22‑Year‑Old Vietnamese Woman Hospitalized with Facial Paralysis After Sleeping with Wet Hair

A 22‑year‑old woman named Dương was rushed to a hospital in Hà Nam, Vietnam after waking with her right‑side facial muscles frozen, her mouth and eye deviated, and uncontrolled drooling. Doctors diagnosed her with peripheral facial nerve (cranial nerve VII) palsy, commonly known as Bell’s palsy.

The condition was linked to her habit of washing her hair at night, not drying it fully, and sleeping with a cold air‑conditioner stream blowing on her head. The combination caused rapid cooling of the scalp, vasoconstriction and inflammation of the facial nerve. Medical staff warned that treatment delayed beyond 72 hours can lead to permanent facial deformation, urging people to dry hair before bedtime.