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Because of an infection that has paralysed one side of Justin Bieber’s face, he has had to cancel future concert dates. “As you can see, this eye is not blinking,” Bieber said in an Instagram video. “I can’t smile from this side of my mouth.” This nostril is immobile.”
Ramsay Hunt syndrome is a condition that affects the 28-year-old Canadian popstar. It is ended up causing by the varicella-zoster virus, which is also responsible for chickenpox.
The virus can remain stagnant in the body for decades after an individual has recovered from chickenpox. It usually hides in the dorsal root ganglion, which is a collection of nerve cells near the spinal cord.
The virus has no symptoms when it is dormant. It is reactivated in some people. This can occur naturally or as a result of a known trigger, such as another infection (including COVID-19), a weakened immune system, or stress. All of these factors alter the immune system’s functioning, allowing the varicella virus to resurface and cause disease.
When the virus reactivates, it usually manifests itself in a single area of the body (usually the torso) as a painful erythematous and blisters known as shingles.
When the reactivation affects a nerve in the head called the facial nerve, the condition is also known as Ramsay Hunt syndrome, after James Ramsay Hunt, the doctor who first described it in 1907. Ramsey Hunt syndrome affects approximately five in 100,000 people every year, but anyone who has had chickenpox is at risk of developing it.
How it causes harm
The facial nerve exits the brain and travels to the face through a very narrow channel known as the facial canal. Each side of the brain has one to supply the left and right sides of the face.
Because this narrow, bony tunnel is located inside a very dense piece of bone, even minor inflammation can cause the nerve to be pinched. It can also be difficult to treat due to its location deep within the skull.
