AN AYURVEDIC APPROACH TO BELL’S PALSY: A CASE REPORT Article Category: Case Reports

Introduction: Bell’s palsy is a ubiquitous lower motor disorder primarily affecting facial symmetry. The onset of the disease is acute mainly and idiopathic. The line of treatment for Bell’s palsy includes steroids, antiviral drugs and physical therapies. Ardita is a vatananatmaja vyadhi which simulates Bell’s palsy in clinical presentation. The treatment principles of Ardita chikitsa can be effectively adopted in successfully managing Bell’s palsy. Materials and Methods: The present study reports the case of a 49-year-old female patient with symptoms of facial asymmetry and right-sided numbness for 15 days. The case was reported to OPD of Panchakarma, Alva’s Ayurveda Medical College, Moodbidri, Karnataka, India. The treatment adopted included sthanika abhyanga, pottali sveda and Marsha nasya, along with internal medicines during the hospital stay. During the follow-up period, sthanika abhyanga, panasa patra sveda, shiropichu and pratimarsha nasya, along with internal medicines, were advised. Result: Patient observed relief in numbness by 4th day of treatment. Marked improvement was noted in eye closure (90%), forehead frowning, and eyebrow rise on the 11th day. 100% relief was noted at the end of 2 months of follow-up. Conclusion: The treatment principles enumerated in Ayurveda have a high success rate in effectively managing Bell’s palsy. It not only fastens the pace of recovery but also could help decrease the chance of recurrence.