QLexNursing

👁 In Bell’s palsy, facial nerve paralysis causes incomplete eyelid closure (lagophthalmos), which leads to reduced blinking and impaired tear distribution over the cornea.

👁 This exposes the cornea to dryness, irritation, and risk of corneal abrasion or ulceration, which can cause permanent vision damage if not prevented.

👁 Using lubricating eye drops during the day helps maintain corneal moisture, replacing the protective tear film that is not adequately spread due to weak eyelid closure.

👁 Applying an eye patch at night protects the eye from exposure, trauma, and drying while the client sleeps and cannot consciously close the eye.

👁 This combination directly addresses the primary complication: corneal injury, making it the priority nursing intervention for ocular symptoms in Bell’s palsy.

Administer prescribed oral antivirals to reduce eye irritation and pain.

👁 Oral antivirals (like acyclovir or valacyclovir) may be used in some cases of Bell’s palsy if herpes simplex virus is suspected, but they do not directly protect the cornea.

👁 Antivirals act on viral replication, not on tear production, blinking, or corneal lubrication, so they won’t prevent dryness and exposure keratopathy.

👁 While they might be part of the overall treatment regimen, they do not address the immediate risk of corneal damage from an eye that cannot close.

👁 Eye dryness and irritation in Bell’s palsy are primarily mechanical issues related to poor eyelid closure, not viral load alone.

👁 Therefore, antivirals are supportive disease therapy, not the priority intervention for acute ocular protection.

Instruct the client to avoid wearing glasses as they can irritate the affected eye.

👁 Glasses do not typically worsen Bell’s palsy eye symptoms; in fact, glasses can sometimes offer a physical barrier against dust, wind, and minor trauma.

👁 Telling the client to avoid glasses does nothing to increase lubrication or protect the cornea from dryness due to incomplete eyelid closure.

👁 The main problem is exposure and lack of moisture, not friction from properly fitted glasses.

👁 This advice could actually decrease eye protection, since glasses can help shield the eye from environmental irritants.

👁 Because it fails to address corneal protection directly, it is not appropriate or a priority intervention.

Encourage the client to keep the affected eye open to prevent muscle stiffness.

👁 Encouraging the client to keep the eye open worsens exposure of the cornea, increasing dryness, irritation, and risk of injury.

👁 In Bell’s palsy, the problem is inability to fully close the eye, not stiffness of the ocular muscles that would be helped by keeping it open.

👁 This intervention directly contradicts the goal of protecting the cornea and may accelerate corneal breakdown and pain.

👁 Safe care focuses on lubrication and coverage, not forcing the eye to remain open longer than necessary.

👁 Therefore, this option is unsafe and inappropriate, and certainly not a priority.