IUBio

Facial Nerve Damage

Krakatoa stephan at nospam.ucla.edu
Fri Jan 1 05:21:40 EST 1999


In article <76e2gm$a00$1 at nnrp1.dejanews.com>, tamuller91 at hotmail.com wrote:

> I saw a neurologist about some numbness in the tip of my nose and upper lip
> after being rear-ended in a car accident about a month ago.  He seemed
> unconcerned and was satisfied with waiting another month to see if it got
> better or worse (it hasn't changed since the accident), but I'm not!!  He
> seemed to doubt whether or not it was a results of the accident (no, I didn't
> hit my face on anything, I just got a good slam into the headrest at a torqued
> angle.  My car was totalled).   I was slowing to a stop, leaning forward and
> looking right when I was hit from behind.  I think I should insist on an MRI.
> Anyone else have any other suggestions?  And... what exactly does an MRI do to
> you, anyway?
> 
> Thanks for your help.  (I'm very scared about this!).
> 
> T.A. Muller
> 
> -----------== Posted via Deja News, The Discussion Network ==----------
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It is extremely unlikely an MRI would reveal anything. It is also unlikely
any insurance company will cover the $3000+ cost either, unless they are
in the Christmas spirit.

If the symptoms are caused by neurological damage it is probably quite
mild, which is the main reason an MRI would be useless (of course, knowing
there is damage there would also be useless anyway, since there is nothing
you could do about it). MRIs are useful if you need to identify and
localize substantial damage.  Even then, this information is only useful
if you plan on doing something about it (like surgery for a tumor or
hematoma); in your case, any surgery would likely make it worse, since the
symptoms are mild.   Most likely, if the cause is neurological, it's
caused by minor nerve damage or inflammation which will often dissapear as
peripheral nerves are repaired or inflammation goes away.

So my 2c worth would to wait and hope it goes away. If you are not
experiencing pain, this is the most important thing, and virtually
anything you do about it may lead to pain, which is much worse than a loss
of sensation...

Good luck and don't be afraid! if you lasted a month you will be fine.

Stephan



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