JUST 10 days after giving birth, Karina Whyte was doing the very ordinary and enjoying a cup of tea.
But when the left side of her face started drooping she was rushed to hospital and diagnosed with Bell’s palsy – and now has to tape her eyes shut to sleep.
The left side of her face started drooping, and after rushing to hospital she was diagnosed with Bell’s palsy[/caption]
Karina gave birth to her daughter Mackenzie Whyte on August 8, but days later, while enjoying a cuppa, she felt her lips “start to go numb”.
Initially dismissing the strange symptom as a possible allergic reaction, the 30-year-old began to fear she was having a stroke when the left side of her face started drooping.
After rushing to hospital, doctors then diagnosed the mum-of-two with Bell’s palsy, a usually temporary, one-sided facial paralysis caused by inflammation of the facial nerve, and she was given steroids.
Already struggling with self confidence as a new mum “trying to learn to love her body again”, she refused to leave her house for two weeks due to being so embarrassed.
The disability support worker has been forced to pinch her lips together when drinking to stop “water dribbling out” and tapes her left eye shut while sleeping.
Taking to TikTok, the parent posted video footage of her facial paralysis captioned ‘I woke up yesterday at 10 days postpartum with half my face paralysed’, which has since gone viral with more than 120,000 views.
In the clip you can see Karina desperately trying to smile and blink with only the right side of her face while holding her newborn baby.
While doctors told Karina the paralysis could last up to six months she says she is “petrified” she will never recover and is having weekly acupuncture and is doing daily facial exercises.
Postpartum Bell’s palsy can result from hormonal changes, increased fluid retention, immune system fluctuations and the physiological stress of childbirth, which can cause swelling around the facial nerve, according to the National Library of Medicine.
Karina, who lives in Glenrothes, Fife, Scotland, said: “I was devastated. I already have self-confidence issues and being freshly post-partum and trying to learn to love your body again and all those hormones then having half your face paralysed.”
It was a CT scan and blood tests that revealed Karina had Bell’s palsy, and 12 hours later, the left side of her face went into full paralysis.
Despite taking steroid to bring down the inflammation, she remains mostly paralysed.
Karina said: “[Doctors] said it can happen to anyone, it’s just that I’m unlucky. I have a more severe case but usually people get it mildly.
“Being a new mum is challenging enough and I have a toddler too and am a single mum. I didn’t leave the house for a good week or two.
“I had pain for two weeks and I felt like I was being trampled on but I’m not in pain now.
I can’t drink without water dribbling out. I have to pinch my lips when I’m drinking a cup. When I talk I have a lisp
Karina Whyte
“I can’t drink without water dribbling out. I have to pinch my lips when I’m drinking a cup. When I talk I have a lisp.
“The first two weeks I was getting food all over my face but I just learned how to eat properly. It’s so inconvenient.
“Today I have the slightest little movement on my left lip, enough to make a half-assed smile in photos but it’s still paralysed.”
Karina’s condition also causes irritation on her eyes, so she has to use eye drops.
And every now and then throughout the day she physically closes her eyes with her finger to stop it drying out – and she continues to tape her eyes shut at night.
Karina with her two children[/caption]
Postpartum Bell’s palsy can result from hormonal changes[/caption]
Karina is petrified she’ll never get better[/caption]
The new mum has to tape her eyes shut to sleep[/caption]
She said: “I’m still petrified I’m never going to get better. It’s always in the back of my mind. There are some people with permanent damage. Even if you do recover there’s a chance you get it again.
“It’s just all a waiting game. I’m doing acupuncture once a week and I do facial exercises everyday when I remember.”
The mum now wants to spread awareness about her experience.
Karina said: “It’s definitely been hard but try and deal day by day by having the same routine. Try to not let it affect you and still go out in public.
“Put yourself out there. Keep doing the things that you’re doing.”
What is Bell’s palsy?
BELL’S palsy is temporary weakness or lack of movement that usually affects one side of the face.
Treatment with steroids can help and most people get better within six months.
Symptoms include:
- weakness on one side of your face, or not being able to move one side of your face – this usually happens over a few days
- a drooping eyelid or corner of your mouth
- drooling
- a dry mouth
- loss of taste
- a dry or watering eye
You may also find it difficult to close the eye on the weak side of your face.
Rarely, you may not be able to move both sides of your face.
If you have the symptoms of Bell’s palsy, ask for an urgent GP appointment or get help from NHS 111.
You should call 999 if:
- somebody’s face droops on 1 side (the mouth or eye may have drooped)
- a person cannot lift up both arms and keep them there
- a person has difficulty speaking (speech may be slurred or garbled)
These can be signs of a stroke, which is a medical emergency.
Source: NHS
