Often Thought To Be The Same, Recognize The Difference Between Bell's Palsy And Stroke

Illustration of bell's palsy and stroke (Freepic)

JAKARTA - Bell's Palsy and stroke often cause confusion because both of them cause sudden facial paralysis. However, although the symptoms are similar, these two conditions have very different causes and impacts.

As a guide for ordinary people, the Faculty Specialist of RSPI, dr. Sahar Aritonang, Sp. N, M.S.Med, FINS said the fundamental difference between the two lies in the type of affected nerves.

"So usually, if the bell's palsy is the nerve of the face, which we call the seventh nerve. Meanwhile, in stroke, you can get the seventh nerve, but it can also be accompanied by other complaints," said a doctor who graduated from Diponegoro University as quoted by Antara.

According to him, bell's palsy, the affected is the seventh nerve or edge nerve (perifer), which means the disorder is usually only limited to the facial area, without any other symptoms such as weakness of the body's limbs or visual impairment, which is common in stroke.

Meanwhile, in strokes, the seventh nerves affected are usually accompanied by additional symptoms in other bodies, for example, stroke patients may experience weakness in the hands or legs, as well as impaired vision.

The way to distinguish the two is quite simple, in the bell's palsy case, one side of the face is completely paralyzed, including eyebrows and eyes that can't close perfectly.

While in stroke, more weakness occurs at the bottom of the face, so that eyebrows and eyes can still function normally.

"So it is said, the bell's palsy total of half of his face will be paralyzed. Meanwhile, if in stroke it is usually only the lower face, under the eyes it is usually the tough one," he said.

Doctor Sahar also emphasized that although both need quick treatment, stroke has "golden time" or golden time for treatment.

Within the first three and a half to four hours, people with strokenon-hemorrhagic (stroke due to blockage) can be given a thrombolytic drug to destroy the blockage.

The fast handling is important to increase the possibility of a better recovery in both conditions.