Quite often, after the acute Bell’s 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 Bell’s palsy?
There are three possible reasons why your eye may remain dry after Bell’s palsy.
1. You blink less often or the blinking is not complete.
If your blinking is not complete. That means your eyelid does not close fully. Then, even if your eye is producing enough tears, it is not lubricated sufficiently. Your eye remains more exposed to the air, the wind, dust and other factors for a longer time than the healthy eye, that is blinking normally.
2. Your lacrimation gland might not function properly.
In our experience, this does not occur very often, but it is still possible. After Bell’s palsy, your lacrimal gland might have some irregularities in its functioning. You need professional help and guidance to make it better. With stimulation in the process of our rehabilitation, we can reasonably expect it to become better.
3. The muscle controlling your lacrimation sac might be contracted.
This is the third of the most probable reasons for your eye drying out after facial palsy. The opening and closure of the sac in your eye that contains tears is controlled by a very tiny muscle called the sphincter. It keeps the sac closed, and when we blink it relaxes, opening up the sac and releasing a drop of tears. It also opens wider if your eye is irritated from the wind, dust, air and other factors, or when you cry. After facial palsy, this tiny muscle may become contracted because it is also innervated by the facial nerve. So when you blink or when you want to cry, it cannot open wide enough to release a sufficient amount of tears out.
These are the three main reasons why your eye may lack tears after facial palsy. From the experience with our patients, we see that these irregularities can mostly be corrected. Besides experiencing the lack of tears, some of you might experience the opposite effect – excessive tearing.
What are the Crocodile Tears after Bell’s palsy?
Crocodile tears are the opposite extremity to the dry eye – the excessive release of tears experienced when eating or speaking. From our experience, this phenomenon can be treated in almost all cases and within a reasonably short time. Normally, within two, maximum of three visits, we are able to get rid of crocodile tears.
We had one patient, who had been suffering from crocodile tears. After the very first treatment, he was on his way home, on the train and was eating an apple. All of a sudden, he realized that his eye was not tearing any longer. He got so excited that he called us immediately from the train to share his happy news. This is just an example, it may not happen so quick in all cases, but it is possible to improve it.
If you are experiencing a lack of tears, dry eyes, excessive tears, as well as other complications and residuals, consider registering for our online consultation.
