DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I have an eye condition called blepharospasm. For about four years I had Botox injections, but I have become immune to it. Is there any other remedy? – Anon.

ANSWER: Blepharospasm is a form of dystonia, a large group of illnesses where there are sustained, involuntary muscle contractions that can contort limbs into abnormal positions, draw the head downward to one shoulder (torticollis) or bring on nonstop eye blinking (blepharospasm).

Blepharospasm often starts as frequent blinking and can progress to the point where the eyes are closed for long intervals, rendering the person without sight even though the eye itself is in perfect condition. That person becomes virtually blind.

Oral medicines can sometimes stop the eyelid muscle contractions. Finding which medicine works best for an individual takes time and many trials, for there is a long list.

Botox is botulinum toxin, the poison responsible for the most serious kind of food poisoning – botulism. It paralyzes muscles. Diluted many times over, it weakens muscles and can, when injected into blepharospastic eyelid muscles, stop their repetitive contractions.

There are two kinds of Botox. If a person becomes resistant to one kind, the other variety might prove useful.

Myectomy is surgical removal of selective eyelid muscle fibers, and it can be tried in blepharospasm cases where nothing else works.

Are you aware of the Benign Essential Blepharospasm Research Foundation, a source of information for you and other sufferers? Drop the foundation a line at P.O. Box 12468, Beaumont, TX 77726, or visit its Web site at www.blepharospasm.org.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I woke up and found I couldn’t close my eye. I thought I’d had a stroke. I have Bell’s palsy. What can you tell me about it? – J.J.

ANSWER: Just about everyone who has Bell’s palsy thinks they have had a stroke. It’s not a stroke. It’s a malfunction of the nerve that innervates facial muscles. One side of the mouth droops, and saliva can drip out of the corner of the mouth. The eyelid on that side won’t close, and tears might spill out of the eye. Sometimes taste is affected, and hearing might become quite sensitive to loud sounds. The signs of Bell’s palsy come on suddenly, progress over a matter of days and then stabilize.

The cause isn’t certain, but it might be a viral infection of the nerve.

On the bright side, close to 71 percent of Bell’s patients recover completely within a few weeks to a few months. Another 13 percent will achieve a near-normal recovery.

Dr. Donohue regrets that he is unable to answer individual letters, but he will incorporate them in his column whenever possible. Readers may write him or request an order form of available health newsletters at P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475.