18.5.2  Eyelid closure to test facial nerve function

Ask the person to close his/her eyes as in sleep. A lid gap may be a sign of leprosy. You can also test the strength of the eyelid muscles by asking the person to close his/her eyes tightly and to resist your gentle efforts to part the eye lids. Record full eye closure with full strength as ‘S’ = Strong. This type of test is known as a voluntary muscle test (or VMT).

Next we will look at somewhat similar VMT tests on the hands and feet of a person you suspect may have leprosy.