These comments are made for the purpose of discussion and should NOT be used as recommendations for or against therapies or other treatments. An individual patient is always advised to consult their own physician.
[posted 10/12/1999]
Question: I’ve heard that recent studies have linked the occurence of Bell’s Palsey with the herpes simplex virus. Would it be unreasonable to assume that drugs used to control the virus would be effective in treating Bell’s Palsey?
Answer: Haven’t seen these studies, nor any controlled studies using these antivirals in Bell’s Palsy, certainly would be worth a study however.
Bell’s Palsy Medication
Question: Is the dosage of prednisone that I have been prescribed too high for my diagnosis of Bells Palsy?
The dosage is 80 mg daily for four days, reduced by 10 mg every four days until the final dose of 10 mg daily for 7 days.
At the end of this period I am to be reviewed by my doctor.
Answer: There is no set recommendations for the dosage of steroids in Bell’s Palsy. Some do not
think that it is even effective. However, given the lack of any other treatment most physicians will
burst the steroids as yours is doing. 80 mg is on the higher side of the dosing scheme, as most
physicians would use 40 or 20. However, as I said this area is poorly researched and a high
initial dosage may be what we all should be using. This dosage is higher than I would use, but
I’m not critical for his using this dosage. The tapering schema is certainly correct.
