One side of my face suddenly stopped mov

Call your local emergency number right now — a face that has suddenly gone weak on one side and will not blink is an emergency tonight, and calling starts the clock for whatever the hospital team finds. Which city or country are you in? I will not guess a number from your language.

In the next 10 minutes, before or while help comes

1. Write down the time they were last seen completely normal. If you do not know exactly, write the time you first noticed it and say the last-seen-well time was unknown. Stroke-type treatments are timed from that moment, so it is the first thing the crew will ask for.
2. Nothing by mouth — no food, no drink, no tablet, no cough syrup. Swallowing may not be safe when the face is weak.
3. No aspirin and no one else's medicine from the household box. If it turns out to be a bleed, a blood thinner is the wrong move — that decision belongs to the team.
4. Let them sit or lie the way they are comfortable. Do not lay them flat to "sleep it off", and do not drive them yourself.
5. Stay with them. If a second adult is in the house, put that person on the phone and on the medicine list while you stay in the room.
6. Gather in one bag: their medicine boxes, allergy list, ID or health card, and any recent hospital letter. Unlock the door. Put a phone on speaker so your hands stay free.
7. The eye that will not blink is now exposed — keep dust, smoke and cooking steam away, do not let them rub it, take out contact lenses, and if it stings they can splash clean water on it. Nothing medicated that is not already theirs.

Bell's palsy or stroke — why I will not answer that from here

I cannot diagnose this, and the honest answer is that this is exactly the question that cannot be settled in the kitchen.

What is generally true, and worth knowing while you wait: Bell's palsy usually builds up over hours to a day or two, and often comes with pain around the ear or behind the jaw, changed taste, or ringing in the ear. Stroke tends to arrive within seconds to minutes. Any weakness in an arm or leg, slurred or muddled speech, vision change, a sudden severe headache, or a spinning loss of balance points to the brain's blood supply rather than to a facial nerve — but you should not be making that call, and even a textbook Bell's palsy picture still needs a same-day examination.

One mimic to know: if they have diabetes and have their own meter and are fully awake, check it and follow the plan their own clinician gave them. Nothing to eat or drink until they have been seen.

On the several days of waiting already

If the droop started days ago, improved or came and went, it still needs assessment today — a stroke that resolves is not a stroke that is finished. If it started this morning, or it is worse than when you first noticed, treat it as happening right now.

While you are waiting

• Same person, same room, calm voice: "I have called. The crew is coming. You are safe."
• Keep them warm and comfortable; keep lights and noise low.
• Watch the clock, not the face. Note anything new: arm or leg weakness, speech, vision, vomiting, a severe headache that peaks in seconds, drowsiness, a fit. Any of these goes straight to the dispatcher on the same call — do not wait for the crew.
• Small household plan so you are not juggling three crises: one adult with the patient, one adult on the phone with the school run, a bag packed by the door. The patient is not left alone tonight.

Do not

• Do not give aspirin, ibuprofen, any heart medicine, any muscle relaxant, or any herbal remedy "for the nerve".
• Do not change, stop or restart any medicine they already take.
• Do not massage the face, apply heat, or try an ear candle or an oil rub.
• Do not let them drive, walk to a clinic alone, or take a taxi alone.
• Do not let them eat, drink, or brush their teeth until a clinician says swallowing is safe.
• Do not buy anything over the internet or from a neighbour for "nerve" problems.

What success looks like in the next 24 hours

Success today is simple and reachable: seen by a medical team today, with a scan and an examination, and a named plan for the eye and the face. Not a cure, and I will not promise one. By tonight or tomorrow you should have: a clinician's diagnosis, a written plan for eye protection and any medicine, and a clear list of what should send you back — for example new arm or leg weakness, speech change, or the droop spreading.

If it turns out to be a facial nerve problem, most people begin to recover within weeks and treatment started earlier helps; if it turns out to be a stroke, the whole reason for calling in the first minutes is that the treatment window is small. Either way, the hour that mattered was this one.

For the clinician — have this ready

Exact time last seen well; exact time noticed; which side; whether it is worsening or easing; every medicine and dose; diabetes or blood pressure history; any previous stroke; what the face looked like when it started; any arm, leg, speech, vision or balance change; and the time of the last meal.