Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.
About Bell's Palsy
Bell's palsy is the most common cause of facial paralysis. It usually affects just one side of the face. Symptoms appear suddenly and are at their worst about 48 hours after they start. They can range from mild to severe and include:
- Twitching
- Weakness
- Paralysis
- Drooping eyelid or corner of mouth
- Drooling
- Dry eye or mouth
- Excessive tearing in the eye
- Impaired ability to taste
Scientists think that a viral infection makes the facial nerve swell or become inflamed. You are most likely to get Bell's palsy if you are pregnant, diabetic or sick with a cold or flu.
Three out of four patients improve without treatment. With or without treatment, most people begin to get better within 2 weeks and recover completely within 3 to 6 months.
It sits within Brain and Nerves.
The lead U.S. institute for this subject is the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.
Research on Bell's Palsy
143 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.
What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.
Research currently under way
- Mirror Therapy vs Mime Therapy in Bell's PalsyUniversity of Lahore
- Mindfulness in Nonflaccid Facial ParalysisWake Forest University Health Sciences
- Effect of Low Energy Extracorporeal Shockwave on Patients With Bell's PalsyCairo University
- Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Virtual Reality Self-rehabilitation in the Treatment of Facial Paralysis and SynkinesisCentre Hospitalier Universitaire, Amiens
- Suture Lid Spring for Lid Closure in Patients With Facial Nerve PalsyUniversity of Alberta
- Study on the Optimal Waveform Patterns of Electroacupuncture Targeted Intervention for Bell's Palsy Based on Surface Electromyography CharacteristicsThe Third Affiliated hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University
Research already completed
- Ultrasound-guided Combined Perineural and Intramuscular Dextrose Injection for Management of Refractory Bell's PalsyAl-Azhar University
- Bell's Palsy With a Duration of Greater Than 8 Weeks Treated With Multiwave Locked System InterventionBeijing Tongren Hospital
- Exteroceptive Stimulation for Facial Palsy After StrokeUniversity of Faisalabad
- Two Electroacupuncture Waveforms for Different Severity Groups of Bell PalsyThe Third Affiliated hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University
- EA Treatment With Different Waveform for Subacute BP:Study Protocol for a Randomized Controlled TrialThe Third Affiliated hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University
Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.
Where to read more
Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.
Start Here
- Bell's PalsyMayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
- Bell's PalsyNational Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
- What Is Bell's Palsy?American Academy of Ophthalmology
Diagnosis and Tests
- When You Visit Your Doctor -- Bell's PalsyHarvard Medical School
Clinical Trials
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Bell PalsyNational Institutes of Health
Medical subject headings
Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Bell Palsy. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.
This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Bell's Palsy, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.