In the cool season, people often turn to neuropathologists with complaints of pain in the ear, difficult facial expressions, pain in the eye or temple. “Caught the facial nerve” - just such a phrase can be heard in the first place. Do not let the disease drift, as serious consequences are possible.
Caught facial nerve. 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, the temple). Nevertheless, most cases occur precisely with hypothermia. If a person has stiffened the facial nerve, then the following symptoms appear:
- numbness of one half of the face;
- difficult facial expressions (the eye does not open well, the eyebrow does not rise);
- aching eye pain (dull and monotonous);
- mild pain in the ear (while there is no discharge from it).
Alternative methods of treatment
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 media, or middle ear inflammation.
If a person has frozen his facial nerve, then the first thing that can ease the symptoms a bit is gymnastics. In some cases, this procedure is rather unpleasant and painful.
Exercise number 1. For eyebrows
Raise your eyebrows while standing in front of the mirror to see how the action happens. If the numbed half of the face does not respond, you can help with your fingers. Hold your eyebrows in this position for a few seconds (if possible, for a minute). Relax your muscles. Keep your eyebrows as if frowning. Repeat several times, kneading the facial muscles.
Exercise number 2. For eyes
Open your eyes as wide as possible, then close. Open them sharply. Repeat until this exercise is no longer causing discomfort. If a person has frozen his 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 squint at the same time. Repeat until numbness slightly subsides.
Exercise number 3. For lips
Fold your lips in a tube, slowly pull the air, also exhale slowly. Relax your mouth. Repeat exercise 5-10 times. Pull the lower jaw to the side where the nerve is blocked. Press your finger on the cheekbone. Return the jaw to its original position. Repeat 2-3 times. Do not press hard, because after the numbness subsides, the jaw can become sick.
To the effect of gymnastics was the most complete, rub a little fir oil in the painful side (you can buy in pharmacies). So facial expressions normalize faster. It will be useful to drink pink tea for a week or two. Brew the petals of a red or burgundy rose, add a little sugar to taste. Such tea leaves will have a calming effect on the entire nervous system, weaken the symptoms of the disease. At night, you can lay in the ear on the sore side of a leaf of geranium, which will relieve pain. In the complex, all these procedures very successfully help if the facial nerve is frozen. Symptoms, treatment, gymnastics - all this should be observed by a neuropathologist, since only he can track the dynamics of the disease. In some advanced cases, surgical intervention is required.
Possible complications
If you do not remove the symptoms in time, the ailment can provoke the following diseases:
- paralysis of the facial muscles (when the nucleus of the facial nerve is affected; the muscles are completely weakened);
- Hunt syndrome (rashes in the ear, sharp pains in the affected side);
- lagophthalmos ("hare eye", the eyelid does not fall to the end, as if the eye rolls back);
- trigeminal neuralgia (since all the facial nerves are connected, one inflamed nerve can “infect” the other).
If you have a severe facial nerve, treatment should be done only by a doctor. Self-medication can aggravate the situation, lead to undesirable consequences, turn out to be not only harmless, but simply dangerous. Be more attentive to your health, try not to be cold, wear a hat in cold weather. Remember that even one sharp gust of wind can provoke neuritis of the facial nerve.