People with Ramsay Hunt Syndrome – a rare complication following a viral infection – are reacting to the news that Justin Bieber has been forced to cancel a series of post-illness shows.
The 28-year-old singer announced his diagnosis in a post on Instagram on Friday. Bieber showed that half of his face was paralyzed.
“As you can see, this eye is not blinking, I can not smile on this side of my face, this nostril will not move. So there is complete paralysis on this side of my face,” he said in the post.
A post posted by Justin Bieber (@justinbieber)
Ramsay Hunt is a rare complication of the common virus that causes chickenpox and shingles, according to Insider’s Gabby Landsverk.
Nicoya Rescorla, who has been living with the syndrome for the past 20 months, said the singer’s announcement brought tears to her eyes.
Speaking to Reuters, Rescorla said: “It is touching to spread awareness.”
Rescorla, a 28-year-old mother of three living in the United Kingdom, said the condition had a “huge impact” on her daily life.
Symptoms include dizziness and vertigo. She can no longer drive or leave the house alone, she said. He should drink any liquids through a straw, even coffee, he told Reuters.
“From being so independent, very independent, to having my husband take care of me because I could not do it for myself,” she said.
Some of the symptoms of the condition can become permanent – but most improve with treatment, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Following a chickenpox infection, the virus can survive on the nerves and can be reactivated years after the primary infection clears up, depending on the area.
Chickenpox vaccine, which is usually given in childhood, can reduce the risk of infection, according to the Mayo Clinic.
“Don’t worry babies, we’re in it together,” TikTok star Callum Gravestock said in a post, saying he’ve been suffering from the condition in recent weeks.
Gravestock said that after describing his symptoms to the UK emergency services, including a rash on his face and neck and partial paralysis, an ambulance was sent home “just to make sure I would not have a stroke”.
He described that he still had partial paralysis of the face and hearing loss in one ear shortly after the end of a week of steroid treatment.
Mikaela Pretorius developed the condition in November 2014. She told Australian television station ABC news that she felt for Bieber as she could imagine his agony.
For her, the symptoms never completely disappeared.
“I have permanent facial paralysis,” Pretorius said. “The right side of my face has some movement, as if I can blink again, but it’s not the same,” he said.
According to her, no one in her patient support team has fully recovered, although many have improved.
The common treatment for Ramsay Hunt Syndrome is antiviral drugs and steroids, according to the Association of Patients with Rare Nord Diseases. Most symptoms will improve with treatment, but in some cases, some may become permanent, says NORD.
Bieber said he hoped his symptoms would improve.
“I will get better,” Bieber said in an Instagram post on Friday. “I do all these facial exercises to get my face back to normal and it will return to normal.”
