GREEN BAY, Wis. — While Jarius Wynn is battling for a regular spot on the Packers' defensive line during minicamp, he is also battling with an off-the-field health issue: Bell's Palsy.
"It came on about two weeks ago," Wynn said Tuesday. "It's a real mild case, so it wasn't that bad. It's just my left eye. It wouldn't close."
According to WebMD.com, Bell's Palsy is a type of paralysis or weakness of the muscles in the face, thought to be due to inflammation of the facial nerve. The most common symptom is the drooping of one side of the face, but Wynn explained that he was at dinner with B.J. Raji and other teammates when all of the sudden his eyes became very wet.
"I went to the bathroom and I tried to close it and it wouldn't close," Wynn said. "So it kind of freaked me out. So I came here (to Lambeau Field) to the training room, and they thought I was playing with them.
"I was like, 'No, my eye really won't close.' They started naming symptoms and they knew what it was. So they sent me to a specialist, and he told me it's a real mild case."
Wynn was prescribed an antibiotic and a light steroid, which has helped his eye to now fully close again.
"It was kind of scary at first," said Wynn, 25, who is entering his fourth season with the Packers after starting four games last year. "I'm just glad it didn't get bad."
Wynn, who was a full participant in the Packers minicamp practice Tuesday, hasn't been too affected by the condition.
"I just have to wear shades, and I've got a dark visor on my helmet now," Wynn said. "It hasn't slowed me down at all. It is what it is. Hopefully it'll clear up sooner rather than later.
"They say it should be six or seven weeks, but it should clear up on its own. But you never know. ... Other than that, I'm good."
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