Facial neuritis is a disease that is associated with pathology of the facial nerve. This nerve is the seventh cranial nerve. He is responsible for facial expressions, as well as for the movements of the lips and eyelids.
Facial neuritis, as a rule, occurs completely unexpectedly. The entire half of the face innervated by the nerve is affected. The cause of this disease is still not exactly established. It is believed that some viral diseases lead to it.
The development of the disease occurs within forty-eight hours. In some cases, patients experience pain behind the ear.
Neuritis of the facial nerve leads to the fact that a person cannot close his eye, which is on the affected side. In some cases, the eyelid turns out. On the affected side, everything hangs, the patient loses the ability to move the muscles of the face. The patient cannot close his eyes, they are constantly open, which means that drying begins. This leads to conjunctivitis and even keratitis.
Neuritis of the facial nerve leads to a loss of taste, dry mouth.
What are the reasons
There are several reasons:
- toxic effects. These include alcohol abuse, carbon monoxide poisoning, and so on;
- injury;
- infection of the face or ear;
- various diseases of the nervous system ;
- metabolic diseases.
How to identify a disease
For diagnosis, many different tools are used. It is needed in order to determine the exact causes of the disease. In the future, this will help you choose the right treatment.
For diagnosis it is applied:
- balance test;
- a tear test (the ability to produce tears can indicate a lot);
- ear research (auditory nerve is evaluated);
- taste test;
- electrical goals (nerve stimulation by electric current);
- radiation diagnostics.
Facial Neuropathy Treatment
Basically, the success of treatment depends on why the disease arose.
Today, facial neuropathy is most often treated with corticosteroids. In the event that the virus was the cause of the disease, the doctor prescribes antiviral agents. For example, "Acyclovir". Relief in this case will come in about five days. After him, the patient will be treated with corticosteroids.
Physiotherapeutic methods of treatment are popular. They are used quite often, although the benefits from them are not so great.
Facial neuritis can also be treated surgically. With it, decompression is performed, that is, the release of the facial nerve. This method is controversial. As a rule, it is used in the first stage of the disease.
Eye protection
As mentioned above, for one reason or another, the eyes suffer from this disease . The cornea can dry out, and this bodes a lot of trouble. To protect the eyes, it is recommended to wear special glasses that can protect from dust. It is also recommended to constantly close your eyes, use drops and ointments.
Facial nerve recovery
The methods here may be used as follows:
- permutation of the nerve;
- muscle transplantation;
- microsurgical nerve repair;
- rearrangement of muscles.
In most cases, the patient can fully recover only after six months from the moment when treatment was started. Do not forget that it is important to reliably eliminate the underlying disease - the very one that caused neuritis of the optic nerve.
It is important to take good care of your eyes. Incorrect care will cause problems. This means that it is necessary to strictly observe all the recommendations of the doctor.
In some cases, serious complications can occur not only with the eyes. The disease can drag on for a long time, and treatment will last a lot of time.