Bell's Palsy - Medical Treatments and Alternative Medicines

Bell's palsy is a paralysis of the facial muscles that control movement and expression. Each year, about 40,000 Americans develop the condition; most are over 40, although the disorder can occur at any age. Paralysis, which occurs on one side of the face, is usually temporary. The symptoms include an inability to close one eye plus weakness and lack of muscle tone on the affected side. The face may feel as if it is twisted, and speaking and eating may become difficult. In some cases, one side of the mouth droops and the senses of taste and hearing are impaired. The eye may also become abnormally dry. Bell's palsy usually develops rapidly, often coming on overnight, but some patients recall a warning pain behind the ear a few hours to a few days before the onset. The paralysis is thought to be caused by a swelling of the facial nerve that runs from the brain to the face. As the nerve swells, it becomes compressed within the surrounding bony enclosure. The underlying cause is unknown, but because Bell's palsy often follows an earache, cold, or other viral infection, some doctors believe that a virus may be involved. Injuries to the head and pregnancy have also been implicated. In80 to 90 percent of cases, Bell's palsy is a temporary condition. If paralysis begins to reverse by the end of the second week, the prognosis for a full recovery is good.

Diagnostic Studies and Procedures

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Most occurrences can be diagnosed by the characteristic symptoms and their rapid onset. If there is any doubt, a doctor will order X-rays and perhaps a CT scan or MRI of the skull to rule out a tumor, fracture, or bone erosion. Blood tests can help detect a possible underlying infection. If facial paralysis persists, nerve conduction tests or electromyography(EMG) may be ordered to assess the extent of nerve activity and damage.

Medical Treatments

Treatment for this condition is some what controversial. Because most cases resolve themselves without therapy, some doctors advise a wait and see policy. Others advocate prompt medical intervention in the hope of shortening the course of the paralysis. If improvement fails to occur within two weeks, treatment is advisable. There are two approaches: The most common entails taking corticosteroid drugs such as prednisone to reduce nerve swelling and inflammation. Typically, the drug is given in high doses for five days, and then tapered off and stopped over the next five days. Sometimes surgery is performed to widen the bony canal that surrounds the facial nerve. But this operation is done only as a last resort.

Alternative Therapies

Alternative therapies for Bell's palsy are even more controversial than those of conventional medicine, because their efficacy is doubtful. Those that are sometimes suggested include.

Acupuncture

Stimulation of meridians controlling nerves in the head and face is said to reduce swelling and reverse paralysis, provided the nerve has not been permanently damaged.

Aromatherapy

Facial massage using aromatic oils can prevent muscle spasms and may speed recovery.

Herbal Medicine

Traditional Chinese herbalists recommend the Pueraria combination, which is made up of kudzu root, mahuang, ginger, jujube fruit, cinnamon, peony root, and licorice for acute numbness of facial nerves, and a combination of cinnamon, atractylodes, and aconite for chronic disorders of these nerves.

Self Treatment

Self care is directed to preventing long term eye damage and alleviating symptoms while awaiting recovery. Because you probably will not be able to blink or close your eye, it should be protected with an eye patch, especially while sleeping. Artificial tears or medicated eyedrops help to alleviate eye dryness. Special facial exercises and self massage can prevent long term contracture and damage to the facial muscles. A physical therapist can prescribe exercises to do at home. Wearing a splint helps to prevent drooping of the lower part of the face. A doctor or physical therapist can supply an appropriate one, or you can fashion your own from a long strip of cotton or linen. Chewing and swallowing may be difficult, so avoid foods that can cause choking. In fact, you may want to switch to a liquid diet until the paralysis disappears.

Other Causes of Facial Paralysis

Infection, Guillain Barre syndrome, Lyme disease, shingles, stroke, or a tumor are among the many other causes of facial paralysis. Spasms of the facial muscles, called hemifacial spasm, can cause symptoms similar to those of Bell's palsy. In rare cases, women develop a condition called facial hemiatrophy of Romberg, which entails loss of fatty tissue just under the skin. This disorder progresses slowly, resulting in facial atrophy and distortion.

Bell's Palsy - Medical Treatments and Alternative Medicines

Alternative Cancer Treatments

Medical Treatments For Breast Cancer

Surgery. Treatment varies according to the type and stage of cancer, but surgery remains the first choice for most tumors. The majority of operations now are less disfiguring than the radical mastectomy that was standard until the 1970s. Operations for breast cancer are Extended radical mastectomy involves removal of the breast, underarm lymph nodes, and underlying chest muscles. This procedure, rarely performed today, is reserved for women with large tumors that are attached to or have invaded the chest muscle and its connective tissues. If the mammary lymph nodes deep in the chest are involved, they will also be removed. Modified radical mastectomy is the removal of the breast, underarm lymph nodes, and sometimes part of the chest muscle. The amount of tissue removed from the underarm depends on the spread of the tumor. This remains the most common operation for women with invasive breast cancer. Total, or simple, mastectomy is the removal of the entire breast, including its extensions to the armpit and some times near the collarbone. Because the lymph nodes are left intact, radiation therapy usually follows the operation.

Subcutaneous mastectomy involves removing the breast tissue but leaving the skin and nipple intact. A prosthesis is then slipped under the skin to restore normal appearance. This procedure is rarely performed, because it may miss cancer cells and the cosmetic results are often poor. Lumpectomy or partial mastectomy involves removal of the cancerous lump and a surrounding margin of normal tissue. Some of the armpit lymph nodes are also taken out and examined for spread, and the operation is followed by radiation therapy. Preventative, or prophylactic, mastectomy is the removal of a breast to prevent the development of cancer. This operation is done only if a woman has a very high risk of breast cancer and is so worried by the prospect that she cannot live a normal life. Breast reconstruction by a plastic surgeon can sometimes be performed immediately following a mastectomy, but more often it is done after the original incision has healed. If the opposite breast is larger, it may be reduced in size to match the reconstructed one, either at the same time as the reconstruction or in a later operation. In the past, a prosthetic implant filled with silicone gel was the first choice for reconstruction. Because questions have arisen about the long term safety of silicone, many women are now opting for implants filled with a saline solution, or a more extensive procedure in which fatty tissue from the woman's own buttocks or elsewhere is used to reconstruct a breast.

Cancer Treatments

Radiation Therapy . The purpose of this treatment is to destroy any cancer cells that may have escaped surgical removal. Radiation is routinely administered after a simple mastectomy and a lumpectomy, or if numerous lymph nodes have been affected. It is also prescribed for recurring or inoperable cancer, and to alleviate the pain of advanced cancer. Typically, radiation treatments are begun two or three weeks after the surgery, or after the scar has healed and the woman has regained the use of her arm. Immediate side effects include blistering of the skin and fatigue. Later, the skin exposed to the radiation may darken, thicken, and lack sensitivity if any nerve endings have been damaged. Long term complications may include impaired lung function due to scar tissue, an increased risk of heart disease, and easy fracturing of the ribs. Chemotherapy. Studies indicate that adjuvant chemotherapy greatly increases long term survival, even for women with localized stage I cancer.

Chemotherapy may begin before surgery; however, it is usually started a few weeks afterwards. This treatment is also prescribed for recurrent or inoperable cancers. Chemotherapy appears to be most effective in preventing a recurrence among younger women who have not gone through menopause. The side effects loss of hair, nausea, reduced immunity to infections, mouth sores, fatigue, and bleeding problems are temporary, but still very trying. For this reason, chemotherapy may not be recommended for an older woman, especially if her cancer is localized. Hormone Therapy. Cancer specialists now believe that almost all breast cancer patients can benefit from hormone therapy, even if their tumors are not the type stimulated by estrogen or proges terone. Thmoxifen (Nolvadex), a drug that blocks estrogen, is the treatment of choice. It has fewer side effects than anticancer drugs, although it may cause hot flashes and other menopausal symptoms in younger women. Other, more radical approaches to hormone manipulation include ovarian ablation, a procedure in which the ovaries are either surgically removed or destroyed by chemicals or radiation, and perhaps the removal of other hormone producing glands.

Experimental Treatments

Women with advanced breast cancer may be candidates for experimental therapies such as hyperthermia, in which very high fevers are induced to kill cancer cells, photodynamic therapy, which uses a light sensitive anticancer drug; and bone marrow transplantation, in which the woman's bone marrow is destroyed by drugs and then replaced with healthy marrow to bolster the body's ability to fight the cancer.

Medical Treatments For Breast Cancer

Cancer Treatments

Spinal Cord Injury Alternative Medicine Treatment : Medical Intuition & Energy Healing

Spinal cord injury (herniated discs, pinched nerves, collapsed vertebrae) is one of the most devastating catastrophic injuries that one can endure. The spinal cord is the gateway for all nerve paths. The location of the injury and the severity of the damage determine the complications involved and the dysfunction. Science is discovering that the sooner the spinal cord injury is addressed and treatment begins, there is a direct correlation to recovery of the affected areas.

As a medical intuitive and "human MRI", when assessing a spinal cord injury, I look at the 360 degree view of the traumatized area. Failing to "see" the entire injured area can produce further injury, and create neglect in areas that need to be immediately addressed. It is best to look at each segment of the spine (discs and vertebrae) and spinal cord nerves in 4 equal quadrants. When helping to diagnose and evaluate the damaged area, reevaluating every 3 hours for the first 24 hours until the client is stabilized produces more accurate readings and beneficial results, as inflammation, further compression and damage can progress after the initial injury has occurred.

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Although the initial site of the catastrophic injury is your primary source of dehabilitation, the damaged neural pathways can extend beyond that original area and days later create problems of their own. To counter this problem, "tracking" the energy of the affected neural pathways will give you further information of possible deterioration and additional side effects. If you do not have extending neural circumstances, containing the affected areas in a bubble of Healing energy will usually suspend further exacerbation of future problems.

While the allopathic physicians are providing their treatments, you can effectively use energy healing to complement and integrate with their procedures.
Removing pain is usually the first consideration, unless the client is rendered "numb" by his experience. Secondly, work on inflammation to help minimize current damage and to alleviate possible secondary symptoms.

In my experience in healing the spinal cord nerves, vertebrae and herniated discs of a paralyzed dog in 90 days, it is best to work on each issue separately so as not to overload the client's health response system during a time of great stress. Use energy healing to build a solid foundation step by step to rebuild the molecular structure of the cells and in turn the bodily systems. It is also best to work in increments and intermittently, so the molecular structures can recalibrate, and regenerate without stressing the physical structures.

First, regenerate the vertebrae's cellular structure in order to provide a foundation that is capable of holding the disc. Secondly, reestablish the health of each disc, leaving the neural pathways as your last concern. Once the spine is stabilized, then revitalize the neural pathways. If you reactivate the nerves before you have a solid base in the spinal column, you might create more inflammation and pain than necessary. Rebuilding a system, inch by inch produces a stronger foundation that will allow the client to rebuild his muscular system with physical therapy without causing extra pain.

Although stem cell research is providing a gateway of hope for Spinal cord injuries,electromagnetic bio molecular energy healing can and will be a beneficial healing modality.

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Contact Information:

Brent Atwater, Alternative & Integrative Medical Specialist

Medical Intuitive, Distance Energy Healing

ATL, GA Phone: 404.242.9022 USA

NC Phone: 910.692.5206 USA

Disclaimer: Brent Atwater is not a medical doctor or associated with any branch of medicine. Brent works in Alternative Medicine. She offers her opinions based on her intuition, and her personal energy healing work, which is not a substitute for medical procedures or treatments. Always consult a physician or trained health care professional concerning any medical problem or condition before undertaking any diet, health related or lifestyle change programs. There are no guarantees with the Energy work.

Website: http://www.brentatwater.com

Email: mailto:Brent@BrentAtwater.com

Spinal Cord Injury Alternative Medicine Treatment : Medical Intuition & Energy Healing

Alternative Cancer Treatments