Is this Bell's Palsy?

Question

For the past few days i've had random twitching ( or rather, it feels like blood throbbing ) around my eyes and eyebrows, cheeks and basically anywhere on my left side of the face. When i blink, my left eye doesn't seem to close completely and its slightly hard to wink with my left eye. Sleeping is normal though.My lips also seem to be affected, its all normal but somehow i cannot completely control my upper left lip and it gets slightly hard to chew. My face looks completely normal, unlike the drooping signs of Bells Palsy. Anyone have any idea what i might have? I'm only 20 and perfectly healthy. Its only irritating because of the throbbing and the affecting of my eating habits/

Just to add on to all of your helpful replies, i don't have any earache and my symptoms now feel so incredibly minor to all of yours! for e.g my left eye is okay, its just a little harder to close it ( like when i blink it only closes partially). as for my lips, what i notice is the refusal to close properly on the left side as well. to those WITH bell's : do you get the twitches/blood throbbing sensation too? they can;t be seen but definitely felt.

Answer 1

I had Bell's Palsy a couple of years back and I noticed that I could not taste on the affected side of my tongue. This is because the nerve which is affected is the VIIth cranial nerve which controls motor skills for the side of the face and sensory cells for the tongue.

Also that eye watered because I could not blink. I found that i couldn't brush my teeth without hitting my lip.

The symptom you describe sound just like Bell's Palsy and your health is irrelevent. I was perfectly healthy and 21.

Incidently, diabetics are more likely to develop the condition.

You should always see a doctor though because it could be a stroke.

It takes a while to recover from Bell's Palsy so don't let it get you down. It is very rarely permenent. Wear the eye-patch with pride and tape up your eye at night - you don't want to get a secondary infection...

Answer 2

Bells Palsy and stroke (yes, even at your age) are both possible, plus a hundred other things I wouldn't know about.
I had Bells Palsy a few years ago (I was 19), so I'll tell you what my symptoms were.
My right eye wouldn't close at all, unless sleeping, when I brushed my teeth all the toothpaste ran out the right side of my mouth becuase I couldn't keep my lip up, which also made drinking difficult, and there was a horrible pain around my ear. Bells Palsy makes things swell up around the nerve, so everything the nerve affects - eyes, mouth, cheeks, etc - stops working properly.
I was put on a low dose of prednisone to fix it, but before I was cured they had to put a big patch over my right eye because it was open too much, let too much light in, and got infected.
Mine was a mild dose of the palsy, so I didn't have the serious (and sometimes permanent) drooping that some people get.
That's all I remember, it's been a while, but you should have it checked out, just to be sure.

Answer 3

It could be any number of things like, stress, or Bells Palsy, or even a mild stroke. If I were you, I'd see a Dr. right away. Even though the drooping has not happened it may be possible that it is palsy. A Dr. can do a check up and blood work to determine the cause. Good luck!

Answer 4

What are some of the signs of cerebral palsy?
The signs of cerebral palsy vary greatly because there are many different types and levels of disability. The main sign that your child might have cerebral palsy is a delay reaching the motor or movement milestones. If you see any of these signs, call your child's doctor or nurse.

A child over 2 months with cerebral palsy might:

* have difficulty controlling head when picked up
* have stiff legs that cross or "scissor" when picked up

A child over 6 months with cerebral palsy might:

* continue to have a hard time controlling head when picked up
* reach with only one hand while keeping the other in a fist

A child over 10 months with cerebral palsy might:

* crawl by pushing off with one hand and leg while dragging the opposite hand and leg
* not sit by himself or herself

A child over 12 months with cerebral palsy might:

* not crawl
* not be able to stand with support

A child over 24 months with cerebral palsy might:

* not be able to walk
* not be able to push a toy with wheels

What causes cerebral palsy?
Cerebral palsy is caused by a problem in the brain that affects a child's ability to control his or her muscles. Problems in different parts of the brain cause problems in different parts of the body. There are many possible causes of problems, such as genetic conditions, problems with the blood supply to the brain before birth, infections, bleeding in the brain, lack of oxygen, severe jaundice, and head injury.
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/cerebralpalsy.html
http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/ActEarly/cerebral_palsy.html

Answer 5

Stroke?