Facts about Facial Droop

When you experience facial drooping it is a result of specific conditions. It is not related to a sagging of facial skin, which may occur as a result of loss of elasticity of the skin. Your face sagging may be age-related, weight-related, due to debilitating illness, or from drug use.

Facial droop is sagging of the face caused by loss of facial muscle tone. It is usually caused by an impairment of nerve function that supplies the facial muscles, particularly involving the facial nerve. It usually is isolated to one side of the face causing an asymmetrical appearance to your face. It has the appearance that your lip is being pulled on one side. You may experience difficulty in closing your eye, or even have difficulty with taste sensation.

There can be many reasons for facial droop. Some of the more common reasons are Bell’s Palsy. Every year, around 40,000 Americans experience sudden facial paralysis due to Bell’s Palsy. This condition causes inflammation of the facial nerve, which commonly causes the muscles on one side of the face to droop.

A more serious cause of facial paralysis is stroke. Facial paralysis occurs during a stroke when nerves that control the muscles in the face are damaged in the brain. Depending on the type of stroke you experienced, damage to the brain cell is caused by either lack of oxygen or excess pressure on the brain cells caused by bleeding. This can cause the face to droop on one side.

Tumors, trauma and surgery are also possible reasons for your facial drooping. Whatever the reason for your facial drooping, at the New York Facial Paralysis Center, we are here to diagnose and treat you.