Dublin councillor announces break after receiving 'scary' medical diagnosis
Sinn Féin Councillor Janice Boylan is taking a break from public life after being diagnosed with Bell’s palsy.
North Inner City Cllr Boylan took to social media over the weekend and announced she’s taking time off to recover after suffering temporary facial paralysis in recent days. This neurological condition causes sudden, temporary weakness in the muscles on one side of your face, as well as headaches and often a loss of taste.
Often occurring as a result of severe stress, Cllr Boylan wished to raise awareness of the condition, which is usually temporary with symptoms lessening over weeks and months. As a candidate in the Dublin Central by-election, Cllr Boylan had been incredibly active in recent weeks with canvassing and campaigning.
“I got headaches for five days. I then got severe ear pain around the back going up into my face. A tingling sensation,” she explained.
Cllr Boylan said she initially visited her GP and was initially diagnosed with a sinus infection, but “I just knew myself that wasn’t right”. Then, on Saturday morning, while doing her skincare routine, she looked in the mirror and knew for certain there was something else going on.
With the effects of paralysis already taking place, she saw one side of her face was drooping and she headed straight for A&E in the Mater Hospital . There she was diagnosed with Bell’s palsy and she commended the hospital staff as "absolutely fantastic”.
“I have to take two weeks off to rest and take it easy. So I won’t be doing any social media,” she said.
Cllr Boylan said “it can be quite scary when it happens to you,” but wanted to let people know that “if you catch it in time and take the medication” it does repair itself. “The thing that causes it is stress and sometimes the virus that causes cold sores can cause it as well,” she said.
She will be taking a break from her usual councillor updates on social media and hopes people will “bear with me until I'm back”. “Just give me that bit of time to get myself back to normal," she asked.
“Take care. I hope to see you all soon when I am able to smile better.”
According to Mayo Clinic, Bell's palsy is a condition that causes sudden weakness in the muscles on one side of the face. Often the weakness is short-term and improves over weeks. The weakness makes half of the face appear to droop. Smiles are one-sided, and the eye on the affected side is hard to close.
Bell's palsy also is known as acute peripheral facial palsy of unknown cause. It can occur at any age. The exact cause is not known, but it is commonly linked to stress. Experts think it's caused by swelling and irritation of the nerve that controls the muscles on one side of the face.
Symptoms usually start to improve within a few weeks, with complete recovery in about six months. A small number of people continue to have some Bell's palsy symptoms for life. It is rare for Bell's palsy to occur more than once.
In Ireland, almost 3,500 people are affected by Bell’s palsy annually, and as the most common form of facial paralysis it accounts for 80% of all such cases. Those looking for further information can visit https://www.facialpalsy.org.uk/
This content is funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme