Neuritis of the facial nerve, treatment should begin as soon as possible, gives the sick person is very much trouble. Firstly, the feeling during this disease is not the most pleasant. Second - look similar cases of facial nerve are not very aesthetically pleasing - because the face of the sick person is very skewed.
Tragically, neuritis of the facial nerve is often not perceived by people as a - a serious disease, and the doctor, they either do not address at all or treated, but only when the disease progresses and is already in a state of neglect. A stronger running condition of the disease, the less effective the treatment. In very severe cases, completely get rid of the disease will not succeed.
In order to understand what this disease is - neuritis of the facial nerve, you must have an idea of the facial nerve. It begins in the lining of the brain where the temporal bone through the branches - one branch goes to the ear, forming the posterior auricular nerve, the second runs through the parotid gland, and is in front of the external ear openings, in the form of multiple nerve plexus. In fact, the face is also a large number of major branches of the facial nerve, located in the cheeks, cheekbones, jaw and temples.
The facial nerve for the most part consists of motor fibers, but close to the facial nerve adjacent intermediate nerve, which consists of the secretory, taste, motor and sensory fibers. It provides all the facial nerve facial movements - blinking, facial, and other ptarmic.
Types of facial nerve injury
Despite the fact that all kinds of nerve lesions in this group is the same name - neuritis of the facial nerve, doctors have identified two kinds of lesions - primary and secondary.
- The primary lesion. As a rule, the primary lesion of the facial nerve is almost always the result of colds - the so-called Bell's disease. In that case, if a person is very supercooled, in facial nerve occur pronounced pathological vascular changes - spasms of blood vessels, tissue swelling. As a result, malnutrition and development of its nerve paralysis.
- Secondary infringement. Second is the facial nerve neuritis usually develops as a result of various infectious diseases, intoxication, encephalitis, tumors and inflammatory processes, hypertensive crisis, otitis and mumps.
Symptoms
Of course, like any other disease, neuritis of the facial nerve has its own symptoms. And chief among them - is the asymmetry of the face. It is observed even in the early stages of the disease, when the defeat of the facial nerve is still quite small.
In the same case, if there is a complete loss of the facial nerve paralysis pattern observed in a distinct form: a person becomes maskoobraznym, without any expression, eyes wide open, brows lowered, no frontal or nasolabial folds. A sick person is deprived of the possibility of tightly close your eyes, smile or frown, and sometimes - even to blink.
Particularly unpleasant fact that it is impossible to completely close the eye - the eyeball itself when this attempt is lifted up, the sclera is completely covered. As a result, a person is forced to sleep with half-open eyes, which greatly impairs the quality of sleep. When you try to smile half of the face is completely fixed, and the line of the mouth deviates toward the healthy half.
No less difficulty for a sick person, and eating - it gets stuck between the gums and teeth, and saliva and liquid food is very poorly retained in the mouth. A sick person can not swallow food or saliva to spit - it all flows spontaneously from his mouth. During exacerbation of a person may have his tongue hanging out, broken speech - sometimes very significantly. And yet. Violation of the pronunciation of certain sounds - for example, used. m - take place and slightly lesions of the facial nerve.
In some cases, neuritis of the facial nerve may be preceded by some other symptoms. Most often ill person may experience pain in the ear, not very long and intense, but constant, almost does not stop. And receiving anesthetic drugs in this case is not practically effective. In addition, in this period, the sick person is very sensitive about any sound, even the most ordinary and quietly.
Soon after the onset of pain in the ears of the person may lose the sense of taste or the language on the entire surface or only on one half of it. By the way, it is quite rare, yet sometimes painful sensations in the ears can be very intense, and even accompanied by cold sores - small bubbles merging into one wound.
As the disease progresses the symptoms appear, indicating that there was damage nerve fibers, which provide normal secretory function - stops production of tear fluid - the eyes of a sick person, dry, sweating - the skin is also very dry.
Diagnosis of the disease
Diagnosis of neuritis of the facial nerve to date there is no difficulty for doctors - neurologists. Typically, the physician sufficient external visual inspection to identify the disease.
Sometimes, however, to clarify the severity of the lesion, your doctor may prescribe a special study, the aim of which is to determine electroexcitability nerve. This is necessary in order to determine - degenerated nerve completely or only partially. From this very much depends on the type of treatment.
And, moreover, in the case of the facial nerve neuritis secondary, may need additional studies will help to define the underlying disease, which led to neuritis. You may have to ask for help to specialists - dental, ENT - doctor.
Treatment of neuritis
As mentioned above, the self-treatment of such diseases as neuritis of the facial nerve, is unacceptable. The only right in this situation - is to consult a doctor neurologist, who will choose a suitable course of treatment for you.
Treatment of neuritis should be strictly complex - medical and physiotherapy. Otherwise achieve improve the ill person is almost impossible - you can only slightly slow the progression of the disease.
During the acute stage of the disease the sick person should receive pharmacological agents that should remove tissue swelling and inflammation. Typically, this is done using non-hormonal anti-inflammatory drugs and agents that dilate blood vessels. Very rarely, if the swelling must be removed as quickly as possible, the doctor may prescribe hormonal drugs, such as prednisone.
Typically, after about ten days joins drugs as a result of which stimulates the regeneration of the nervous tissue, improve the immune system and functioning of the nervous tissue.
In addition, treatment of neuritis of the facial nerve includes physiotherapy. As a rule, from the first day it is assigned UHF or solux that have vasodilator and anti-inflammatory effect. And about two weeks after the disease is assigned to an ultrasound treatment and electrophoresis. If the doctor deems it necessary, he may appoint a massage.
In that case, if a sick person asks for help in a timely manner, treatment of neuritis will take no more than three - four weeks.