Bieber diagnosis: About Ramsay Hunt syndrome
Fans of JBiebz — and practically everyone plugged into pop culture — are buzzing over pop singer Justin Bieber’s Instagram disclosure that he is experiencing facial paralysis after a viral infection led to a condition called Ramsay Hunt syndrome.
Here’s a look at Ramsay Hunt syndrome and what you can do to protect yourself against the common virus, according to UpToDate, an electronic medical encyclopedia used by health care practitioners to determine diagnoses and treatment.
Q: What is Ramsay Hunt syndrome? A:
Ramsay Hunt is facial paralysis caused by varicella-zoster virus (VZV) infection of the facial cranial nerve. People with Ramsay
Hunt often have associated ear pain, vertigo, and altered taste perception. Ramsay Hunt is a rare disease diagnosed in 5 people out of every 100,000 in a year in the United States.
Viewers of Bieber’s Instagram video may have noticed his face drooping slightly, with his eye most visibly impacted.
Q: The same virus that causes chicken pox? A:
Varicella-zoster virus is also responsible for those itchy chicken pox spots that normally go away after seven to 10 days post-infection. Sometimes during the course of chicken pox, the virus infects sensory neurons that are responsible for relaying information about the environment to the brain. This sensory nerve infection is what causes shingles later down the road.
The difference between chicken pox and shingles has to do with timing and severity. Chicken pox happens first, but most of the time the bright red rash goes away by itself. Shingles happens after the initial chicken pox exposure and can have more serious complications.