Weeks 2-3
Week 2
Some people will start to notice improvement after the first week. Others may experience a slower recovery, and it may take several weeks before your face starts to improve.
You will need to continue with all your medication, as prescribed, and all the eye care until your eye closes when you sleep and until you can blink normally. In some instances, it can take longer for the eye to recover compared to other parts of the face.
Week 3
By the end of the third week, a full recovery is likely for the majority of people. For those who make a slower recovery, it is important to continue with all the early advice and to understand that the nerve will recover in its own time. If the nerve damage is more severe it will take longer to recover (link to different types of nerve damage). There is nothing which can make the nerve recover more quickly and energy should focus on maintaining muscle health (massage) and compensating for loss of function, for example, eye care. Making sure you maintain a balanced diet, drink plenty of fluids, take gentle exercise and rest when your body tells you. These activities will help improve your general health and maximise your potential to recover.
Relaxation for the face at rest
For people experiencing a slower recovery, it is helpful to undertake a programme of relaxation for the face. This is a very important part of maintaining muscle health because the facial nerve, as it starts to recover, may behave in a different way forgetting when it should be working and when it should be resting. The aim with relaxation is to teach yourself how to maintain very low nerve activity when you are at rest, so the nerve understands that it does not need to work when the muscles aren’t moving. Secondly, the unaffected side of the face can try and compensate for the weakness on the affected side of the face and therefore overwork and become very dominant. Facial relaxation at rest for short intervals throughout the day can help prevent these two situations from happening or if already a symptom relaxation can resolve the problem.
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Week 1
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