Jahnavi Sarma
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Written By: Jahnavi Sarma | Updated : June 11, 2022 7:41 PM IST
Earlier this week, fans of Justin Bieber were left disappointed when two of his shows were cancelled in Toronto. Now the reason behind the cancellations have emerged. Taking to Instagram, Bieber has revealed that he had to cancel the shows because he has suffered a form of facial paralysis due to Ramsay Hunt syndrome, a viral infection.
In Bieber's Instagram post, one can see that the right side of his face is visibly paralyzed. In the post Bieber wrote, ""As you can see, this eye is not blinking, I can't smile on this side of my face there's full paralysis in the centre of my face."
View this post on Instagram
Ramsay Hunt syndrome is a rare neurological disorder, caused by the varicella-zoster virus. This is the same virus that shingles and chickenpox. The first symptoms are usually a rash in the mouth and external part of the year and facial paralysis. Sometimes, you may also experience hearing loss.
To know more about this condition, what causes it and treatment options, we reached out to Dr Athira Ramakrishnan, Consultant ENT - Head & Neck Surgery, Fortis Hospital, Bannerghatta Road, Bangalore. According to her, "Ramsay hunt syndrome occurs when the virus that causes chicken pox affects the facial nerve which supplies the muscles of the face. It presents with one sided facial weakness and few fluid filled skin bubbles near the ear. It occurs in people who have had chicken pox in the past. Virus lies dormant on the body and activated during episodes of poor immunity and nutrition." Dr Athira further adds, "People with weak immune system, pregnant women, uncontrolled diabetes and people who never had chicken pox are at risk for developing this condition."
Some of the common symptoms, according to Dr Athira, are skin blisters around the ear, hearing loss, pain in the area and difficulty in closing the affected eye. Let us take a look at some of the common and uncommon symptoms here -
It must be noted here that people who has had chickenpox may develop Ramsay Hunt syndrome. It is seen usually among older adults and almost never in children.
Dr Athira says, "Treatment is given by anti-viral medication, corticosteroids and pain killers. However, sometimes a patient may experience complications like permanent hearing loss, damage to eye due to inability to close the eye and severe pain in the affected area."
