Image taken from a video posted by Justin Bieber on his Instagram account showing that he has Ramsay Hunt Syndrome.
(CNN) Pop star Justin Bieber has announced that his face has been partially paralyzed by a viral illness called Ramsay Hunt Syndrome, which is caused by the same virus, varicella zoster, which causes chickenpox and shingles.
In a YouTube video on Friday, he told fans that the virus had attacked "my ear nerve, my facial nerve, and paralyzed my face. You can see the eye doesn't blink. I can't smile from that side of my face." Face, that nose won't move."
Ramsay Hunt syndrome is a rare neurological disorder that occurs when varicella-zoster virus infects a nerve in the head near the inner ear. After having chickenpox in childhood or getting shingles as an adult, the virus can lie dormant in the body. The cause of the virus reactivation and Ramsay Hunt's symptoms are unknown.
Symptoms can include a painful rash inside the ear canal and outside the ear, sometimes attacking the tongue and palate, according to the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Because the inner ear is affected, people with this condition may also experience vertigo (the feeling that things are spinning around them) or ringing in the ears.
Ramsay Hunt syndrome can also cause hearing loss on the affected side of the face. Like pepper, it can also cause facial weakness, drooping, or paralysis on the side of the face that has been attacked by the virus.
This weakness can lead to difficulty closing one eye, facial expression and eating, as food can fall from the side of the weak mouth.
Treatment includes the use of steroids such as prednisone to reduce inflammation and relieve pain. Sometimes antiviral medications that help treat the herpes family, such as acyclovir or valacyclovir, may be prescribed.
Berber assured fans that he would "get better" and that he was doing "facial exercises to get my face back to normal".
"Things will be back to normal, the time has come and we don't know for how long, but things will be fine," he said in the video. "My body is obviously telling me I need to slow down. I hope you understand and I'll take this time to rest, relax and get back to 100 per cent."
According to Mount Sinai, full recovery is not certain. Some recover within a few months. The earlier it is detected, the better the chances of recovery.
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