DEAR DR. DONOHUE: My problem at 80 years of age is Bell’s palsy on the left side of my face. I cannot blink. My cheek and the corner of my mouth on the left side droop.

What caused this? Will I get control of my face back? — D.S.

ANSWER: Most people who develop Bell’s palsy assume that they have had a stroke. The facial muscles on one side suddenly go limp. The eyelid on the affected side cannot close. The corner of the mouth droops so greatly that saliva and chewed food dribble out of it. Taste on the front part of the tongue is lost. From beneath the forehead, the involved side of the face smoothes out.

The nerve that controls facial muscles has been short-circuited. The culprit is a virus — the same virus that causes cold sores, although no cold sore breaks out with Bell’s palsy.

At one time, antiviral medicines were prescribed for this condition. They have been shown not to be all that effective, so they are not much used these days. Cortisone medicines given in the early phases can shorten the course of this infection.

You should regain control of your facial muscles. Nearly 70 percent of those affected do, and the recovery takes around one month. In a few more weeks or months, another 15 percent have full use of their facial muscles. For a few, the time to recovery is longer. For a very few, persistent weakness of the muscles remains.

For the present, you have to protect your eye, especially at night. During the day, frequent, even hourly, application of artificial tears is necessary to keep the eye from drying out. Wearing wrap-around glasses also helps. At night, an ointment should be used in the eye, and the eye should be covered with an eye patch.

For completeness’ sake (this doesn’t apply to you, D.S.), Bell’s palsy is sometimes the consequence of another illness, like Lyme disease, shingles or a tumor.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I am worried about my grandson. He drinks too much. Is someone who drinks every day an alcoholic? He is 35, divorced and without children. He lives with me. Every day after work, he consumes at least three drinks. It’s the same on weekends. — W.G.

ANSWER: Alcoholism often is defined by the degree to which drinking interferes with the way one leads a productive life. When drinking causes people to fail to perform their job; when drinking is hazardous to health, like being a threat to the liver; when it leads to social problems (divorce) or legal problems (drunk driving), then such people are alcoholics.

One drink a day is safe for women, and two for men. One drink is 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine or 1.5 ounces of 80-proof liquor.

The four CAGE questions identify alcoholism. They are: 1. Do you feel a need to Cut down on your alcohol intake? 2. Are you Annoyed by people criticizing your drinking? 3. Do you feel Guilty about your drinking? 4. Do you need an Eye-opener, a drink first thing in the morning to steady your nerves and face the day? A yes answer to two or more of these questions indicates alcoholism.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I wish you would suggest an alternative to mothballs. My family doesn’t appreciate a hole in a sweater that comes from a moth. — M.H.

ANSWER: The letter writer had a friend who scattered mothballs in profusion throughout her house. I said that’s not a healthy thing to do. Limited use of mothballs is OK — put one or two with a garment that’s enclosed in an airtight bag. If you wash a garment or have it dry-cleaned and then put it in an airtight container, you should not see any moth holes, even without mothballs.

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. Readers may also order health newsletters from www.rbmamall.com.