Bells Palsy FAQs - What is Bells Palsy NOT

http://bellspalsybook.allbellspalsy.info for the Ebook or visit http://allbellspalsy.info for the main site What it is not! You have not had a stroke. This is the most common assumption (the one I jumped to) and the one with which most doctors are approached and need to rule out. What is going to happen? How far will it spread? When it will stop getting worse? It probably already has stopped. The onset of Bell's Palsy happens very quickly. Usually people wake up one morning and they have it. Sometimes a slight symptom may be noticed the night before or within the same 24 hours and within those 24 hours all the symptoms have been manifested. It can, however, take longer; from a couple of days up to around 72 hours, as did my bilateral experience. This is very worrying because one wonders, or more accurately, panics, about what is going to happen next. The main thing to remember is that this will only affect your face as that is the only purpose of the 7th cranial nerve and that is the only thing that has been affected. It IS going to stop, which was my major worry especially as it started to go down the other side of my face (see above -- a very rare occurrence). For further information on all the various symptoms please see the Bell's Palsy Guide Ebook What is NOT going to happen? You are NOT going to: Lose your sense of smell or all of your taste (1st cranial nerve) Lose your eyesight or conscious awareness (2nd cranial nerve) Lose your ability to move your eyes (3rd, 4th, 6th Cranial nerves) Lose the power to open and close your jaw (5th Cranial nerve) Lose your hearing (8th cranial nerve) Lose all of your taste (if any) (9th Cranial nerve) Lose the power to swallow (10th cranial nerve) Lose the power to turn your head or move your neck (11th Cranial nerve) Lose the use of your tongue or swallow your tongue (12th Cranial nerve) The 7th Cranial nerve is called the Facial nerve and this is the only one with which we are concerned.