Bell’s Palsy is a condition in which the seventh cranial nerve is damaged. This is the facial nerve. If there’s a condition that does not allow signals from the brain to get through to the face, you could experience one side of your face and mouth drooping as the facial muscles are weakened. There is no single cause although it has been linked to stress and high blood pressure – in fact, A-list actress Angelina Jolie admitted that she had been diagnosed with Bell’s Palsy following her Brad Pitt separation.
Other major causes are usually in the form of a viral or bacterial infection. Often, it affects the passage or canal housing the facial nerve. So much pressure is put on it that this nerve cannot get enough blood, depriving it of the oxygen it needs in order to work properly. Most people make a full recovery in a few weeks or months.
1. Herpes Simplex
This virus is also known as HSP. There are two types of herpes, and most people will have at least one kind – mouth or oral herpes – at least once in their lifetimes. Oral herpes commonly causes cold sores, the blister-like formations on the outside of the mouth or lips. The second kind of herpes is called genital herpes because of the fact that blisters appear in the groin area.
Herpes in both forms is highly contagious. You can get oral herpes from ordinary things such as sharing utensils or kissing. As long as there is the possibility of contact between an infected person’s mouth and yourself, you could contract the virus. You can also contract genital herpes if someone with oral herpes performs oral sex on you. As many as 95% of people could test positive for the virus, even though they are carrying it latently and have had no outbreaks.
