After cancelling a series of shows on his latest tour, Justin Bieber revealed that a virus has caused “full paralysis” on one side of his face. “I’m just physically, obviously not capable of doing them,” He said, on his cancelled shows.
The 28-year-old singer opened up about the condition, that has rendered his half-face paralysed, in an Instagram video recently. “Obviously, as you can probably see from my face, I have this syndrome called Ramsay Hunt syndrome and it is from this virus that attacks the nerve in my ear and my facial nerves and has caused my face to have paralysis,” he said. He added that he’s doing facial exercises “to get my face back to normal and it will go back to normal, it’s just time”. “This is pretty serious as you can see. I wish this wasn’t the case but obviously, my body is telling me I got to slow down and I hope you guys understand and I’ll be using this time to rest and relax and get back to 100 per cent so that I can do what I was born to do,” he added.
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What is Ramsay Hunt Syndrome ?
Named after James Ramsay Hunt, a physician who first described the disorder in 1907, the disorder is sometimes known as herpes zoster oticus because of the characteristic ear rash. The symptoms of Ramsay Hunt syndrome include paralysis (palsy) of the facial nerve and a rash affecting the ear. Often, only one side of the face is affected, and the facial muscles affected by nerve palsy may be weak or feel stiff and may result in the inability of affected individuals to smile, wrinkle the forehead or close their eye on the affected side. Additionally, in some cases, speech may become slurred.
What causes this syndrome?
According to the US based National Organization for Rare Diseases, Ramsay Hunt syndrome is caused by the varicella-zoster virus, which is the same virus that causes chickenpox and shingles.
It is important to note that the virus can remain dormant for decades in a person who has had chickenpox as a child. “Reactivation of the varicella-zoster virus results in shingles and, in some cases, develops into Ramsay Hunt syndrome,” the report said. Interestingly, the actual reason for the virus reactivating and its affects on the facial nerve in Ramsay Hunt syndrome is not known yet.
