When I woke up from sleep, my mouth was crooked.

If your mouth is crooked when you sleep, it may be caused by facial paralysis. There are many reasons for facial paralysis. The most common reason is catching a cold. When you sleep at night, if the window is open and you are affected by the cool wind, this situation may occur. In addition, fatigue, viral infection, or neurogenic reasons may also lead to facial paralysis. Let us learn about this aspect.

Causes of facial paralysis

1. Catch a cold

If you don't keep warm when sleeping, and sleep under the air conditioner or in front of the window with wind blowing, it is easy to cause facial paralysis. The survey shows that 53% of patients with facial paralysis have been exposed to stimulation such as cold wind or cold water on the affected side of their head before the onset of the disease, which ranks first among the causes of facial paralysis. This shows that facial nerve microcirculation disorder plays a dominant role in the pathogenesis of facial paralysis. Many patients sweat after physical activities, and for the sake of temporary relief, they use electric fans or air conditioners to blow directly on their heads. However, they do not know that the body's resistance is at its lowest point at this time. When exposed to cold, the blood vessels in the nerves spasm, causing ischemia and edema of the facial nerve and triggering facial paralysis.

2. Fatigue

Excessive fatigue is also one of the causes of facial paralysis, and the chance of facial paralysis due to fatigue is also very high. More than one-fifth of patients with facial paralysis have a history of excessive fatigue a few days before the onset of the disease, ranking second. It is worth noting that with the accelerated pace of life and increasingly fierce competition, people need to face pressure from work, study, social interaction, family life, etc. One in ten patients with facial paralysis admit that they encountered unbearable psychological events before becoming ill, such as changing jobs, illness of relatives and friends, family crisis, etc. This is also one of the causes of facial paralysis.

3. Virus infection

In life, if people are infected with a certain virus, they are also prone to facial paralysis. Generally, herpes zoster of the ear is the most common cause. Patients will have symptoms such as headache, numbness behind the ear, fever, etc. before the onset of the disease. In addition, otitis media, meningitis, cerebral infarction, influenza, scarlet fever, malaria, multiple cranial neuritis, local infection, etc. are also causes of facial paralysis caused by infection.

4. Neurogenic and iatrogenic facial paralysis

There are also many cases of facial paralysis caused by other diseases, such as neurogenic facial paralysis, which is caused by nerve changes, such as cerebrovascular disease, brain tumors, etc. Traumatic, such as temporal bone fractures and facial injuries caused by various car accidents or work-related injuries. These diseases are caused by damage and changes to the facial nerves due to trauma or other reasons, resulting in movement disorders in the muscles it controls. Facial paralysis caused by surgery or other treatments in the hospital, such as parotid surgery, mastoid surgery, dental treatment, tonsillectomy, etc.