Canadian singer and two-time Grammy winner, Justin Bieber asked for prayers, saying it’s getting hard to eat due to Ramsay Hunt syndrome. What is Ramsay Hunt syndrome and what causes the sickness? Wishing him the speediest recovery.
Justin Bieber diagnosed with Ramsay Hunt syndrome. Asks for prayers. What is Ramsay Hunt syndrome and what causes the sickness?
Ramsay Hunt syndrome (herpes zoster oticus) occurs when a shingles outbreak affects the facial nerve near one of your ears. In addition to the painful shingles rash, Ramsay Hunt syndrome can cause facial paralysis and hearing loss in the affected ear.
Ramsay Hunt syndrome is caused by the same virus that causes chickenpox. After chickenpox clears up, the virus still lives in your nerves. Years later, it may reactivate. When it does, it can affect your facial nerves.
Prompt treatment of Ramsay Hunt syndrome can reduce the risk of complications, which can include permanent facial muscle weakness and deafness.
Symptoms
The two main signs and symptoms of Ramsay Hunt syndrome are:
Usually, the rash and the facial paralysis occur at the same time. Sometimes one can happen before the other. Other times, the rash never occurs.
If you have Ramsay Hunt syndrome, you might also experience:
When to see a doctor
Call your doctor if you experience facial paralysis or a shingles rash on your face. Treatment that starts within three days of the start of signs and symptoms may help prevent long-term complications.
Causes
Ramsay Hunt syndrome occurs in people who’ve had chickenpox. Once you recover from chickenpox, the virus stays in your body — sometimes reactivating in later years to cause shingles, a painful rash with fluid-filled blisters.
Ramsay Hunt syndrome is a shingles outbreak that affects the facial nerve near one of your ears. It can also causes one-sided facial paralysis and hearing loss.
Risk factors
Ramsay Hunt syndrome can occur in anyone who has had chickenpox. It’s more common in older adults, typically affecting people older than 60. Ramsay Hunt syndrome is rare in children.
Ramsay Hunt syndrome isn’t contagious. However, reactivation of the varicella-zoster virus can cause chickenpox in people who haven’t previously had chickenpox or been vaccinated for it. The infection can be serious for people who have immune system problems.
Until the rash blisters scab over, avoid physical contact with:
Complications
Complications of Ramsay Hunt syndrome may include:
Prevention
Children are now routinely vaccinated against chickenpox, which greatly reduces the chances of becoming infected with the chickenpox virus. A shingles vaccine for people age 50 or older also is recommended. Source: Mayoclinic
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He is in my prayers.
Here is a video that he shared about the sickness. He said he was suffering from partial facial paralysis – a symptom of the syndrome.
“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.
“As you can see, this eye is not blinking,” he continued. “I can’t smile with this side of my face, this nostril will not move, so there is full paralysis in this side of my face.”