Symptoms | Causes | Risk factors | Diagnosis | Treatment
What is sixth nerve palsy?
The sixth nerve palsy is a movement ailment that affects the eyes. Damage to the sixth cranial nerve is the major cause of this palsy. The sixth cranial nerve's main job is to convey impulses to your lateral rectus muscle.
On the outside of your eye, there is a little muscle called the lateral rectus muscle.Your eye crosses inward toward your nose when the lateral rectus muscle weakens.
What are Symptoms of sixth nerve palsy?
Sixth nerve palsy can damage one or both eyes because each eye has its own lateral rectus muscle and sixth cranial nerve. Whether or not both eyes are afflicted determines your symptoms and the severity of the problem.
The most common sign of sixth nerve palsy is double vision. When both eyes are open or you're looking at something in the distance, you may notice this vision impairment. When staring in the direction of the injured eye, double vision can result. Sixth nerve palsy can also occur without causing double vision.
Poor eye alignment, often known as crossed eyes, is another indication of this illness. When your eyes aren't looking in the same direction at the same moment, you've got this.
Sixth nerve palsy is characterized by double vision and strabismus. However, you could be experiencing different signs and symptoms. From the brainstem to the lateral rectus muscle, the sixth cranial nerve travels. This suggests that sixth nerve palsy can be caused by neurologic diseases.
Isolated sixth nerve palsy happens when the sixth nerve palsy occurs without any accompanying symptoms. Other symptoms may indicate that the sixth nerve isn't the only one affected.
What are causes sixth nerve palsy?
Sixth nerve palsy can be caused by a variety of factors. It's possible that the ailment is congenital and affects a person from birth. This can happen when the sixth cranial nerve is injured during labour or delivery. However, the etiology of congenital sixth nerve palsy is not always known.
The disorder can also be caused by a variety of events and illnesses. A head injury or a skull fracture that destroys the sixth cranial nerve is one example of this. Inflammation of the sixth cranial nerve can also cause the condition to manifest.
Other conditions that might injure or inflame the sixth cranial nerve include:
•Stroke.
•infection.
•Lyme disease is a type of tick-borne illness.
•A tumor in the brain.
•Diabetic neuropathy meningitis.
•Aneurysm in the brain caused by multiple sclerosis.
•Trauma, such as a head injury in an accident, is the most prevalent cause of sixth nerve palsy in children.
•A stroke is the most prevalent cause of death among adults.
What are Risk factors for sixth nerve palsy?
Sixth nerve palsy can affect everyone, and there is no specific group of people who are more susceptible to it. You can, however, take precautions to safeguard yourself. Because trauma is a significant cause of concussions, you should exercise caution and protect your head when participating in sports or riding a bicycle.
You can also take precautions to lower your risk of stroke, which is a common cause of sixth nerve palsy in adults. These are some of the measures:
•High blood pressure management.
•Physical exercise should be increased.
•Maintaining a healthy diet while reducing weight.
How to diagnose sixth nerve palsy?
Consult your doctor if you have double vision or if your eyes aren't aligning properly. Your doctor will ask you questions about your medical history and do a thorough physical examination to determine sixth nerve palsy.
Because there are several possible causes for sixth nerve palsy, your doctor may request a number of tests. The dysfunction may be gradually corrected if the underlying cause is addressed. These tests include the following:
A brain scan to look for a tumor, a skull fracture, a brain injury, or elevated pressure in the brain.
A lumbar puncture to diagnose or rule out meningitis.
Neurological tests to look for abnormalities in your nervous system.
How to treat sixth nerve palsy?
In certain circumstances, such as when the illness is caused by a viral infection that must run its course, therapy is unnecessary and sixth nerve palsy improves with time. In some cases, the disease improves only after the underlying cause is addressed.
Your treatment will be determined by your diagnosis. If your sixth nerve palsy is caused by a bacterial infection, your doctor may prescribe medications.
Inflammation-related sixth nerve palsy can be treated with prescription-strength corticosteroids.
Symptoms of sixth nerve palsy may not improve if you have a brain tumour until you have surgery, chemotherapy, or other therapies to remove the tumor or destroy cancer cells.
You may never fully recover from trauma-induced sixth nerve palsy. Over the course of six months, your doctor may monitor your condition. If your double vision or strabismus doesn't improve or worsens, you can try wearing an eye patch over the problematic eye for a long time. Prism glasses may be recommended by your doctor to offer single binocular vision and align your eyes.
Some medical methods have also shown to be successful. Botulinum toxin injections (Botox), in which your doctor paralyses the muscles on one side of your eye to correct incorrect alignment, are one of these options. Another alternative is to have your eyes operated on. Surgery can prevent an afflicted eye from pushing inward toward the nose if it is successful.
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