Learn what a typical Bell's palsy prognosis is at Consumer Reports Health.

Bell's palsy

What will happen to me?

You have a good chance of recovering from Bell's palsy within three weeks.

But some people are left with a slight weakness. And a few people are left with a more serious problem that can make their face look different:

Source:
Holland NJ, Weiner G.
Recent developments in Bell's palsy.
BMJ. 2004; 329: 553-557.

Source:
Peitersen E.
Bell's palsy: the spontaneous course of 2,500 peripheral facial nerve palsies of different etiologies.
Acta Oto-Laryngologica. Supplementum. 2002; 549: 4-30.

About 7 in 10 people make a complete recovery. This means your face muscles work properly and your face looks normal again.
About 3 in 10 people find some of the muscles in their face remain weak.
About 2 in 10 people are left with a more serious problem.

If you have only a partial palsy, you have a very good chance of making a complete recovery. A partial palsy is when you still have some movement in whichever side of your face is affected. More than 9 in 10 people with partial palsy recover completely afterward.

Source:
Peitersen E.
Bell's palsy: the spontaneous course of 2,500 peripheral facial nerve palsies of different etiologies.
Acta Oto-Laryngologica. Supplementum. 2002; 549: 4-30.

More than 8 in 10 people are much better within three weeks of getting Bell's palsy. This is true whether or not they have treatment.

Source:
Peitersen E.
Bell's palsy: the spontaneous course of 2,500 peripheral facial nerve palsies of different etiologies.
Acta Oto-Laryngologica. Supplementum. 2002; 549: 4-30.

² Most other people recover within five months.

If your symptoms haven't improved after three weeks, the nerve in your face may be permanently damaged. Or something else might be causing your face muscles to be weak.

Source:
Holland NJ, Weiner G.
Recent developments in Bell's palsy.
BMJ. 2004; 329: 553-557.

About 2 in 10 people get more long-term problems. For example:

Your face may look different because your face muscles have shortened. Doctors call this a contracture.
Different parts of your face may move together. For example, your chin may dimple each time you blink. This happens when the nerve in the face grows back in a different way.

If you get these problems, you may feel anxious and self-conscious. You might find communicating with people difficult if you can't smile and frown normally. You can talk to your doctor about further treatments. You may also find it helpful to have

counselor
A counselor is a professional who is trained to help people, usually with the emotional part of their illness. Counselors talk to people about their illness. They also suggest ways that people can make changes for the better.

counseling to help you cope with the changes to your face.

You're more likely to have long-term problems if:

Source:
Holland NJ, Weiner G.
Recent developments in Bell's palsy.
BMJ. 2004; 329: 553-557.

Source:
Peitersen E.
Bell's palsy: the spontaneous course of 2,500 peripheral facial nerve palsies of different etiologies.
Acta Oto-Laryngologica. Supplementum. 2002; 549: 4-30.

You have no movement left in the side of your face that is affected (a complete palsy) (only 6 in 10 people who have a complete palsy can use their face muscles fully again)
You are older than 60
You have severe pain at the start
You have

high blood pressure
Your blood pressure is considered to be high when it is above the accepted normal range. The usual limit for normal blood pressure is 140/90. If either the first (systolic) number is above 140 or the lower (diastolic) number is above 90, a person is considered to have high blood pressure. Doctors sometimes call high blood pressure "hypertension."

high blood pressure or

diabetes
Diabetes is a condition that causes too much sugar to circulate in your blood. It happens when your body stops making a hormone called insulin (type 1 diabetes) or when insulin stops working (type 2 diabetes).

diabetes, or you're pregnant
Tests show that your facial nerve is badly damaged
You don't start to recover after six weeks.

If your Bell's palsy was caused by the herpes zoster virus, you might get a more serious condition called Ramsay Hunt syndrome. It's also called herpes zoster oticus. This can cause blistering inside your ear and on your tongue. You may also lose some hearing, either for a while or permanently.

Source:
Furuta Y, Ohtani F, Kawabata H, et al.
High prevalence of varicella-zoster virus reactivation in herpes simplex virus-seronegative patients with acute peripheral facial palsy.
Clinical Infectious Diseases. 2000; 30: 529-533.

³ But this happens to fewer than 2 in 100 people who get Bell's palsy. Treatment for this condition is very similar to the treatment of Bell's palsy.

Sources for the information on this page:

Holland NJ, Weiner G.Recent developments in Bell's palsy.BMJ. 2004; 329: 553-557.

Peitersen E.Bell's palsy: the spontaneous course of 2,500 peripheral facial nerve palsies of different etiologies.Acta Oto-Laryngologica. Supplementum. 2002; 549: 4-30.

Furuta Y, Ohtani F, Kawabata H, et al.High prevalence of varicella-zoster virus reactivation in herpes simplex virus-seronegative patients with acute peripheral facial palsy.Clinical Infectious Diseases. 2000; 30: 529-533.

This information was last updated on Jan 09, 2009

This information is for educational use only, and is not a substitute for prompt professional medical advice. Readers should always consult a physician or other professional for advice and treatment.
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