Why Can Hyperbaric Oxygen Treat Facial Nerve Palsy?

Facial neuritis (facial paralysis) is a common disease that causes facial changes and brings great psychological pressure to patients. If not treated timely, it may leave sequelae such as crooked mouth and slanted eyes. When suffering from facial neuritis, do not forget hyperbaric oxygen combined treatment! Hyperbaric oxygen therapy can promote facial nerve function recovery by reducing tissue edema and facial nerve swelling, improving nerve hypoxia, and other mechanisms. Compared to conventional treatment alone, hyperbaric oxygen combined treatment can better reduce the residual effects of nerve function deficiency, accelerate repair, and significantly improve therapeutic efficacy. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy has good tolerance and helps patients recover faster and better, worth promoting and applying!

Facial neuritis, also known as idiopathic facial paralysis or Bell's palsy, is a peripheral facial paralysis caused by non-specific inflammation of the facial nerve in the stylomastoid foramen. It can occur at any age, but is more common in individuals aged 20-40, with a higher prevalence in males than females. The main manifestations include disappearance of forehead wrinkles on the affected side, inability to close the eyelids or incomplete closure, shallower nasolabial groove, drooping of the corner of the mouth, deviation of the angle of the mouth towards the healthy side when smiling, air blowing and whistling causing air leakage, food easily stagnating on the affected side, and other symptoms. Due to changes in facial appearance, it brings inconvenience to patients' work and life, as well as a great psychological burden, and delayed treatment may lead to prolonged recovery.

The treatment options for acute facial neuritis include corticosteroids, B-group vitamins, and physical therapies such as shortwave and infrared. In addition to these treatments, combined hyperbaric oxygen therapy is beneficial in improving therapeutic efficacy and significantly increasing the cure rate.

Mechanism of hyperbaric oxygen therapy

Can reduce the permeability of capillary walls, decrease exudation, alleviate tissue edema, improve facial nerve swelling, reduce the compression of the stylomastoid foramen and facial nerve canal on the facial nerve, and alleviate demyelination and axonal degeneration.

Can rapidly increase blood oxygen content and partial pressure, increase the oxygen diffusion distance of capillaries, rapidly improve the hypoxic state of the damaged facial nerve, reduce secondary hypoxic damage; accelerate the regeneration of capillaries in the damaged area and the establishment of collateral circulation, promote Schwann cell proliferation, myelin formation, axonal repair, and accelerate facial nerve function recovery.