The main sign of Bell’s palsy is facial muscle paralysis — usually on one side of your face. It looks like one side of your face is drooping. This includes your: VSports在线直播.
Symptoms of Bell’s palsy tend to come on suddenly and reach peak severity within 48 to 72 hours. Some people develop mild facial muscle weakness. Others experience total muscle paralysis in their face.
It’s difficult to make full expressions with Bell’s palsy. Wrinkling your forehead, blinking and grimacing may be difficult or impossible on the affected side. Your face may feel numb or heavy. But you can still feel touch and temperatures (like heat and coolness) on the affected side of your face.
Other symptoms of Bell’s palsy may include:
Early symptoms of Bell’s palsy — or warning signs — may include a slight fever and pain behind your ear. However, there’s nothing you can do to stop Bell’s palsy from developing once it begins. In addition, you could have these symptoms for another reason and not develop Bell’s palsy.
Inflammation and compression of your seventh cranial nerve is the main cause of Bell’s palsy.
The seventh cranial nerve carries nerve signals that control your facial movements and expressions. It also carries nerve signals involved in taste and producing tears in your eyes. You have two of these nerves — each controlling one side of your face. When one becomes inflamed, it affects how you can move the muscles on one side of your face.
Scientists have found that some viral infections may trigger inflammation of the seventh cranial nerve and cause Bell’s palsy. They include:
Other triggers may include having a weakened immune system from:
Healthcare providers usually can’t find a specific trigger of Bell’s palsy.
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Having the following may increase your risk of getting Bell’s palsy:
Your healthcare provider can diagnose Bell’s palsy based on your symptoms. They’ll ask about when your symptoms started and if they’ve changed. They’ll also do a physical exam and ask you to try to move your facial muscles in certain ways. The key physical exam finding of Bell’s palsy is partial or complete weakness of your forehead.
Other conditions, including stroke, sarcoidosis, Lyme disease, middle ear bacterial infections, multiple sclerosis and tumors near your facial nerve can sometimes cause facial paralysis that’s similar to Bell’s palsy. Your provider can usually accurately diagnose Bell’s palsy based on your history of symptoms and examination alone. But they may sometimes suggest that you have one or more of these tests:
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Most cases of Bell’s palsy improve without treatment. Still, your healthcare provider may recommend one or more of these therapies for symptom relief and faster recovery:
In the rare case that Bell’s palsy doesn’t go away, functional facial plastic surgery procedures are an option. They can help correct facial asymmetry and assist with eyelid closure.
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Bell’s palsy can last a few weeks to six months. Symptoms usually start to gradually improve in three weeks. Up to 80% of people fully recover and show no signs of Bell’s palsy within three months.
Bell’s palsy can come back (recur) later in life. This happens to about 5% to 10% of people who’ve had it.
Most cases of Bell’s palsy aren’t permanent. After some time, you’ll likely regain your full normal facial muscle function. This happens in about 80% of cases.
For others, facial weakness can be long-lasting. The longer the recovery, the more likely you’ll have lasting issues. The risk factors that are associated with poor outcomes include:
Unfortunately, there’s nothing you can do to prevent Bell’s palsy. It’s linked to certain viral infections, but not everyone who has those viral infections develops Bell’s palsy.
If you have risk factors for the condition, like diabetes, obesity or high blood pressure, managing them well may help reduce your risk.
If you have facial drooping, see a healthcare provider as soon as possible. Facial drooping is also a symptom of serious medical conditions, like a stroke. It’s better to know the cause right away.
Taking corticosteroids soon after symptoms of Bell’s palsy begin may also help speed up your recovery.
If you’ve received a diagnosis of Bell’s palsy, you should see your healthcare provider if you experience:
If you get Bell’s palsy, you may be embarrassed by how your face looks. The good news is that these symptoms usually improve with time. See your healthcare provider when you first get symptoms. Corticosteroid treatments can speed recovery if you start them within 48 hours of noticing symptoms. Your provider can also rule out other, more serious conditions that cause facial paralysis.
With Bell’s palsy, one side of your face may suddenly be paralyzed. If this happens to you, Cleveland Clinic’s neurology experts are here to help.
Last reviewed on 08/14/2023.
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