Facial Nerve Paralysis: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment Options

When your facial nerve paralysis, a condition where the nerve controlling facial muscles stops working properly, leading to drooping on one side of the face. Also known as peripheral facial palsy, it can happen overnight and feels like your face has gone numb—except it’s not numbness, it’s weakness or total loss of movement. This isn’t just cosmetic. It affects blinking, eating, speaking, and even emotional expression. People often panic when they wake up with a drooping mouth or eye that won’t close, but the good news? Most cases recover fully with the right care.

One of the most common causes is Bell’s palsy, a sudden, unexplained facial nerve weakness that’s often linked to viral infections like herpes simplex. Also known as idiopathic facial paralysis, it accounts for about 70% of cases and usually improves on its own within weeks. But it’s not the only culprit. facial nerve damage, can result from trauma, surgery, tumors, or Lyme disease. Also known as traumatic facial palsy, it requires different treatment than Bell’s palsy—sometimes even surgery. If you’ve had recent ear surgery, a car accident, or a tick bite, your facial weakness might not be random. It’s important to rule out serious causes before assuming it’s just Bell’s palsy.

Most people with facial nerve paralysis don’t need drugs right away. Steroids like prednisone can help reduce swelling around the nerve if started within 72 hours, especially with Bell’s palsy. But they’re not magic. The real key is protecting your eye—when you can’t blink, your cornea dries out and can get damaged. Artificial tears, eye patches, and even taping your eye shut at night aren’t optional—they’re essential. Then comes facial rehabilitation, a set of gentle exercises and therapies designed to retrain the muscles and nerves to work together again. Also known as facial physiotherapy, it’s backed by studies showing better long-term outcomes than waiting to heal on its own. Some people try acupuncture or electrical stimulation, but the strongest evidence supports structured, guided movement therapy.

You’ll find posts here that break down what works and what doesn’t. Some cover how steroids are prescribed and when they’re useless. Others explain how to tell if your paralysis is from a stroke (which needs emergency care) or something less serious. You’ll also find real stories from people who lost facial movement after surgery, got it back with therapy, or struggled for months without answers. There’s no one-size-fits-all fix, but there’s a clear path forward—if you know where to look.