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Review
. 2025 Jan 19;17(1):e77656.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.77656. eCollection 2025 Jan.

Bell's Palsy: Description, Diagnosis, and Current Management

Seth Gardner  1 , Lexi Garber  1 , John Grossi  1
Affiliations
Review

Bell's Palsy: Description, Diagnosis, and Current Management

Seth Gardner et al. Cureus. .

Abstract

Bell's palsy, also known as idiopathic facial paralysis, is a neuropathy that affects the seventh cranial nerve, the facial. Its presentation is unmistakable by a trained clinician. It usually presents with unilateral facial weakness, reduced forehead wrinkling, nasolabial fold flattening, drooping of the corner of the mouth, and drooling. Its comorbidities are thought to include diabetes, obesity, and pregnancy. It is a diagnosis of exclusion with treatments ranging from corticosteroids to antivirals, to a combination of both corticosteroids and antivirals, to acupuncture, physical therapy, and chiropractic. Most patients will recover fully within six months regardless of the treatment.

Keywords: bell’s palsy; facial nerve; idiopathic facial paralysis; seventh nerve palsy; stroke.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of interest: In compliance with the ICMJE uniform disclosure form, all authors declare the following: Payment/services info: All authors have declared that no financial support was received from any organization for the submitted work. Financial relationships: All authors have declared that they have no financial relationships at present or within the previous three years with any organizations that might have an interest in the submitted work. Other relationships: All authors have declared that there are no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) diagram illustrating data collection.
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