Bell's Palsy
Image from Wikimedia

What is Bell's Palsy

Bell's palsy is named after the Scottish anatomist, Sir Charles Bell. Bell's palsy is associated with facial paralysis of unknown cause. A neurological disorder on one side of the face. In some rare cases it can occur on both sides of the face. Bell's palsy is a disorder affecting nerves that control muscles in the face that become injured or stop working properly.

Bell's palsy is common in people aged 15 to 40 years and make a spontaneous recovery within 3 to 4 weeks. Symptoms of Bell’s palsy include:

Paralysis on one side of the face.
A drooping eyebrow and mouth.
Drooling from one side of the mouth when talking, eating, or drinking.
Difficulty closing one eyelid, which makes the eyes dry.

Charles Bell
Image from Wikimedia

What are my experiences dealing with Bell's Palsy?

Since 2024 I have been working as a freelance contributor for a daily job. I worked mostly at night and slept in the morning. Most of my clients are at least 8 to 12 hours in a different timezone from mine. I usually went to bed at 3 or 6 AM in the morning and started to work again at 10 or 12 PM.

Tape
Image from Wikimedia

It was last August 21, 2025, when I felt strange on the right side of my face. I remembered that I ate 3 pieces of a very sweet tape, a traditional fermented cassava. It is not the usual tape that I used to eat. It is very sweet and well cooked. That day I went to bed at 4 AM and woke up at 11 AM. When I woke up from bed, my mouth was drooling so much that it wet my pillow. I washed my face in the bathroom, and the water was entering my right eye because I cannot close it. I asked my wife to take me to the clinic near my home.

Arriving at the emergency room, my blood pressure was checked. The nurse only said that my systolic blood pressure was 160, without mentioning what my diastolic was. The nurse asked me to go to see the doctor. Noticing that my systolic blood pressure was 160, she said to me that I had very high blood pressure. The doctor then asked me what I have been eating, what pain I have suffered, and what medication I have used.

I told her that I just ate tape last night. Since I had been suffering from influenza with a dry cough for weeks, I only took methylprednisolone as medication. The doctor argued, Why have you taken methylprednisolone since it is used only for inflammation? The dry cough had made my throat become inflamed, I answered. OK, then, she replied.

She then examined my face. She asked me to look at her pen and where she pointed her pen. Since your blood pressure is high, I'll prescribe some medication for you. But remember not to take methylprednisolone again. You should come back here to check your health in ten days, she said, ending the conversation.

Guess what? The doctor prescribed me a blood-lowering medication, vitamin B complex, and flu medication. All medications are expected to be consumed within ten days, as most are only 1 dose per day.

The flu medication, which consists of 500 mg of paracetamol, is supposed to be consumed 3 times a day. I stopped taking the flu medication on the next day after having 3 times the day before. I continued taking methylprednisolone with an added dose.

Before I had Bell's palsy, I only consumed methylprednisolone once a day. Now I'm having it 4 times a day and using the lower dose of 4 mg. After my blood-lowering medications were all consumed in 10 days, I didn't visit the doctor again. I continued the medication by taking methylprednisolone 4mg 4 times a day.

Methylprednisolone 4mg by Hexpharm Jaya

Why I haven't followed the doctor's orders?

At home, I asked my wife to check my blood pressure once more using my neighbor's digital tensiometer. When my wife checked my blood pressure twice on both my upper arms, it turned out my left arm was 135/96, while my right arm was 143/103. When at the hospital, the nurse checked my blood pressure on my left arm using a manual tensiometer, which is more accurate than a digital one. But the nurse forgot to mention what my diastolic was. She only told me that my systolic blood pressure was 160. I forgot to mention earlier that the doctor also asked me when the last time I checked my blood was and what the number was. I normally have 110/80 for my blood pressure, and it was 2019 the last time I checked during a medical checkup, I answered.

Later on that day, I studied a lot about Bell's palsy through Pubmed portal, my very reliable resources. What I learned from Pubmed's site became references for this article. What I have written here is what made me to not follow the doctor's orders.

Please don't take this as a medical advise, as this is just my point of view!

Personally, I think the doctor seems like just trying to sell me blood-lowering medications that I should consume for the rest of my life. For my consideration, the doctor from my point of view is just the same as a drug dealer.

The main point based on what I have learned from the PubMed website:

The exact cause of Bell’s palsy is unknown.
85% of people found improvement within 3 weeks and 3 to 5 months in the remaining 15%.
The inability to close the eyelid could lead to potential eye injury. You may find it hard to close your eyes while taking a shower.
Possible triggers of Bell's palsy may include:
- Viral infections, such as herpes or chickenpox. Herpes simplex virus (HSV)-1 has been detected in up to 50% of cases by some researchers.
- Low immunity due to stress, sleep deprivation, physical trauma, minor illness, or autoimmune syndromes.
- Infection or damage to a facial nerve that causes inflammation.
Not all patients with facial paralysis who enter the health care system have been diagnosed as having Bell's palsy.
Laboratory or imaging studies are not necessary.
Physicians should not prescribe oral antiviral therapy alone for patients with new-onset Bell's palsy.
Physicians may offer electrodiagnostic testing to Bell's palsy patients with complete facial paralysis or both sides of the face.
Surgery and electrical stimulation to treat facial paralysis are still being studied by scientists.
Corticosteroids, including methylprednisolone, a drug that can reduce inflammation and suppress the immune system, alone could improve the rate of recovery.

Warning!!!
Please don't take this as a medical advise! The first week was the hardest time for me. I'm still in my recovery for better improvement when I posted this article.

References: