My Random Thought of the Day is Bell's Palsy.
This a common condition, though I just heard about it yesterday.
See, Monday evening I started feeling a bit weird in the face. Then, when I woke up Tuesday morning, The whole left side of my face was droopy like you would see on someone who may have had a stroke. I finally got to see a doctor yesterday. So here we go:
~ Bell's Palsy is a condition that causes facial drooping and prevents your eye from closing.
~ There are many causes, mainly unknown viruses that are in the body and affect your facial nerves.
~ It mainly happens to older people but on a rare occasion can happen to people my age (I'm 23).
~ The only way to heal the condition is time. Yes, it heals itself. It can take anywhere from a few days to two months. (so far I've had it 2 months* , I'll update as soon as it goes away)
~ Telltale signs you may have it, and what happens during: The nerves right behind the ear will start hurting. (mine did 3 days before the drooping started) Then the part of the face will start to feel odd, like numbing. Then comes the drooping. Once that occurs, your hearing will go in and out. One minute it'll be super loud, then the next it'll be really low.
~ What to do: Go to a doctor. They will prescribe you some sort of steroids to kill off whatever may have irritated the nerves to begin with. Then get eye drops and a bandage. Because Bell's Palsy causes the eye on the side of the drooping to not be able to close, you will need to use eye drops as needed to help keep the eye moisturized and prevent irritation. The patch is to help keep the eye closed at night as you sleep, again helping prevent irritation. You will also want to find a way to stimulate the nerves in the face. A simple vibrator will do. This typically helps revive and heal the nerves faster. Still a waiting game though.
So while scary to go through, it thankfully is not a permanent condition. Also it shouldn't ever come back. It's like a once in a life time type thing. (yay)
*So I've had it for 2 months now. As of May 6th, I'm pretty much back to normal. Left eye still doesn't quite close like it should, and left corner of my mouth still has a slight issue. Other than that, everything is fine HUZZAH!!!
