Rehabilitation after facial paralysis

Facial paralysis causes the patient to lose facial nerve function. It seriously affects eyesight and interferes with some daily activities of the patient such as eating, oral hygiene... In addition to the direct treatment method with the doctor, the rehabilitation of facial paralysis is the first step. It is very important to decide whether the patient can recover completely or not.

Peripheral facial paralysis according to medical analysis is palsy of the seventh peripheral nerve. VII nerve palsy can be caused by a viral infection or by edema of the VII nerve. The edematous nerve is compressed as it passes through the maze of the facial neural tube, thereby causing ischemia and paralysis.
The most common current cause of facial paralysis is infection with Herpes Simplex and the shingles virus. Other viruses such as rubella , influenza B , mumps ... can also cause facial paralysis . In fact, the duration of paralysis ranges from a few hours to a maximum of 48-72 hours.

Clinical symptoms that are easy to recognize facial nerve palsy are as follows:
When in the natural state, the patient's face is asymmetrical, pulled to one side. Wrinkles on the forehead are erased compared to the opposite side. When talking, facial asymmetry is more obvious, eating and pronunciation is difficult. When actively closing the eye, the affected eye does not close the eyelid tightly. Numbness, heaviness and loss of facial expressions. Conjunctival irritation, corneal dryness.

Currently, the treatment of facial paralysis is divided into two popular methods, which are:
Non-drug methods: Acupuncture, acupressure massage, ... for treatment. The method used by doctors today is electroacupuncture, a combination of acupuncture and electrical stimulation with acupressure massage. The method of drug use will be mainly in the case of facial paralysis caused by a viral infection. Before treatment, the doctor needs to use antiviral drugs such as herpes simplex.

After treating the factors that cause facial paralysis, the final step is to help the patient restore the function of the face on their own. Facial paralysis rehabilitation can be done at home with the help of loved ones. Important notes to take care of people with facial paralysis are:
Keep warm and cover the face when going out. Maintain eye moisture such as using artificial tears, physiological saline, ... to avoid dry eyes, limit infection due to eyes not closed. Use masking tape or an eye patch at bedtime, and wear glasses when going out. Careful oral hygiene, because facial paralysis leads to food stagnation, easy dental infection. Work hard to massage the face area with basic facial paralysis rehabilitation exercises as follows:
Touch along the bridge of the nose, the corners of the eyes pull up the eyebrows. Apply horizontally from the eyebrows to the temples. Day around the eyes. Day around the lips. Rub both cheeks. Performing exercises to strengthen facial muscles to improve strength and stimulate movement of the jaw, cheeks, tongue, ... helps improve pronunciation, strengthens mouth muscles. Do the following exercises:
Puckering lips: Hold puckered lips for 5 seconds, then move lips from side to side. Repeat 10 times, taking care not to move your tongue. Inflate the cheeks: Inhale deeply to inflate the cheeks. Squeeze your lips together to hold the air in your cheeks for 5 seconds. Slowly transfer the air and hold on to one cheek, moving continuously back and forth. Tongue reversal: Move your tongue along the outside of your teeth, sliding it in circles in your mouth. Start moving at the apex and rotate around the entire lower teeth and gums and then move up to the upper teeth. Rotate teeth: Place the tip of the tongue on the outer surface of the upper front teeth and then slide the tongue along the molars to the right. Hold for 5 seconds then switch hold to the left. Repeat lengthwise for lower molars. Side-to-side tongue stretch: Extend your tongue to the left side of your mouth and then pull your tongue to the right as far as you can, hold for 10 seconds and then switch to the right side. Move your tongue continuously to the left and right, making sure your tongue touches the sockets of each side. Upper-lower tongue stretch: Open your mouth and stretch your tongue up and down under your chin, hold for 10 seconds, and then change the position of extending your tongue up towards your nose. Straighten your tongue: Open your mouth and stretch your tongue out as far straight as possible. Repeat every 10 seconds. Lower lip lift: Create a pouty expression by elevating the bottom lip as much as possible. Lift works the neck muscles while holding the top position with the head raised. Hold with lips: Use a tongue depressor to place it between your lips. Use your lips to press and hold the stick straight from your mouth as long as you can. In summary, rehabilitation of facial paralysis is a very important step in deciding whether the patient can recover completely or not. Belonging to the clinical medicine block, is a special specialty with the therapeutic function of traditional medicine and advanced technology, with the support of related medical fields, to support health. and restore the body's inherent, lost, impaired or latent functions, motor capacity and psychological awareness. The Department of Physiotherapy - Rehabilitation - Vinmec International General Hospital is divided into 4 areas of expertise, including: Movement Therapy, Physiotherapy, Activity Therapy and Speech Therapy. with a team of doctors specialized in Rehabilitation with many years of experience and dedication to patients. The subdivisions such as: medical examination area, physical therapy area, movement therapy area, ... are spaciously designed, equipped with many modern equipments, bringing a comfortable feeling for patients to collect. get the best treatment results. At the same time, the Department of Rehabilitation is also equipped with a system of therapeutic machines from leading countries in technology such as the Netherlands, Japan,...