Why does my cheek swell?
Cheek swelling that is not accompanied by toothache is usually associated with inflammation. Conventionally, the causes of this condition are divided into 3 groups:
result of dental treatment;
diseases affecting the oral cavity;
Dental treatment
If the dentist does not treat the tooth correctly or completely, it can cause swelling in the cheek.
Allergic reaction.
It appears in the patient as a result of intolerance to the components of the filling. To eliminate swelling, you should visit a doctor and replace the installed filling with a hypoallergenic one.
Removal of a tooth.
If the cheek is swollen after surgery, then the patient probably ignored the doctor’s recommendations and ate solid or hot foods.
Nerve removal.
Swelling occurs if part of the nerve is not removed. It is important to see a dentist immediately so as not to lose a healthy tooth.
Gum section.
Usually required to remove accumulated pus. If the swelling does not subside while taking anti-inflammatory drugs, this may be a serious symptom that requires the attention of a specialist.
Periodontal disease
It occurs more often in older patients. If the cheek is swollen due to the development of periodontal disease, then surgical intervention will be required.
Inflammatory infiltrate
The disease is serious, and its complications include abscess and inflammatory processes in the brain.
The appearance of a tumor on the cheek is preceded by soreness of the teeth, which bothers the patient for several days.
You won’t be able to cure it on your own; you need to see a dentist as soon as possible.
Wisdom tooth
Incorrect growth of wisdom teeth is accompanied by increased body temperature and weakness. Removing such a tooth will help relieve cheek swelling.
Gingivitis
Inflammation of the gums (gingivitis) leads to swelling, bleeding and unpleasant odor from the mouth. If left untreated, it progresses to periodontitis.
Neurology
It is worth talking about neurological problems if, in addition to a swollen cheek, the patient is bothered by soreness in the head and stuffy ears.
Diseases of internal organs
The accumulation of excess fluid in the tissues on the face, caused by disruption of the internal organs, is an alarming symptom that requires immediate intervention from specialists.
Infectious processes
With mumps, the temperature rises and the glands located behind the ears become swollen.
Anti-inflammatory drugs and antibiotics will help get rid of a viral or bacterial infection.
Cyst
It can form on the sebaceous gland, which will lead to swelling of the cheek. The cyst is removed during surgery.
Injury
When a blow or other mechanical impact occurs, swelling appears on the cheek. If the outcome is successful, it will resolve on its own within 4-5 days. If after a week the swelling has not gone away, you should go to the hospital.
Associated symptoms are itching, redness of the skin and the formation of a lump.
Failure to comply with hygiene rules
In the absence of systematic dental and oral care, the patient may develop an inflammatory process, which will lead to swelling of the gums and then the cheeks.
Prevention
Regardless of why the cheek swells and what are the causes of its swelling, it is necessary to follow simple rules to prevent diseases of the oral cavity. Basic preventive measures:
- Compliance with oral hygiene procedures. It is necessary to brush your teeth for at least 10 minutes 2 times a day. It is worth using dental floss to remove food debris and plaque. Remove plaque as thoroughly as possible, it creates an optimal environment for the proliferation of pathogenic microbes.
- Regular visits to the dentist. A visit to a specialist will help prevent many diseases, identify existing problems, and avoid complications. The dentist will conduct a professional examination of the oral cavity and professional teeth cleaning. If necessary, a set of therapeutic measures will be prescribed.
- Balanced and rational nutrition. A nutritious diet strengthens the body, ensures it is saturated with necessary elements, which has the most beneficial effect on the health of teeth and gums. Resistance to harmful microorganisms and the ability to restore soft and bone tissues increase.
- The use of vitamin complexes that restore the balance of nutrients and elements, replenishing their deficiency.
- Physical exercise. Physical activity improves the general condition of the body, strengthens the immune system, enhances metabolic processes, and improves the functioning of all systems.
- Healthy psycho-emotional background. Many unpleasant symptoms occur against the background of psychoemotional disorders, including neurological pain and swelling in the face.
- Regular visits to a therapist will help cure diseases that provoke inflammatory processes in the oral cavity, disorders of the regenerative ability of bone tissue, and dental problems.
What to do if your cheek is swollen
To reduce swelling, you can use one of the following tips:
Rinse your mouth with a solution of salt and soda.
This remedy has an antiseptic effect and helps destroy pathogens. You can enhance the effect by adding a couple of drops of iodine to the solution.
Use chamomile infusion to rinse
, sage or other medicinal herbs that have anti-inflammatory properties.
Apply a cold compress to the swollen cheek
if the swelling is caused by a bite or mechanical injury. This method is contraindicated in patients who have an elevated body temperature or a tumor that develops due to inflammatory processes. Warming compresses are not recommended.
Lotions with aloe or Kalanchoe juice.
A cotton wool soaked in the juice of the plant is applied to the inside of the affected cheek.
If the described methods do not eliminate the problem, you should seek help from a doctor. The day before, you should not take painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs, so as not to complicate the diagnosis.
How can I help you
A tumor may not be the only symptom in such a situation. Sometimes it is accompanied by pain of varying intensity, swelling that even extends to the neck area, a feeling of heat, numbness, increased body temperature, etc. As a rule, as the tumor shrinks, all these manifestations also become less pronounced.
To understand what kind of measures to take, you need to correctly determine the cause of these manifestations. In dental practice, a tumor on the face most often appears due to the following provoking factors:
- periodontitis;
- flux;
- removal of a tooth;
- after treatment at the dentist;
- trauma to the tooth and gums;
- eruption of molars.
For periodontitis
A disease of the root and peri-root tissues, which can have various consequences, including tooth loss. In the early stages it is practically asymptomatic, but over time the body increasingly indicates a problem. The tumor can spread not only to the cheek, but also to the gum and upper or lower lip. Periodontitis can be recognized by throbbing pain and a white spot at the center of the inflammation on the gum.
Swelling occurs on the face due to the penetration of infection through the root canal into the tissue surrounding the tooth, through a hole in the apex of the root. This often results in an increase in temperature. Most often the process is accompanied by significant pain.
In this case, it is unlikely that all symptoms will be completely relieved. It is necessary to make an appointment with a doctor as soon as possible, but until then the following measures are recommended:
- Taking painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs. This could be Nurofen, Panadol, Ketanov, Dexalgin, etc. Before taking it, you need to read the instructions and check that there are no contraindications. Those who have diseases of the gastrointestinal tract should be especially careful, as these drugs have many side effects that affect the functioning of the digestive organs.
- You can apply a cold compress to the site of the tumor, which will slightly relieve inflammation and dampen the discomfort. A warm compress is contraindicated for periodontitis.
With flux
Flux is an infectious phenomenon that progresses due to inflammation in the periosteum or body of the jaw. It occurs not only as a result of dental reasons, but also after a sore throat or furunculosis. In this case, in addition to the swelling on the cheek and gum, there is a weak or throbbing pain; the contents of the flux in the later stages become purulent, which causes an increase in temperature. With gumboil on the upper jaw, swelling involves the gums, cheek, lip and can spread to the nasolabial fold. When localized on the lower jaw, in addition to the face, the inflammation often affects the neck.
To reduce swelling and puffiness, use the following:
- Ointments and gels. You can buy products such as Levomekol, Metrogyl Denta, etc. at the pharmacy without prescriptions. These drugs are used in the form of applications to the gum mucosa near the tooth. They contain antibacterial and anti-inflammatory components. After use, you should refrain from drinking water and eating for some time.
- Pills. Antitumor effects are exerted by tableted drugs such as Nimesil, Diazolin, Diclofenac, etc.
- Pharmaceutical rinses. It has a local effect on pathogenic bacteria, fungi and viruses. Dentists recommend such affordable and effective solutions as Rotokan, Malavit, Chlorhexidine, Betadine, Furacilin, etc. Solutions must be prepared in accordance with the instructions.
After removal
Tooth extraction is a surgical dental operation that affects the deep layers of the mucous and bone tissue of the jaw. The deeper the roots were located, the more of them there were in the tooth being removed, and the more the soft and hard tissues had to be injured during the removal process, the greater the likelihood of a tumor appearing on the face. It begins to appear a few hours after the operation is completed, but sometimes occurs even the next day.
This type of swelling is considered normal. It appears especially often after the removal of premolars or molars, but it usually takes on the largest scale after the removal of wisdom teeth. As a rule, this is not accompanied by pain and goes away on its own after a few days. It is possible to remove swelling from the cheek in order to quickly return to normal appearance. To do this, the following is recommended:
- Cold compresses. Wrap a bag of ice or frozen fruit in a towel. 10 minutes of this compress is enough for the swelling on the face to subside a little. After a couple of hours it can be repeated.
- Rinse. These procedures should be performed no earlier than the second or third day after removal. In this case, you need to rinse from the opposite side, allowing only irrigation near the wound, which will not provoke bleeding. Decoctions of chamomile, sage, oak bark and other medicinal herbs are used as solutions.
When more than three days have passed and the swelling is still there, you need to see a dentist. This phenomenon is possible if the procedure was unsuccessful or an infection has entered the area of soft tissue damage. Perhaps the doctor will prescribe antibiotics to eliminate the pathology.
Consequences of treatment
Many types of dental treatment are performed using injection anesthesia. Minor swelling of the cheek often appears as a result of the administration of the medicine, but disappears within a couple of hours after the patient leaves the dental clinic.
If the swelling on the cheek persists for a long time, this may be due to the fact that the canals were filled incorrectly, the filling was not installed hermetically, and microbes penetrate under it, causing inflammation. Before the dentist examines the patient, you can use the following recommendations:
- Soda solution. Dissolve 1 tsp. soda in 200 ml warm water. You can rinse your mouth every hour.
- Saline solution. Dissolve 1 tsp. in 200 ml of warm water. Rinse once every 1-2 hours.
- Infusion of calendula, mint and sage. Mix medicinal herbs and infuse the mixture in boiled water for 20 minutes. Rinse with the same intensity as the first two solutions.
Symptoms of edema
Swelling of the cheek is a sign of inflammation of the oral mucosa, resulting from the penetration of pathogenic microflora living in the mouth into the damaged area.
If such a condition is observed after tooth extraction, then this is considered normal. You need to worry if symptoms appear:
- The swelling of the cheek lasts for 4 days, gradually increasing in size. This may indicate the presence of a purulent process that can spread throughout the body.
- The pain is very strong and does not decrease.
- There are additional symptoms such as increased body temperature, weakness, and pain while chewing.
- Swelling is accompanied by difficulty opening the mouth and swallowing. This may mean infection has spread to the tonsils.
- The tissues at the site of the swelling are tense, and a compaction is felt underneath them.
- The swelling went numb and facial expressions were impaired.
Sometimes the presence of plaque and congestion of blood vessels on the face becomes noticeable. If such symptoms appear, you should consult a doctor.
Periodontitis
Periodontitis is another dental disease that tends to worsen under the influence of hypothermia, viral infection, etc. As in the case of granuloma, the tooth hurts after a person has caught a cold.
Periodontitis is an inflammation of the tooth root shell and adjacent soft tissues (gums). This disease does not occur out of nowhere - the impetus for its development is incomplete treatment of caries (if the doctor leaves the affected tooth fragment and covers it with a filling). A cold can also cause tooth pain under the crown. This means that the tooth continues to deteriorate under the crown, i.e. the infection process continues.
Causes of cheek swelling
There are many reasons why the cheek becomes very swollen. Most of them relate to oral diseases and complications of dental procedures. Sometimes such a phenomenon may indicate the presence of diseases of other organs or systems of the human body. The causes of cheek swelling are identified.
Purulent periostitis (flux)
Flux causes swelling of the cheek. The cause of the disease is trauma and advanced forms of caries. We can talk about purulent periostitis if, in addition to swelling, there is throbbing pain, increased body temperature, and the formation of a purulent fistula.
If you do not consult a doctor in time, the abscess can break through and infect the entire body, causing death.
Wisdom tooth growth
When a wisdom tooth grows into adulthood, it erupts incorrectly, causing a mucous hood to appear where pieces of food collect and pathogenic microorganisms multiply.
This leads to the development of inflammation, characterized by the appearance of symptoms:
- weakness,
- fever,
- swelling of the gums, cheeks,
- soreness.
After partial emergence, a wisdom tooth can injure the cheek, causing inflammation. If a problem occurs, you should immediately go to the doctor so that he can prescribe treatment or remove the tooth.
Development of abscess and phlegmon
Advanced inflammation of the gum tissue can lead to the development of an abscess or phlegmon. With phlegmon, pus spreads freely, affecting surrounding tissues, and with an abscess, pus is in the formed cavity, looking like a compaction. This is accompanied by swelling and tenderness of the soft tissues on one side of the face.
The development of the phenomenon occurs due to injury, burn, eruption of wisdom teeth or purulent periostitis.
Development of gingivitis
The cheek may become swollen due to inflammation of the gums - gingivitis, which, in the absence of timely treatment, turns into periodontitis. In addition to swelling, symptoms of gingivitis include bleeding, sore gums, and bad breath.
Swelling may appear from trauma to the gums during dental surgery.
Injury or burn of the mucous membrane
Ingestion of excessively hot food or drinks, as well as a blow or any mechanical damage to the cheek, can also result in swelling. The burn can be not only thermal, but also chemical.
Incorrect bite and sharp tips of teeth can injure tissues. In case of mechanical damage or burns, the swelling should go away on its own after a couple of days. If this does not happen, you need to consult a doctor.
Insufficient oral hygiene
In the absence of proper oral care, after a while, stones and plaque begin to form, swelling of the gums, and later half of the face. The inflammatory process “inflates” the cheek. All this is accompanied by pain, bleeding, and an unpleasant odor.
Other reasons
Swelling of the gums and cheeks can be caused by:
- diseases of internal organs,
- infectious or fungal infection,
- neurological diseases,
- allergic reaction,
- nerve removal,
- oncology,
- nasopharyngeal diseases,
- dental diseases: pulpitis, stomatitis, periodontal disease,
- inflammation of the lymph nodes,
- cyst,
- complications after tooth extraction.
The cause of swelling can be an insect bite (bee, wasp) or an allergic reaction to anesthesia, filling material, food, medications and other substances. Before starting treatment, you need to establish the cause of the pathology.
Causes of swelling with pain
If cheek swelling is accompanied by pain, the reasons may be the following:
- Inflammatory processes of periodontium. In this case, both cheeks may become inflamed, but the most pronounced swelling occurs in one area affected by the infection.
- In some cases, when the cheek is swollen, the reasons for this phenomenon may lie in poor-quality filling of the root canals or neglected condition of the teeth. Often, cheek swelling is preceded by tooth pain. The source of inflammation is localized in the area of the lower or upper jaw and is adjacent to the root of the dental unit. After several days, a flux may appear, which later transforms into an abscess or abscess .
- Impaired growth of wisdom teeth. Initially, swelling may occur in the area where these teeth are located. In this place, a hood appears from the mucous membrane, where food particles can accumulate, causing the mucous membrane to become irritated and inflamed. There is a raw pain, gum swelling and swelling of the cheeks. If a tooth has partially erupted, it can constantly injure the mucous membrane inside (when talking, eating), which provokes a slight inflammation on the cheek, which swells even more.
- Inflammatory process after removal of a dental unit. Often this phenomenon is the norm, because the dentist, when pulling out a tooth, mechanically injures the tissue around it.
With improper hygiene in the postoperative period, infection of the socket may occur, which leads not only to pain and swelling of the cheeks, but also to more serious consequences.
- Cyst formation. A dental tumor develops over a period of time (up to 2 years); subsequently, the tumor can affect the periosteum. The disease is accompanied by sharp pain in the affected tooth, swelling and soreness of the cheek area.
How to relieve cheek swelling?
If your gums or cheek are swollen, you need to go to the clinic to determine the cause of the phenomenon. It is recommended that you first go to the dentist, since most often the cause lies in dental diseases.
The doctor will conduct a survey and examination, and then send you for an x-ray. If the diagnosis is not confirmed, the patient is sent to consult a doctor. Once the cause is identified, treatment is prescribed.
Drug treatment
Medications are selected depending on what caused the development of swelling. If serious pathologies of the internal organs have not been detected, then a decongestant is selected: Troxevasin, Metrodent.
How to treat bacterial infections if your eyes are blown?
If the eye swells, it is often accompanied by bacterial damage to the visual organs. In such cases, ophthalmologists prescribe bactericidal and antibacterial drugs. These may include eye drops and ointments. It often happens that the same medicine is available in two forms: ointments and drops. The difference between them lies in the effectiveness of application and ease of use. The advantage of ointments is that they can remain on the mucous membrane of the eye for quite a long time. But the ointment often causes discomfort, so many people prefer to treat eyelid swelling with eye drops. The best treatment option is to use eye drops during the day and put the ointment behind the eyelid at night.
If barley appears on the eye, the problem usually goes away on its own. Drug therapy is rarely required, only after the abscess ruptures. In other cases - with bacterial forms of conjunctivitis, blepharitis, keratitis - antibacterial therapy is necessary. Usually, to relieve swelling of the eyelid, medications such as Albucid, Tetracycline, Sofradex, Floxal, and Vitabact are prescribed.
Different eye drops are used for adults and children if the eyes are blown out by the wind. The difference between them lies in the composition and properties of the drug. Treatment of adults includes the use of the following medications: Oftadek, Normax, Tsipromed, Sofradex. Antimicrobial therapy is often accompanied by side effects. Therefore, ophthalmologists do not prescribe them to children. Medicines used to treat children should not be toxic. Most often, doctors recommend Fucithalmic and Sulfacetamide.
In what cases is swelling safe?
After tooth extraction, swelling of the cheek is not dangerous. After such an operation, swelling is considered normal, but only if it subsides after a couple of days. There is no need to worry if in the evening after root removal, in addition to swelling, the body temperature increased, and by the morning everything went away.
The presence of a mild toothache or headache that decreases is an individual feature of the body that does not require treatment. Safe swelling of the cheek occurs after tooth extraction in people suffering from pressure, excess weight and people who have a large amount of subcutaneous tissue on their face.
Situations when swelling does not threaten health
To find out why your cheek is swollen, but nothing hurts, you need to go to the doctor. If this happens after tooth extraction, there is no need to worry. Swelling of the cheeks can be caused by the following reasons:
- Presence of edema before surgery.
- Extraction against the background of a pronounced inflammatory process.
- Complex operations in the oral cavity. Long-term surgical interventions, which are complex multi-stage processes: wisdom tooth removal, bone cutting, lead to severe trauma to the surrounding tissue. The periodontium, which has been subjected to mechanical damage, can become inflamed and react with swelling, which spreads to the buccal area.
- The presence of certain diseases that contribute to the occurrence of swelling after surgery: hypertension, neurological disorders. With such pathologies, the situation when the cheek is swollen, but the tooth does not hurt, is a common occurrence.
- When the gum tissue is inflamed. In this case, an incision is made in the gum, which provokes buccal swelling. If there is an abscess or gumboil, before removing the tooth, the dentist dissects the gum tissue to allow the pus to drain out. As a result, the tissue swells and the tumor spreads further.
Preventive measures
Swelling of the gums or cheeks is always a symptom indicating the presence of a pathological condition in the body that requires drug therapy. If not properly treated, it leads to complications.
Do you feel nervous before visiting the dentist?YesNo
To prevent the development of unpleasant consequences, it is recommended to follow preventive measures:
- Eat properly and balanced.
- Correctly brush your teeth for 3-5 minutes twice a day.
- Choose a suitable toothbrush and toothpaste.
- Have your teeth professionally cleaned.
- After each meal, use mouthwash, toothpicks, thread and chewing gum.
- Reduce your consumption of sweets.
- Massage your gums every day while brushing your teeth.
In addition to observing the rules of personal oral hygiene, prevent the development of diseases accompanied by swelling of the cheeks.
You can, if you undergo preventive dental examinations twice a year, consult a doctor and begin treatment.
Treatment of inflammation on the cheek at home
In a situation where the gums and cheek are swollen, something needs to be done to alleviate the condition before visiting a specialist. You can relieve pain and swelling at home using the following means:
- Mouth rinses with herbal decoctions and solutions made from natural ingredients. Brewed calendula flowers, chamomile, and sage decoction have a pronounced anti-inflammatory, soothing and cleansing effect. You need to take 2 tablespoons of flowers, pour 1 glass of boiling water, leave for 15 minutes. You need to rinse your mouth 2 times a day, you can moisten a piece of cotton wool and apply it from the inside.
- When the cheek is swollen, using solutions with soda or salt is effective. The solutions help remove swelling and have an analgesic and antiseptic effect. You can make a solution like this: add one teaspoon of salt or soda to a glass of warm water and mix. You need to rinse your mouth several times a day.
- Cooling, decongestant ointments and gels. These drugs effectively relieve swelling and eliminate pain. Among the most common are Troxevasin, Fastum gel. The products are gently rubbed into the affected area. The procedure is repeated 2-3 times a day. The most effective use of drugs to relieve swelling in case of allergic reactions and in cases where babies are teething.
- Rinsing with pharmaceutical antiseptics. Antibacterial drugs that have a healing and regenerating effect are always effective when the cheek is swollen, regardless of the cause of the tumor. Therefore, their wide distribution is justified. Popular antiseptics include: Furacilin, Chlorhexidine, hydrogen peroxide.
If Furacilin is purchased in tablets, the solution is made independently: one tablet must be dissolved in 100 ml of hot water. The product is kept in the mouth mainly from the side of the edema, then spat out. The procedure is repeated 3 times a day.
Rinse the mouth with chlorhexidine twice a day. Hydrogen peroxide is diluted with water in proportions of 1 to 1. Rinsing should be repeated twice a day.
What to do if the maxillofacial nerve is cold
In winter, people quite often suffer from hypothermia and colds, ultimately receiving various complications in the form of unpleasant ailments. One of these complications is cold of the facial nerves, the symptoms of which bring trouble. However, the manifestations that can be observed are similar to the consequences of other diseases and an accurate diagnosis can only be made by a specialist neurologist. You should not delay going to the doctor, because this can be fraught with negative consequences, and the doctor will give instructions and tell you what to do if you have a cold on the facial nerve.
If the nerve of the face is cold, it means that pathogenic microorganisms are developing in the body, causing a disruption in the supply of tissues with nerves. According to statistics, in 90% of cases, if it is impossible to control the work of facial muscles on the face and pain behind the ears, a cold of the facial nerve can be diagnosed.
A cold neck - the reasons for the development of cervical myositis
But why does this happen? There are other people nearby in the same conditions, but they don’t experience anything similar.
The painful condition appears due to the fact that during sudden cooling, the skeletal muscles, as well as the blood vessels located on the surface and in its thickness, involuntarily spasm.
This is the body's natural reaction to cold. The muscles may be unprepared for a strong spasm. Then the inflammatory process begins.
The painful condition is usually caused by a complex of reasons:
- Osteochondrosis of the cervical spine.
- Violation of the innervation of the neck, convulsive syndrome.
- Muscle fatigue, often chronic. This is usually related to the type of activity. The risk group includes professional swimmers, drivers, violists, violinists, office workers, and sedentary people. The need to often and for a long time hold the neck in an uncomfortable position, and to overexert the upper body, makes the slightest draft or directed air flow from a fan dangerous.
- Injury to the cervical area.
- Colds, rheumatism, etc.
- Hypothermia, draft.
- It’s a heavy burden to regularly carry a massive backpack.
But even a person in good health can get a cold in the neck. There are no age restrictions here either. Only children, as a rule, suffer from the disease worse.
What are the symptoms when you have a cold neck - symptoms
Symptoms of cervical myositis appear soon. Just a few hours is enough. But more often the disease can be detected in the morning, waking up after a night's rest. It can be easily identified by the following characteristics.
- Acute pain in the neck area, which increases significantly when you try to turn or tilt your head, or feel the sore muscles. When touched, the muscles reflexively contract, which leads to increased pain.
- Usually only one of the sides of the neck is affected. But there are also cases of bilateral inflammation. In the presence of osteochondrosis, the back of the cervical spine may be affected.
- When palpating, one feels tension in the affected muscles, swelling and tightness. Individual lumps can be felt, although the entire affected side may be pinched and tight.
- Tilt of the head and the ability to turn the neck are significantly limited by spasm and the pain itself.
- Due to inflammation, the lymph nodes may be enlarged.
- Sometimes redness of the affected area is observed.
- You may have a headache and a fever. This condition is more typical for children than for adults.
- If myositis develops against the background of a cold, then the situation is worsened by the presence of characteristic symptoms of a cold (cough, runny nose, aches).
Consequences of myositis
Many people treat this disease as an ailment rather than as a serious problem. And in vain. If your neck gets cold, complications may arise. The disease can take a more severe form, purulent. Then surgical help will be needed.
Inflammation can spread to the smooth muscles of the larynx, pharynx, esophagus and respiratory muscles.
In the latter case, shortness of breath and difficulty breathing occurs. The disease can also lead to problems with intervertebral discs (hernias, subluxations).
In addition, poorly treated myositis can manifest itself as regular relapses. The slightest fatigue or hypothermia will result in aching pain in the neck.
As a result, a habit may develop of overstraining the neck muscles; it will be tense all the time. Against this background, the development of chronic headaches and muscle pain is likely.
As you can see, the problems can be serious. Therefore, at the first manifestations of the disease, measures should be taken to cure it.
Causes
There are many reasons, so making a diagnosis requires the help of a competent specialist. There are main influencing factors that lead to pain in the facial nerves:
- inflammation due to infection or virus entering the body;
- neoplasms in the area of the affected nerve;
- trauma, damage to nerve fibers;
- decreased or impaired blood circulation in nerve tissues;
- borreliosis;
- diabetes mellitus, spinal paralysis;
- viruses that infect neurons and the central nervous system.
Most of the neuritis on the face occurs during hypothermia, so you should not catch a cold in the winter and be careful with sudden temperature changes.
Diagnostics
When the facial nerve is blown, at the first signs of the disease you need to consult a doctor, preferably a neurologist. Otherwise, the person may become increasingly worse. The diagnosis is often visible from the person's face. It's skewed, only one half moves. The asymmetry of movements of the left and right sides of the face is also visible.
Based on the patient’s story about how the facial nerve hurts, as well as on the visual picture, often an experienced doctor can make a diagnosis without additional examinations.
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But since the cause of the development of facial neuritis is of great importance, the doctor often prescribes tests. After all, tumors and inflammation can be factors in the development of the disease, and the disease can also be a symptom of a stroke.
When making a diagnosis, the doctor also needs to determine the nature of the damage, i.e., the depth of the paresis.
What tests does the doctor prescribe:
- Complete blood count (finger prick). Together with other symptoms, this analysis may indicate meningitis, otitis media and other long-term illnesses.
- MRI. Very accurate method. Detects tumors, signs of heart attack, inflammation of the membranes of the brain, abnormal development of blood vessels.
- CT. A CT scan can also reveal certain symptoms that cause neuritis. These are tumors, brain hematomas, symptoms of a stroke.
- Electroneurography (study of the speed of an electrical signal that travels along a nerve), electromyography (study of electrical impulses arising in muscles).
Treatment methods
If the patient has a cold on the facial nerves, treatment begins immediately. This issue is approached in a comprehensive manner, because it is necessary to eliminate not the symptoms of the disease, but its cause.
Treatment of colds of the maxillofacial nerve begins with pharmaceuticals, among which the following groups of drugs are used:
- decongestants, which relieve inflammation and swelling of tissues;
- diuretics, with the help of which excess moisture is released and the coronary vessels dilate;
- drugs that increase the sensitivity of nerve endings, which is important when restoring muscle function;
- special substances that keep muscle tissue in good shape, preventing them from becoming infected again;
- vasodilators to restore blood circulation and supply tissues with nutrition;
- antispasmodics and other painkillers to relieve pain;
- It is possible to use hormonal agents to replenish missing substances in the body.
If there is at least one sign that the facial nerve is cold, it is necessary to undergo a special examination using hardware and a personal examination by a specialist. MRI and CT data are used to detect a maxillofacial problem, and serological examinations are also used to determine the root cause.
For an effective result, the use of only pharmacological agents will not be enough, because only mild, minor colds are treated in this way. In complex therapy, you can use the advice of traditional medicine.
There are many products for internal and external use. It is better to use all possible options, including ointments, medicinal herbs, tinctures, decoctions, and bee products. The following methods exist:
- a tincture with a complex composition. It is better to take ready-made alcohol tinctures and mix them in equal proportions. You should make a mixture of tincture of peony evasive, hawthorn, motherwort and, of course, calendula. Add half a bottle of heart drops to this mixture (it is better to use Corvalol) and a few spoons of honey, which is pre-melted in a water bath. Take a spoonful before bed regularly for several months;
- Rose tea, which is brewed from dark red rose petals, is also effective. It copes well with calming the central nervous system and promotes calm. You can drink it at any time;
- lotions made from chopped wormwood and sea buckthorn oil, which are applied to the sore spot to relieve pain and swelling;
- goat milk with honey. Add a spoonful of honey to heated milk and drink before bed;
- rubbing fir oil into the painful area. The course must be completed for three weeks until pain and discomfort are completely eliminated;
- flax seed to reduce severe unbearable pain. Just a few pinches of the seed are enough, which is placed in a scarf and steamed for a few minutes. After which the steamed seeds are applied to the site of pain. You can leave it overnight, wrapping it in a woolen scarf.
Surgical intervention
If medication does not show positive results, doctors resort to surgical methods. But only a small percentage of patients fall under this figure.
With the help of surgery, the trigeminal nerve is destroyed, after which relief occurs and the pain goes away. Special chemicals or radio waves are injected into the area of the affected nerve to reduce the sensitivity of the nerve.
In severe cases of damage, the patient is admitted to a hospital, where doctors decompress the trigeminal nerve to completely relieve pain and relieve swelling from the face. By adjusting the arteries and their location, the trigeminal nerve is freed and does not cause discomfort. After surgery, it may take several days for the effects to be felt.
Possible complications
If measures are not taken in a timely manner, there is a possibility of developing unpleasant and even dangerous complications:
- paralysis of facial muscles, complete weakening of muscles;
- “hare's eye”, when the eyelid does not have the opportunity to close completely;
- Hunt's syndrome, in which the ear on the affected side of the face suffers, becoming covered with an unpleasant rash;
- any other neuralgia that can affect any nerve.
There is no need to self-medicate and trust only traditional medicine. No action without diagnosis and consultation with a doctor can be effective. In cold weather, try to dress warmly and avoid drafts and hypothermia.