Fast Five Quiz: How Much Do You Know About Bell Palsy?

Early ocular complications include the following:

• Lagophthalmos (inability to close the eye completely)

• Paralytic ectropion of the lower lid

• Corneal exposure

• Brow droop

• Upper eyelid retraction

• Decreased tear output and poor tear distribution

• Loss of the nasolabial fold

• Corneal erosion, infection, and ulceration (rare)

Late ocular manifestations include the following:

• Mild, generalized mass contracture of the facial muscles, rendering the affected palpebral fissure narrower than the opposite one (after several months)

• Aberrant regeneration of the facial nerve with motor synkinesis

• Reversed jaw winking (ie, contracture of the facial muscles with twitching of the corner of the mouth or dimpling of the chin occurring simultaneously with each blink)

• Autonomic synkinesis (ie, crocodile tears—tearing with chewing)

• Permanent, disfiguring facial paralysis (rare)

For more on presentation of Bell palsy, read here.

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Any views expressed above are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the views of WebMD or Medscape.

Cite this: Selim Benbadis. Fast Five Quiz: How Much Do You Know About Bell Palsy? - Medscape - Sep 29, 2015.