Q My mouth suddenly drooped and I can't close my eye. Why does facial palsy (gu-an-wa-sa) happen?
A It occurs when the 7th facial nerve is compressed by inflammation and swelling within its narrow bony canal. The most common form, Bell's palsy, is thought to be triggered by viral infection.
Detailed Answer
Facial palsy (peripheral facial nerve paralysis) results from damage to the 7th cranial nerve, the facial nerve, which controls the muscles of the face. The most common type, Bell's palsy, develops when the nerve is injured by inflammation or compressed by swelling inside the narrow facial nerve canal; viral infection, trauma, and tumors can all be contributing causes. Typical signs include a drooping of one side of the mouth, an eye that does not close fully, and an inability to wrinkle the forehead.
Korean Medicine Clinic Perspective
At Dongjedang, we view facial conditions not simply as a problem of the facial nerve alone, but as the result of a breakdown in the flow of the whole body. When stress or indigestion drives heat up into the head and face while the hands and feet turn cold, a state of upper-heat-lower-cold (sangyeol-hahan), or when bodily congestion known as phlegm-retention (dameum) and stagnant blood known as blood stasis (eohyeol) block the channels of facial circulation, nerve function is easily disrupted. For this reason we examine not only the local area of the face but also the body's underlying flow in setting the direction of treatment.
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