I received an email from a woman in her sixties. She was in agony and asked for help. She wrote that she had a sudden attack of Bell’s Palsy. She informed me that she went to the neurologist, who gave her steroids and pain killers, and told her that it could take 6 to 12 months to be relieved. The right side of her face was very painful, and she couldn’t close her right eye. The doctor told her to cover the eyelid with bandage during sleep as it was totally paralyzed, and she could not blink or close her eyelid. Her speech was unclear. The right side of her lip was drooping. She was only able to drink water by straw, and her deglutition was also affected. Her situation was grave.
I was confused how to take the case as her speech was not clear, and it was hard for her to communicate. Her friend assisted at one point and was a great help. I connected with her friend and asked her to send daily video clips of the patient’s face. The videos helped me to select the following remedies: Aconite 30C, Belladonna 30C and Euphrasia 30C.
Aconite – Indicated for suddenness and unusual symptoms as needed
Belladonna – Indicated for severe throbbing headache
Euphrasia – Indicated for crocodile tears. The right eye watering all the time
Crocodile tears are usually part of Bell’s Palsy. The affected right eye was not closing, and it was very painful with continuous tears. She had itching and redness as well. She consulted an eye specialist, but he refused to treat her and told her to consult the neurologist because it was a neurological problem.
Euphrasia 30C helped the tears to stop and the itching and redness also disappeared.
Then I gave her Cocculus Indicus 30C.
Cocculus Indicus – Indicated for paralytic weakness, difficulty of speech, constriction in the gullet as if paralyzed, paralysis of facial nerves, cramp-like pain in the face, wide radiating nerve pain.
After Cocculus her thirst increased and she started consuming more water. Her right side was still not moving, and speech was still not clear. She still had facial neuralgia.
I asked her to take sips of Magnesium Phos 6X in warm water throughout the day for pain. Now, I was stuck about how to help her muscles to move. Since this involved the facial cranial nerve, I gave Gelsemium 30C.
Gelsemium – Indicated for paralysis of various groups of muscles; dizziness, drowsiness, dullness and trembling; muscular weakness; neuralgia of face; dusky hue on the face with dim vision; twitching of muscles.
After only 2 doses of Gelsemium, she said that when she got up in the morning, she realized that she was sleeping with her eyelid closed. This was a big change. I gave her 6 more doses of Gelsemium.
The natural wrinkles on her forehead reappeared. She started moving her jaw, and again her beautiful smile reappeared! She had a full glass of water without a straw. She was very happy, and all this took 11 days by the grace of God.
She was so excited that she said: “Your name should be in the Guinness book of world records”. Once she got back to normal health, she occasionally got twitching on the face for which I gave her Agaricus 30C. Also, to strengthen the nerves, she took Avena Sativa Q.
Below is a pictorial representation of her recovery:
What is Bell Palsy?
Bell Palsy results in sudden weakness of the facial nerve, causing one-sided facial paralysis. It is a temporary condition with complete recovery usually in six months. Symptoms may start to improve in a few weeks.
References:
HOMŒOPATHIC MATERIA MEDICA by William BOERICKE, M.D.
http://www.homeoint.org/books/boericmm/c.htm
A DICTIONARY OF PRACTICAL MATERIA MEDICA By John Henry CLARKE, M.D.
Mayo Clinic
