Pop sensation Justin Bieber recently revealed that his face has been partially paralyzed through Ramsay Hunt Syndrome caused by the virus varicella- zoster, the same virus that causes chickenpox and shingles. He told his fans in a video that the nerve in his ear, the facial nerves, has caused him to have facial paralysis.
In an Instagram post on Friday,Bieber showed that the right side of his face has been paralyzed due to the virus. He informed his audience about his condition and that he won’t be able to perform further and take rest completely as his body is asking him to slow down. What happened to Bieber’s face is a virus which happened to be also called herpes zoster oticus.Anyone who has had chickenpox before can have this disease. As the virus lives in a person’s nerves and potentially reactivates itself years later. Anyone who has had a history of chicken pox can be diagnosed with syndrome. However this condition is most likely to occur in adults over the age of 60.
What isRamsay Hunt Syndrome?
Ramsay Hunt Syndrome occurs when the shingles outbreak affects the facial nerves or the mouth. It is caused by the varicella- zoster virus that infects a nerve in the head.
The varicella- zoster virus is believed to infect the facial nerve in the inner ear. This can lead to irritation and swelling of the nerve. This condition mainly affects adults but can affect children also.
Symptoms
The symptoms may include a painful rash on the earlobe, ear canal, tongue, the roof of the mouth on the side of the affected nerve.It affects one’s hearing ability on one side, weakness on other side of the face. Many other symptoms include difficulty closing one eye, making expressions, and making fine movements of the face. A health care provider will usually diagnose Ramsay Hunt Syndrome by looking for weakness in a face and a blister like rash.
Tests may include various tests such as varicella-zoster virus,Electromyography (EMG), MRI of the head and skin tests.
What happened to Justin Bieber’s face is a common example of Ramsay Syndrome. Bieber has assured his fans to get better and is doing facial exercises to get his face back to normal.
Treatment
Strong anti-inflammatory drugs are given in this condition called steroids. Antivirus medicine such as acyclovir or valacyclovir may also be given. Sometimes strong painkillers are given if the pain persists. If there is a weakness in the facial area wearing an eyepatch can prevent injury to the cornea and any other damage to the eye. The patients are also asked sometimes to go under physiotherapy as the movement of the affected part is severely restricted. Antihistamine can also help with symptoms such as vertigo or dizziness. Eye drops or similar fluids can help your eye to be lubricated and can prevent from further damage to the eye.
Prognosis
If there is not much damage to the nerve, one should get completely fine within a few weeks. If the damage is severe you may not recover for months. The chances of recovery are better if the treatment is started within 3days. There is less chance of recovery if the treatment is delayed for more than 3days. Children are more likely to have a full recovery than adults. This syndrome may cause several complications which include change in the appearance of the face from loss of movement. The damage can cause loss in vision; occasionally the virus may spread to other nerves or to the brain and spinal cord. This may cause drowsiness, clumsiness, nerve pain and limb weakness. There is no way to prevent this syndrome but treating it immediately after symptoms can improve recovery conditions.
The singer has also cancelled his series of tours that were a part of his justice tour.Justin can be seen quite distressing in the video while talking about his health. He has not given an estimated time of his recovery as we are aware that conditions like these can take upto months to be cured.