What Causes Bell's Palsy?

By james

Reviewed: Dr. Gromatzky

Article Sources

Medical Expert

More About Us

Human beings have a very complex language system. Not only do we communicate with each other vocally, but we also communicate a lot with each other using visual language. This includes movements with our various body parts, and with different movements of our faces.

There are 43 muscles in our faces that help us to pull a number of facial expressions. These muscles are controlled by the seventh cranial nerve that passes through a narrow corridor on its way to our face. If something were to cause an issue with this nerve then we could lose control of our face muscles.

1. Bell’s Palsy

In some cases, patients will find that their seventh cranial nerve becomes inflamed. This can cause swelling, and this can cause it to become tightly compressed in the narrow passage it passes through. This can then result in signals not being able to pass to and from the face and the brain as they usually would.

This then causes the patient to lose control over the muscles in their face in a condition known as Bell’s palsy. The condition can cause the patient to lose the ability to pull facial expressions. It can make eating difficult, while it can also affect taste, and saliva and tear production. The inflammation that causes this condition is often caused by various viral infections.