What is the Difference Between Bell’s Palsy and Stroke

The key difference between Bell’s Palsy and stroke is that Bell’s palsy is a medical condition of a temporary weakness or paralysis of one side of the facial muscles caused by a damaged facial nerve, while stroke is a medical condition caused due to a blood clot or a ruptured blood vessel in the brain.

Bell’s palsy and stroke are two medical conditions arising from the brain. Bell’s palsy causes temporary paralysis or weakness in one side of the face. Stroke is caused by a blood clot or ruptured blood vessel in the brain. Facial weakness in Bell’s palsy develops gradually, unlike a stroke, in which symptoms appear suddenly. However, the symptoms of both conditions look similar.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Bell’s Palsy  
3. What is Stroke
4. Similarities – Bell’s Palsy and Stroke
5. Bell’s Palsy vs Stroke in Tabular Form
6. Summary – Bell’s Palsy vs Stroke

What is Bell’s Palsy?

Bell’s palsy is a medical condition that causes acute facial nerve weakness or paralysis on one side of the face. It is also known as idiopathic facial paralysis (IFP). In Bell’s palsy, the patient experiences a sudden weakness in facial muscles due to the damage caused to a facial nerve. This condition can happen at any age. Facial weakness develops gradually, unlike a stroke. Most patients report a complete recovery within nine months. Bell’s palsy is rare in children. But both men and women can be equally affected by this condition.

A specific cause for Bell’s palsy has not been identified yet. But it may occur due to an infection, inflammation, or certain diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, Lyme disease, injury, and toxins. Symptoms associated with Bell’s palsy are weakness or total paralysis of one side of the face, a drooping eyelid, a dry mouth, a loss of taste, eye irritation, headache, and drooling. The patient should meet a doctor early as possible in order to have a more effective treatment. Patients with Bell’s palsy are unable to close the eye that is on the affected side. It is very important to prevent the eye from drying. Doctors may prescribe using eye drops during the day, ointment at bedtime, or a moisture chamber at night. If the reason for Bell’s palsy is an infection, it should be treated. Otherwise, Bell’s palsy should be treated according to the symptoms.

What is a Stroke?

Stroke is a medical emergency condition that happens when a blood vessel leading up to or inside the brain is blocked by either a clot or a rupture. If the blood vessel is blocked or ruptured, the affected part of the brain does not receive oxygen or nutrients from the blood for functioning. Based on the cause, there are several types of strokes. Ischemic strokes account for 87 % of strokes, and the cause of ischemic strokes is blood clots. Blood vessel rupture is the cause of hemorrhagic stroke. A temporary blood clot is the main reason for transient ischemic attack. Cryptogenic stroke and brain stem stroke are two other types of strokes.

Symptoms of a stroke come suddenly. Patients experience sudden weakness or numbness in the face, arms, or legs on the one side of the body, speaking difficulty, sudden headache, dizziness and trouble in walking and balance. Several diseases trigger the occurrence of stroke. These diseases include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart diseases, diabetes, sickle cell anaemia and previous strokes.

What are the Similarities What is the Difference Between Bell’s Palsy and Stroke?

• Both Bell’s palsy and stroke start from the brain.
• They are two medical conditions that affect one side of the body.
• The symptoms of both conditions are similar and confusing.

What is the Difference Between Bell’s Palsy and Stroke?

Bell’s palsy is a medical condition that causes temporary paralysis or weakness in one side of the face. Stroke is a medical condition caused when the blood supply to the brain is blocked by a blood clot or by a ruptured blood vessel. So, this is the key difference between Bell’s palsy and stroke.

The below infographic lists the differences between Bell’s palsy and stroke in tabular form for side by side comparison.

Summary – Bell’s Palsy vs Stroke

Bell’s palsy causes temporary paralysis or weakness of one side of the face. It happens due to damage caused to the facial nerve. Stroke is caused due to the blocking of a blood vessel leading to the brain by a blood clot or ruptured blood vessel. Due to this, the brain does not receive oxygen and blood. Stroke can cause paralysis of the face, arms, legs, etc. Thus, this is the summary of the difference between Bell’s palsy and stroke.

Reference:

1. “Bell’s Palsy.” Johns Hopkins Medicine.
2. Holland, Kimberly. “Stroke: Symptoms, Causes, Treatment, Types & More.” Healthline, Healthline Media, 16 Oct. 2019.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Bell’s Palsy Symptoms Closed Eyes” By Benjaminginterr – Own work (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Types of Stroke” By Scientific Animations (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia