- anaesthetic awareness
- birth injury
- brain haemorrhage
- cancer misdiagnosis
- cauda equina syndrome
- cerebral palsy
- cosmetic surgery
- dental negligence
- gynaecology errors
- laparoscopy surgery
- medical negligence solicitors
- neonatal conditions
- obstetric cholestasis
- surgery negligence
- gastric band surgery
- prescription errors
Bell's Palsy - Medical Negligence Compensation
Thousands of clinical compensation claims are initiated every year in the United Kingdom by medical negligence solicitors on behalf of people from all walks of life. A multitude of operations and procedures are executed successfully however a small percentage do go wrong, laying the grounds for medical negligence solicitors to take legal action in order to claim compensation. Both legal aid and the no win no fee scheme are available to pursue medical negligence compensation claims.
Please contact us for help pursuing your claim.
Medical Negligence Compensation Claim Solicitors Helpline 0844 332 0095
Bell's palsy is a nerve disease in which the facial nerve becomes paralyzed on one side of your face due to an inflammation or swelling of the nerve. The face begins to droop and you have problems smiling on that side of your face and your eyelid does not want to close. Bell's palsy rarely happens in people under the age of 15 and over the age of 60 but can occur at any age.
Bell's palsy usually lasts for a few weeks and then gradually recovers by the time you reach six months out from onset of the disease. Ten percent of the sufferers will have recurrent disease, sometimes on the same side of the face and sometimes on the opposite side of the face. A few people will have permanent Bell's palsy.
Signs of Bell's palsy include the onset over a short period of time of paralysis of one side of the face. There is drooping of the face and you can't make facial expressions on that side of the face. There may be pain in the jaw or behind the ear on the affected side of the head an increased sensitivity of sound on the affected side of the head. You can have a headache or change in the amount of tears and saliva on one side of the body and a decreased ability to taste food. Rarely, both sides of the face can be affected at the same time.
Causes of Bell's palsy include being infected by the herpes simplex virus in the nerve. Herpes zoster or the shingles virus can cause nerve damage and Bell's palsy as can Epstein-Barr virus. Cytomegalovirus infections can affect the facial nerve. The facial nerve affects movement of the facial muscles, the production of tears, the saliva production and the sense of taste. A small bone in the middle ear cavity is also affected by the facial nerve, which is why hearing is affected.
Risk factors for Bell's palsy include being in the third trimester of pregnancy or who have just given birth. Having diabetes puts you at risk for getting Bell's palsy and an upper respiratory infection can put you at risk for getting the disease. There are rare cases of familial Bell's palsy in which recurrent attacks can occur in several family members.
Complications of Bell's palsy include having irreversible damage to the facial nerve or getting involuntary contraction of muscles of the facial muscles with odd connections of the nerve to new and different muscles upon healing from the nerve damage. You can also have damage to the eye because it won't close and this can cause partial blindness of the eye. Complete blindness is rare. The cornea can become scratched and scarred because the eye does not close properly.
The diagnosis of Bell's palsy is primarily a clinical one. The doctor will examine the function of the muscles of the face and will determine the sensation of the face and will be able to determine the ability of the face to function. Things like stroke, infections, tumors and Lyme disease can mimic Bell's palsy. For this reason, some other tests may need to be performed.
An EMG of the face can determine which parts of the nerve and face are affected. An EMG is an electromyogram that can determine the ability of the nerve to contract and to receive electrical signals. An x-ray, MRI or CT scan of the head can show if there are places where the nerve is abnormally pinched.
Recovery from Bell's palsy can happen without treatment but there are things the doctor can do to shorten the length of time you have Bell's palsy. This includes giving corticosteroids, including prednisone, which can shrink the inflammation of the nerve so it recovers faster and shrinks down to a normal size. Antiviral drugs can slow the ability of the virus to attack the nerve, especially if it is given quickly after the onset of the Bell's palsy. Corticosteroid drugs appear to work better than antiviral drugs.
Once you have Bell's palsy, you may need physical therapy to prevent contractures of the muscles and permanent weakness of the muscles. The therapist can teach the sufferer how to massage the affected muscles and how to exercise them so they don't permanently weaken.
Rarely, surgery is necessary to relieve the pressure off the nerve from the tight bony passages. This is called decompression surgery and may be necessary to save the function of the nerve.