Talk:Bell's palsy

message: I have removed the list of famous people with Bell's palsy to a separate page, List of famous people with Bell's Palsy.  It was becoming too much like a trivia section.  I realise that this adds one page to everyone's watchlist, but it makes it easier on the people who only really have an interest in the medical or technical aspects, and should reduce the volume on this talk page. --Slashme (talk) 05:18, 21 July 2008 (UTC)
thread_title: Removed list to separate page

message: Is Bell's Palsy contagious? (-unsigned)
:There are many causes of Bell's palsy. Some are infectious, but it's not contagious in the sense that contact with someone with Bell's palsy is going to expose you to a risk of "catching" it. - Nunh-huh 00:04, 1 Jun 2005 (UTC)
thread_title: Contagious

message: It says that people will be left with deficits, I've had Bells Palsy for 8 Months now, and it isn't getting any better, was wondering, is it possible my mouth will never move right again? Or my eye will never stop watering on a regular basis? I can live with the other things, those are just the most annoying... Myzou 17:48, 28 November 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Clarification

message: I have added a short decription of a complication known as synkinesis.  I have personal experience with the complication and I'm intrigued by the mechanism of imperfect regrowth. --Frank.hedlund 22:47, 15 May 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Synkinesis complication 

message: The three non-footnote references are too vague right now:
* "The Merck Manual"
* New England Journal of Medicine, Sept. 2004
* eMedicine, "Bell's Palsy"
Books, journal articles, and websites need various different information, like publishers, publication dates, edition information, article titles, authors, dates accessed, precise URLs (not main page), and so on. I added a refimprove tag to this article. -Agyle 17:47, 16 September 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Well spotted, thanks! I have replaced it. --Slashme (talk) 12:11, 14 January 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  References 

message: This article has a "how-to" tone and style to it, especially when it continually urges its readers to "seek a doctor's consultation" and so-forth. I think it'd be best to rewrite parts of it to keep in line with other standard encyclopedia articles.
--Giacosilontana (talk) 03:57, 31 December 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Wording/style 

message: One contributor has written that Bell's palsy affects approximately 1 person in 65 during a lifetime.  I consider this to be correct.  But at the http://www.bellspalsy.ws site, which is otherwise quite good, I came across a completely different number 1:5,000.  Due to this discrepancy I have added a "citation needed".  
Details: Personally, I would compute the lifetime risk like this.  If p is the annual incidence rate, (1-p) is the annual "rate" of *not* having BP.  If y is the average life span, (1-p)^y is the chance of not having it over a lifetime,  the lifetime risk is therefore 1-(1-p)^y.  It is only valid to multiply probabilities in this manner, if the individual probs are independent.  They are not, because of familial, age-related, pregnancy (gender) related, recurrence etc, etc, but these effects are quite small compared to the overall uncertainty on the incidence rate of 15-50.  For a first estimate, the above method would be reasonable.  For p=20/100,000, y=75, the result is 0,0149, which is one person in 67.  Fairly close to 1 in 65.  I approached the website about a possible error there (http://forum.bellspalsy.ws/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=12&topic_id=270) but sadly received no useful answer.  I have searched for books on epidemiology for methods on lifetime risk calculation, mostly in vain, but they do at times apply complex actuarial methods.  
For the sake of precision I would appreciate if someone more knowledgeable in epidemiology than I confirm the estimate, or provide a citation.  
-- Frank.hedlund (talk) 23:40, 14 January 2008 (UTC)
thread_title: Lifetime risk 

message: I don't know if there are any available citations for this, but I've seen two anecdotal cases of my father and an older friend who ate canned peaches, of all things, and then their palsy rapidly went in to remission.  I doubt there is much scientific evidence for this, but anecdotely, it has been very helpful. --71.76.39.125 (talk) 18:12, 30 January 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: Interesting, but it definitely falls under the heading of "original research". --Slashme (talk) 08:24, 31 January 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: That or coincidence.  There's a reason why scientific medicine doesn't lend weight to anecdotal evidence.  It may provide guidance toward ideas and treatments, but it is not worth anything scientifically. --Puellanivis (talk) 04:31, 22 February 2009 (UTC)
thread_title: Possible alternative treatment

message: I would like to see something about the likelihood of reccurence of BP. Do you have any information about this please?Amwlmc (talk) 14:53, 19 March 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Reccurence of Bells Palsy? 

message: For the second time I delete this users contribution in the lede: Symptoms typically subside after 2-6 days and full facial function is usually returned within 2-3 weeks. Although rare, residual paralysis or dysfunction is possible and chances of this increase with age.  How did you cite your contribution from the 1966 reference? - the text from that refers specifically to imcomplete palsies.  Please be specific, if you insist that the text should be retained.
Alternatively, I refer to National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke's Information sheet on Bell's Palsy: With or without treatment, most individuals begin to get better within 2 weeks after the initial onset of symptoms and recover completely within 3 to 6 months.  This timescale is months, not weeks.  The Bell's palsy infosite likewise reads: An "average" recovery is likely to take between a few weeks and a few months.  Depending on how you interpret "usually" I really see little support for your optimistic assestation that "full facial function is usually returned within 2-3 weeks", and certainly not in your quote.  (To follow up on your other comment: I had not noticed the Popeye text, I would have deleted it if I had). best regards, Power.corrupts (talk) 22:35, 1 February 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: I now realize that you may have meant the the 1982 reference the  text there reads: For 85 percent of patients the first signs of remission were observed within three weeks after the outbreak; for the last 15 percent remission occurred three to six months later. This specifically refers to "the first signs of remission", my comments above still holds. Power.corrupts (talk) 22:54, 1 February 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: That's fine you can revert it.  When I had it, the doctor told me that prominent symptoms should peak and begin to subside in that amount of time, and this was the case with me; it peaked within 3 days of the first signs and symptoms.  Granted I was on the younger spectrum of patients, but this prognosis was based on more recent research, as I had it just 3 years ago.  However, I cannot find the appropriate literature at the moment, so it can be reverted.  I apologize that I did not assume good faith initially.Quod erat demonstrandum 3.14159 (talk) 06:40, 19 February 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  Edits by [[User:Quod erat demonstrandum 3.14159]] on recovery in lede 

message: Should this subheading be here? Having a fairly sensible article veer off into magical "vital energy" stuff seems wrong. It feels wildly out of place.
::The fact that alternate medicine works is worth thinking about.  I have been looking for proof the condition is NOT psychogenic, and I have drawn a blank.  All modern research cautions that results are "promising," but there is still no neurological test for Bell's Palsy. Neurological tests can only rule out physcial causes such as tumors or brain injury, but no neurological test can come out positive for Bell's Palsy.
::http://kidshealth.org/teen/diseases_conditions/brain_nervous/bells_palsy.html# 71.107.88.57
::Incidentally, one of wikipedia's editors has solemnly informed me that a psychogenic explanation for bell's palsy is at odds with years of "robust research."  I looked up the meaning of robust research in regard to science, and this is what I came up with:  "▸ adjective:  strong enough to withstand intellectual challenge ("The experiment yielded robust results")."  I would like to know what research can be so certain and yet still allow Bell's Palsy to keep the synonym of "idiopathic facial paralysis."  
::Snud (talk) 06:39, 9 December 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  Alternative medicine 

message: haha, it was mentioned in the new movie, A-Team, at the beginning of the FOB Iraq scene (min 19:25) Avkrules (talk) 15:16, 17 July 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  Popular Media Reference 

message: The photograph caption states the palsy is on the person's left but the left side is wrinkled, nostril is flared and smile is visible. I think the palsy is on the peron's RIGHT side where there is absence of wrinkling of the forehead ( indicating LMN paralysis) and no smile
Reddog6363 (talk) 21:24, 27 March 2011 (UTC)
replies: text: This person is "attempting" to show his teeth.  It is an example of Bell's palsy as paresis or *partial* paralysis.  This is a case of what psychoanalysis calls "hysterical hemiparesis."  See the above section on psychoanalysis.Snud (talk) 00:11, 7 April 2011 (UTC)
thread_title: photograph

message: "Bell's palsy, or idiopathic facial paralysis,[1]  is a form of facial paralysis resulting from dysfunction cranial nerve VII (the facial nerve) that results in the inability to control facial muscles on the affected side." This is the opening line for the article. I believe that the person who added this, including the reference, may not understand what the term "idiopathic" means. It means there is no known cause. Bell's palsy, however, can have a known cause in some cases. The reference has "(idiopathic facial paralysis)" in the title because it refers to only Bell's palsy cases that are idiopathic. It does not mean the disease itself is idiopathic. Because of this, I am removing this mistake from the first line. Please edit the rest of the article to reflect this fact. - Cyborg Ninja 03:02, 15 July 2011 (UTC)
replies: text: That is a bit of a conceit I think! Which particular cases of Bell's Palsy have been confirmed by a test of any cranial nerve?Snud (talk) 06:46, 15 January 2012 (UTC)
replies: text: Simply put we need review articles to support text per WP:MEDRS. Doc James (talk · contribs · email) 07:39, 15 January 2012 (UTC)
thread_title:  Idiopathic facial paralysis 

message: First footnote, for bilateral palsy, is ad copy for a commercial site devoted to selling a 200-page eBook through Paypal.  
Replace with noncommercial 
:("Bilateral facial paralysis is a rare condition ... ") 
and / or 
PMC article http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1924702/ 
:("Bilateral simultaneous facial nerve palsy is an extremely rare clinical entity with Bell's palsy responsible for a mere 20 per cent of cases. It is, therefore, important that clinicians are aware of the differential diagnosis when evaluating a case."
If the 200 page book is any good, can be cited at the bottom of the article as a paid external source.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by Ocdnctx (talk • contribs) 23:16, 21 August 2012 (UTC)
replies: text: No consensus to add it. Contravenes WP:ELNO . Doc James (talk · contribs · email) (if I write on your page reply on mine) 17:55, 28 October 2012 (UTC)
thread_title:  First footnote, for bilateral palsy, is ad copy for a commercial site devoted to selling a 200-page eBook through Paypal.   

message: In meta-analysis, antivirals are ineffective irrespective of the severity of the palsy. doi:10.1016/j.amjmed.2014.11.033 JFW | T@lk 17:24, 21 May 2015 (UTC)
replies: text: Added Doc James (talk · contribs · email) 22:46, 21 May 2015 (UTC)
thread_title:  Antivirals 

message: I am not seeing any English source that states or uses this as a synonym? Therefore moved here for discussion. Doc James (talk · contribs · email) 07:36, 23 January 2016 (UTC)
thread_title: "a frigore palsy"

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thread_title:  External links modified 

message: Need page numbers
"Other visual symptoms also include a distortion of the shape of regular facial expressions, such as smiling, frowning, etc., and even drooling.  Because of these atypical appearances and actions that occur, Bell's Palsy has also been shown to have a large psychological effect on those who are afflicted.  Often times, victims avoid social settings and remain in the comfort of solitude due to the negative impact it has on one's self-esteem and self-confidence."
Also why all the caps and this was already partly said above. Doc James (talk · contribs · email) 18:11, 29 November 2016 (UTC)
thread_title: Moved

message: File:Bell's_Palsy_Symptoms_Mouth_Wide_Open.jpg|Bell's palsy with mouth wide open
File:Bell's_Palsy_Symptoms_Closed_Eyes.jpg|Bell's palsy with closed eyes
File:Bell's_Palsy_Symptoms_Show_Your_Teeth.jpg|Bell's palsy showing the teeth
User:Benjaminginterr can you explain how these images were acquired? Best Doc James (talk · contribs · email) 19:41, 12 March 2018 (UTC)
thread_title: Images

message: 1–4 per 10,000 is the same as 11 to 40 per 100,000 The change is thus not needed. One can paraphrase the source. Doc James (talk · contribs · email) 01:27, 31 January 2019 (UTC)
thread_title: Same