In the cool season, people often turn to neurologists with complaints of earaches, difficult facial expressions, pain in the eye or temple. “Cold the facial nerve” - this is the phrase that can be heard in the first place. Do not let the disease take its course, as serious consequences are possible.
Facial nerve numb. Symptoms
Pain is not always associated with the fact that a person is cold. It often happens that the facial nerve becomes inflamed after diseases of the middle ear or after a strong blow to the head (in particular, to the temple). Nevertheless, most cases are due to hypothermia of the body. If a person has a cold of the facial nerve, then the following symptoms appear:
- numbness of one side of the face;
- difficult facial expressions (the eye does not open well, the eyebrow does not rise);
- aching pain in the eye (dull and monotonous);
- slight pain in the ear (with no discharge from it).
Folk treatments
Before relieving symptoms,you need to visit a neurologist who will make an accurate diagnosis. Often, the described symptoms indicate other diseases that are not associated with neuritis of the facial nerve. In some cases, this may indicate trigeminal neuralgia, early otitis, or inflammation of the middle ear.
If a person has a cold of the facial nerve, then the first thing that can slightly ease the symptoms is gymnastics. In some cases, this procedure is rather unpleasant and painful.
Exercise 1. For eyebrows
Raise your eyebrows in front of a mirror to see exactly how the action is going. If the numb half of the face does not give in, you can help with your fingers. Hold your eyebrows in this position for a few seconds (if possible, for a minute). Relax your muscles. Bring your eyebrows together as if you are frowning. Repeat several times, kneading the facial muscles.
Exercise 2. Eyes
Open your eyes as wide as possible, then close them. Open them up quickly. Repeat until this exercise stops causing discomfort. If a person has chilled the facial nerve for a long time, then another method will help. Take a mouthful of air, open your eyes wide. Squeeze your cheeks with your hands, trying not to exhale all the oxygen. Exhale sharply and close your eyes at the same time. Repeat until the numbness subsides a little.
Exercise 3. For lips
Pull your lips into a tube, slowly pull the air, and exhale slowly. Relax your mouth. Repeat the exercise 5-10 times. Push the lower jaw in the direction where it is coldnerve. Press your finger on your cheekbone. Return your jaw to its original position. Repeat 2-3 times. Do not apply too much pressure, because after the numbness subsides, the jaw may hurt.
To make the effect of gymnastics the most complete, rub a little fir oil into the painful side (you can buy it in pharmacies). So facial expressions normalize faster. It will also be useful to drink rose tea for a week or two. Brew the petals of a red or burgundy rose, add a little sugar to taste. Such brewing will have a calming effect on the entire nervous system, weaken the symptoms of the disease. At night, you can put geranium leaves in the ear on the affected side, which will relieve pain. In combination, all these procedures very successfully help if the facial nerve is numb. Symptoms, treatment, gymnastics - all this should be observed by a neurologist, since only he can track the dynamics of the disease. Some advanced cases require surgery.
Possible Complications
If the symptoms are not removed in time, the disease can provoke the following diseases:
- paralysis of the facial muscles (when the core of the facial nerve itself is affected; the muscles are completely weakened);
- Hunt's syndrome (rashes in the ear, sharp pains in the affected side);
- lagophthalmos ("hare eye", the eyelid does not go down to the end, the eye seems to roll back);
- trigeminal neuralgia (since all facial nerves are interconnected, one inflamed nerve can "infect" another).
If you have a constricted facial nerve, treatment should only be carried out by a doctor. Self-medication can aggravate the situation, lead to undesirable consequences, turn out to be not only not harmless, but simply dangerous. Be more attentive to your he alth, try not to overcool, wear a hat in cold weather. Remember that even one sharp gust of wind can provoke neuritis of the facial nerve.
