Montgomery County Health Officer Dr. Kisha Davis shares her experience after discovering she had Bell's palsy.
Montgomery County Health Officer Dr. Kisha Davis reacts to the news that NBA All-Star Joel Embiid has Bell's palsy.
“#BellsPalsy doesn't just happen to NBA stars like @JoelEmbiid, it happens to real people like me,” Davis wrote in a post on X.
She wrote about her experience to the American Academy of Family Physicians, where she serves on the board.
Davis told WTOP that her experience with Bell's palsy occurred eight years ago while she was pregnant.
She remembers waking up, having trouble brushing her teeth, and accidentally poking herself in the eye because she couldn't close her eyes. This is a common symptom. Then, Davis said, she “looked at herself for a second and she noticed that her face was distorted.” And she “kind of panicked.”
But Davis said she remembered her medical training and realized it was likely Bell's palsy.
According to the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine website, Bell's palsy is “an unexplained condition of facial weakness or paralysis.” The onset is usually sudden, and recovery begins between two weeks and six months after symptoms first appear.
“The most common time for women to become infected is during pregnancy,” David said. But “There is no advantage in Bells. Men and women are almost equal, and there is no racial advantage. It's an equal opportunity attack,” she said with a laugh.
She also experienced a variety of other symptoms. Her facial muscles sagged and she was unable to close one eye for several months and used weights taped to her eyelids to keep her eyelids closed. Her hearing in one ear deteriorated, making her more sensitive to noise, and she “also lost the sense of taste on one side of her tongue,” she said.
Davis recalled how that impact affected her as a new mother, saying, “I wanted to express happiness and joy, but my face didn't express happiness or joy.'' I felt like that,” he said.
Even now, he said, “I still can't smile fully. It looks like a fake smile, my face feels tired, and my sense of taste hasn't returned.''
She said that side of her tongue still tasted a little smelly.
Davis recommends that anyone who experiences symptoms similar to Bell's palsy talk to their doctor. Early symptoms may be similar to those experienced by stroke patients. And, says Davis, “the sooner you start taking medication for treatment, the better your symptoms will be.”
But Davis, who is used to the role of advising others about their health, said the experience was a real wake-up call for her.
“I evaluated some of the stressors in my life and reduced some of them. [It is my] Eternal stress meter. “Her face tells me when she's tired, when she's dehydrated, when she's not taking good care of herself,” she said.
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