after long-standing facial palsy. We received the following question: "When I feel stressed, my eye closes on its own. Does an emotional state have that much influence on Bell's palsy?" [...]

What is the role of stress in Bell’s palsy and its recovery?

When it comes to facial palsy and its recovery, stress can play a very important role. Continuous stress can affect our bodies in multiple ways. Most of us know or have experienced, that stress has a strong impact on our nervous system, which in turn affects many functions in our bodies. Let's take a look [...]

What is the atonicity of facial muscles? Can it be reversed?

In our previous post, we discussed whether a long-standing facial palsy can lead to atrophy of facial muscles. In that video, Alex Pashov explained why a facial palsy sufferer should not be concerned about the risk of facial muscles’ atrophy. To explore this topic further, in this week's post we discuss the atonicity of facial [...]

Can long-standing facial palsy lead to the atrophy of facial muscles?

Does the atrophy of facial muscles happen? In many sources, also in medical sources, it is mentioned that the facial muscles will suffer atrophy if the innervation is not reinstated within a year. This often makes the facial palsy patients very nervous and anxious, sometimes even desperate. This desperation can push them to go for [...]

“What we can measure, we can manage!”

Learn about how we objectively measure the recovery level of the nerve and the extent of synkinesis.

Electrical Stimulation – could it be a shortcut to synkinesis?

During one of our webinars, we received a question if ES - Electrical Stimulation - can be detrimental to the conductivity of the facial nerve? Electrical Stimulation can increase the manifestation of synkinesis While Electrical Stimulation may not be detrimental to the conductivity of the facial nerve, it can make your synkinesis more pronounced. There [...]