The theme for Facial Palsy Awareness Week (1-7 March 2024) is ‘Recognising Facial Palsy’. In July our charity Facial Palsy UK will be entering its thirteenth year. Back in 2016 in collaboration with Research Now (now Dynata) we conducted a survey[1] to understand what the general public know about facial paralysis including their expectations in relation to treatments for facial paralysis. Of 509 participants, when shown a picture (right) of someone with Bell’s palsy, 70% assumed they had had a stroke but when prompted 65% said they had heard of Bell’s palsy. Around two thirds felt that Bell’s ..read more

One of our many tasks here at Facial Palsy UK is to tackle misinformation, this can be online, provided by a hospital, GP or other clinician. Specialist facial therapy We work in partnership with Facial Therapy Specialists International (FTSI) an organisation which provides support, research and education on specialist facial therapy internationally. FTSI was founded having established that many people receiving therapy for Bell’s palsy and other similar conditions (for example, Ramsay Hunt syndrome, Lyme disease, local tumours and-post surgical conditions), were receiving non-specialist treat ..read more

I was lucky enough to be invited to spend the afternoon with Adel Fattah and his wonderful specialist nurse, Maria, at their facial palsy clinic. A whole afternoon (six 30-minute appointments) covered an array of facial palsy presentations: a baby with CHARGE syndrome, a toddler with CULLP, a telephone call checkup for a child with Moebius Syndrome, pre-surgery choices and post-surgery checkups. Adel and Maria welcomed the children and their parents with a friendly service, and informed choices. (They also offer a Moebius Syndrome clinic, a full morning once every three months, of multi-discip ..read more

Author: Philippa Tudor, Chair of Trustees With the theme for Trustees’ Week 2023 – many voices, working together, with purpose – I’ve been reflecting as Chair of the wonderful charity Facial Palsy UK on what helps trustees give their best and really make a difference to the charity for which they are responsible. Here are five thoughts: Be clear about your charity’s aims, vision and values: Spending time on getting these right will always pay off and help communicate both inside your charity and outside. Trustees and everyone involved with the charity need to be able to identify with and reme ..read more

A message to all those who had the honour and privilege of knowing Sheila Fairclough. Sheila sadly died on the afternoon of Wednesday 20 September surrounded by her close family. Her contribution and now loss to the facial palsy community is immeasurable. A more unfailingly kind, generous, welcoming and loyal friend would be hard to find. My last message to Sheila at the weekend was written in a card from the members of our Cheshire and Merseyside Facial Palsy UK Support Group. It is a quote taken from the Wizard of Oz: ‘A heart is not judged by how much you love; but by how much you are love ..read more

Fans of Justin Bieber have reportedly reacted with outrage to the news that he has cancelled his “Justice” world tour, an announcement which coincided with the start of Facial Palsy Awareness Week (1-7 March 2023). According to the Daily Mail, one fan was quoted as saying: ‘So he can go out partying with his wife and go travelling to Japan but can’t be bothered to finish his tour? But also start a new album?’ Ramsay Hunt syndrome, a rare form of shingles affecting the facial nerve, is a debilitating illness with fatigue one of the more common symptoms still felt months after first diagnosed. A ..read more

We are very sorry to share that Mandy Brailsford, our wonderful Chair of Trustees, sadly passed away on Tuesday 17th January. Mandy was involved with Facial Palsy UK from the very beginning as part of the Community Advisory Board. She joined the charity’s Trustee Board in January 2020 and since autumn 2021 had acted as interim Chair of Trustees. A few words from our CEO, Charles Nduka: “I feel honoured to have known her, and grateful for what she taught me. She was the embodiment of kindness, compassion and good humour in the face of adversity. She told her story at the Facial Palsy UK AGM whi ..read more

On 10th June, Justin Bieber shared a heartfelt video to tell his fans that he had facial paralysis as a result of Ramsay Hunt Syndrome. While many supported him and wished him a speedy recovery, other responded with jokes, criticism and general negativity towards the 28-year-old singer. We asked our community to tell us how they’d been affected by Justin’s announcement and the reactions to it on social media. Many told us how much they empathised with Justin, having experienced facial paralysis themselves and knowing how frightening it can be. Corinne Wilson, who was only recently diagnosed wi ..read more

Facial Palsy UK response to BBC Radio 2, Jeremy Vine Show – misinformation about the use of Botox for treating Bell’s palsy. A segment on the Jeremy Vine BBC Radio 2 show on Monday 9 May discussed the use of Botox for various medical conditions. A caller with Bell’s palsy enquired whether Botox would be helpful in treating the condition and disappointingly were told it would not be of any benefit. However, Botox is beneficial to many people with long-term Bell’s palsy (just one of the many causes of facial palsy) so the information given was unfortunately misleading. The British Association of ..read more

We are hugely grateful to Tower 42 for displaying Facial Palsy in lights from 4 – 7 March 2022 during Facial Palsy Awareness Week. Commonly known as the NatWest Tower, the skyscraper is 183 metres (600 ft) high, Tower 42 is the third-tallest tower in the City of London and is the eighth-tallest in London overall. Having ‘Facial Palsy’ in lights for many to see is a huge thing for those affected as so many people have never even heard of facial palsy and it takes on average 5.6 years to reach a specialist due to lack of awareness among health professionals. There are more than 50 different cau ..read more