Teo Korean Medicine Clinic Bundang - when you are looking into care for facial palsy and Bell's palsy: It is important not to miss the early treatment period.
The golden window for facial palsy is 3 months.
Active treatment up to three months matters for keeping after-effects of facial asymmetry to a minimum.
If facial paralysis comes with weakness in the arms or legs, slurred speech, severe dizziness, or seeing double, or if the forehead wrinkles normally but only the area around the mouth droops, it may be a stroke and emergency care is needed immediately.
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Gongjindan is taken for 5 to 10 days to restore immunity quickly.
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Herbal medicine that supports qi and blood circulation is taken while focusing on the recovery of the paralyzed muscles and nerves.
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Alongside in-clinic treatment, the local area is treated intensively with bee venom pharmacopuncture, electrical stimulation, moxibustion, and the like.
A herbal prescription for restoring immunity, tailored to each patient's cause and symptoms.
It helps ease inflammation between muscle and joint, while improving the supporting capacity of the surrounding muscles and ligaments and helping to reinforce weakened organs.
It may help relieve pain, reduce inflammation, and support the recovery of tissues around the joints.
It relaxes muscles, releases shortened areas, and improves overall circulation to ease pain.
With cervical correction and cervical Chuna manual therapy, the joints in the affected area are realigned by pushing or pulling in the appropriate direction.
Facial palsy goes through a distinctive course as it recovers, so knowing the course of the condition matters, and it also serves as a basis for judging the outlook.
Prodromal stage → onset of palsy → acute stage → plateau stage → recovery stage → lasting effects
Recovery pattern: full recovery / incomplete recovery / incomplete recovery 2
Pain behind the ear appears a few days before the facial paralysis begins. It occurs in about 60% of cases.
Paralysis begins suddenly and worsens further for about two to three days, or up to about a week.
The worsened paralysis persists.
Recovery begins.
The forehead does not wrinkle, and the eye cannot close completely.
It pulls toward the side opposite the paralyzed mouth.
Food collects in the paralyzed side of the mouth while eating.
I cannot taste food properly when I eat.
Even small sounds seem loud, and there is tinnitus.
Checking the range of facial movement together with pain behind the ear before and after onset, changes in taste and hearing, and nerve symptoms outside the face helps in telling apart the cause and whether it is an emergency.
Bell palsy is a peripheral facial palsy that we assess alongside factors such as overwork and lowered immunity, exposure to cold wind or chill, and severe stress. Pain behind the ear may appear as a warning sign a few days before the paralysis.
It may then begin with the mouth pulling to one side or the eye not closing completely. Tears or saliva may run, food may collect on the paralyzed side of the mouth, or taste may feel different. Rather than waiting based only on a presumed cause, it is important to check the movement of the whole face and any accompanying symptoms so the timing of care is not missed.
Not all facial palsy arises from the same cause. Peripheral facial palsy such as Bell palsy commonly shows a pattern in which the forehead does not wrinkle, the eye does not close, and the whole of one side of the face, down to the area around the mouth, is hard to move.
On the other hand, if the forehead still wrinkles but only the area around the mouth droops, or if weakness in the arms or legs, abnormal speech, severe dizziness, or double vision appear together, the possibility of a stroke must be checked first. In this case, do not wait for care at a Korean medicine clinic; get emergency care immediately.
Treatment for facial palsy is arranged differently depending on when the paralysis began, the current stage, and how much facial movement remains. On this page, we explain taking herbal medicine to support immune recovery in the early acute phase; afterward, we combine herbal medicine that supports qi and blood circulation with in-clinic treatment, focusing on the recovery of the paralyzed muscles and nerves.
In-clinic treatment may include constitutional acupuncture, acupuncture, bee venom pharmacopuncture, moxibustion, and Chuna manual therapy depending on symptoms and cause. Not every method is applied the same number of times; we plan after checking the current condition, such as eye closure, forehead wrinkling, mouth movement, and pain behind the ear.
Looking in a mirror, check whether you can wrinkle your forehead on both sides, whether both eyes close fully, and whether one side moves less when you smile or purse your lips. Whether there was pain behind the ear first, whether food collects on one side, and whether taste or sound feels different than usual are also helpful information for your consultation.
Recording the date the symptoms began and the period over which they worsened makes it easier to assess the current stage. If there are nerve symptoms beyond the face, such as weakness in the arms or legs or slurred speech, emergency care comes before any record.
With facial palsy, it is important not to miss the early treatment window, and to minimize lasting facial asymmetry through active treatment during the first 3 months.
Pain behind the ear that appears a few days before facial paralysis sets in; it occurs in about 60% of cases.
In the early acute phase, Gongjindan is taken for 5 to 10 days and herbal medicine for 1 to 3 months, alongside in-clinic treatment at least 3 times a week.
Being unable to wrinkle the forehead or close the eye completely is a self-check item for facial palsy.
Recovery goes through the prodromal phase, onset of paralysis, acute phase, plateau phase, recovery phase, and after-effects.
We offer herbal medicine treatment, constitutional acupuncture, bee venom pharmacopuncture, acupuncture treatment, and Chuna manual therapy.
Facial palsy (peripheral facial paralysis) often means the forehead cannot wrinkle and the whole face is evenly paralyzed, whereas paralysis from a stroke often leaves forehead wrinkling normal while only the lower face, such as around the mouth, droops. If there is also weakness in the arms or legs or abnormal speech, emergency care is needed immediately.
Recovery may vary depending on how actively it is treated within the golden time of 3 months, so continuing treatment from the early stage without missing that window is important for minimizing after-effects such as facial asymmetry.
We look at overwork and lowered immunity, exposure to cold wind or chill, and severe stress together. Pain behind the ear may be followed by the mouth drooping or the eye not closing, so it is important not to simply wait based on the suspected cause.
The treatment plan may vary with when the paralysis began, the stage, and the current condition, such as eye closure, forehead wrinkling, and mouth movement. We plan by checking which of herbal medicine, constitutional acupuncture, acupuncture, bee venom pharmacopuncture, moxibustion, and Chuna manual therapy are needed.
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You can also check symptoms that overlap with the self-check items for facial palsy and Bell's palsy on the page below.
The facial palsy page explains that it is important to keep facial asymmetry after-effects to a minimum through treatment within the first 3 months. You can check this together on the facial asymmetry page.
The self-check items for facial palsy include hearing even small sounds loudly along with ringing in the ears. Ringing in the ears is also listed in the temporomandibular disorder self-check, so you can review them together.
With facial palsy (peripheral facial nerve palsy), one side of the face is often affected evenly, to the point that the forehead does not wrinkle and the eye does not close completely. Palsy caused by a stroke, by contrast, often leaves the forehead wrinkling normally while only the lower face, such as around the mouth, droops. Checking whether the forehead wrinkles is an important criterion for deciding whether this is an emergency.
If facial paralysis comes with weakness in the arms or legs, slurred speech, severe dizziness, or seeing double, it may be a stroke and emergency care is needed immediately. In that case emergency room care comes before the guidance on this page.
With facial palsy, how actively it is treated within the golden window of three months can change the degree of recovery. Starting care for immune recovery in the early acute stage and continuing treatment in step with the period when the paralyzed muscles and nerves are recovering is important for keeping after-effects such as facial asymmetry to a minimum. If the window is missed and it is left alone, recovery may be slower or after-effects may remain, so it is advisable to be seen as soon as you notice symptoms.
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Teo Korean Medicine Clinic Bundang: Facial palsy (Bell's palsy) care, patients come to us from Geumgok-dong·Jeongja-dong·Gumi-dong·Sunae-dong·Seohyeon-dong·Imae-dong·Yatap-dong.
The subway stations used are Migeum Station·Jeongja Station·Ori Station·Sunae Station·Seohyeon Station·Imae Station·Yatap Station.
