There are other treatments such as Botox injections and decompression surgery, that some suggest can alleviate long term symptoms such as synkenisis (remnants of facial paralysis or incorrect rejuvenation of the facial nerve resulting in movements that are contrary to what was intended).

A number of medical consultants hold the belief that there it

Bell's Palsy is a condition that can strike 1 in 60 of us at any time of life. In 93% of those 1 in 60, it will only ever happen once. In the unfortunate 7% it can recur at an average frequency of around 10 years.

It is usually a temporary condition causing paralysis of one side of the face. In around 1% of cases, including my own, it can strike both sides of the face at the same time (bilateral bell's palsy) and in no uncertain terms, truly "wipe the smile off your face".

In 50% of cases all of the paralysis will disappear within 3 months. In 20% this will take up to 6 months and in another 10% it may take up to a year to achieve a complete recovery.."And what becomes of the other 20%?" I hear the throng shout.

The healing of the seventh cranial nerve, also known as the facial nerve, can continue at the rate of about 0.5 - 1mm per day for up to around 18 months and some consultants would say up to 2 years.

After this time, it may be necessary to employ the services of a professional facial muscle trainer to "retrain" your facial muscles to work in their originally intended way.

There are other treatments such as Botox injections and decompression surgery, that some suggest can alleviate long term symptoms such as synkenisis (remnants of facial paralysis or incorrect rejuvenation of the facial nerve resulting in movements that are contrary to what was intended).

A number of medical consultants hold the belief that there it

It is usually a temporary condition causing paralysis of one side of the face. In around 1% of cases, including my own, it can strike both sides of the face at the same time (bilateral bell's palsy) and in no uncertain terms, truly "wipe the smile off your face".

In 50% of cases all of the paralysis will disappear within 3 months. In 20% this will take up to 6 months and in another 10% it may take up to a year to achieve a complete recovery.."And what becomes of the other 20%?" I hear the throng shout.

The healing of the seventh cranial nerve, also known as the facial nerve, can continue at the rate of about 0.5 - 1mm per day for up to around 18 months and some consultants would say up to 2 years.

After this time, it may be necessary to employ the services of a professional facial muscle trainer to "retrain" your facial muscles to work in their originally intended way.

There are other treatments such as Botox injections and decompression surgery, that some suggest can alleviate long term symptoms such as synkenisis (remnants of facial paralysis or incorrect rejuvenation of the facial nerve resulting in movements that are contrary to what was intended).

A number of medical consultants hold the belief that there it

In 50% of cases all of the paralysis will disappear within 3 months. In 20% this will take up to 6 months and in another 10% it may take up to a year to achieve a complete recovery.."And what becomes of the other 20%?" I hear the throng shout.

The healing of the seventh cranial nerve, also known as the facial nerve, can continue at the rate of about 0.5 - 1mm per day for up to around 18 months and some consultants would say up to 2 years.

After this time, it may be necessary to employ the services of a professional facial muscle trainer to "retrain" your facial muscles to work in their originally intended way.

There are other treatments such as Botox injections and decompression surgery, that some suggest can alleviate long term symptoms such as synkenisis (remnants of facial paralysis or incorrect rejuvenation of the facial nerve resulting in movements that are contrary to what was intended).

A number of medical consultants hold the belief that there it

After this time, it may be necessary to employ the services of a professional facial muscle trainer to "retrain" your facial muscles to work in their originally intended way.

There are other treatments such as Botox injections and decompression surgery, that some suggest can alleviate long term symptoms such as synkenisis (remnants of facial paralysis or incorrect rejuvenation of the facial nerve resulting in movements that are contrary to what was intended).

A number of medical consultants hold the belief that there it

There are other treatments such as Botox injections and decompression surgery, that some suggest can alleviate long term symptoms such as synkenisis (remnants of facial paralysis or incorrect rejuvenation of the facial nerve resulting in movements that are contrary to what was intended).

A number of medical consultants hold the belief that there it is an illness with no known cause. In fact there are over 50 different illnesses that can cause facial paralysis and it is only when these have been ruled out that a diagnosis of Bell's Palsy is comfortably arrived at.

The most prevalent medical belief however, is that it is the reactivation of the herpes simplex virus (HSV 1) that is the cause of the illness. This is not the sexually transmitted herpes, this is the one that gives you the odd cold sore.

It must also be said here that just because you get cold sores, that does not in any way whatsoever mean that you will get Bell's Palsy. Conversely, I had, and still have not, ever had a cold sore in my life and yet had bilateral Bell's Palsy. So, there is no more reason to worry about getting it than there is about losing another pound, dollar or euro on the weekly lottery.

The herpes simplex virus is seldom of any medical importance and as stated, is most commonly associated with cold sores. Your immune system usually cures it extremely well if ever it tries to show up.

Most of us do carry this virus around with us throughout our lives. 25% of people will never know they have it and never show any symptoms. 50% of people will have very mild symptoms at some point in life (not of Bell's Palsy) and 25% may be diagnosed with it upon showing some noticeable symptoms (but again, not Bell's Palsy).

When we initially contracted the virus through normal human contact as a child w