- People with Ramsey Hunt syndrome respond to Justin Bieber’s diagnosis.
- The singer announced last week that half of his face was temporarily paralyzed by the syndrome.
- They range from debilitating dizziness to long-term paralysis of the face like Bieber’s.
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People with Ramsey Hunt syndrome – a rare complication that follows a viral infection – are reacting to the news that Justin Bieber had to cancel a series of shows after falling ill.
The 28-year-old singer announced his diagnosis in an Instagram post on Friday. Bieber demonstrates that half of his face is paralyzed.
“As you can see, this eye does not blink, I can’t 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.
Post shared by Justin Bieber (@justinbieber)
Ramsey Hunt is a rare complication of the common virus that causes chickenpox and shingles, according to Gabi Landswerk of Insider.
None Rescorla, who has lived 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 incendiary that he is spreading 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. She should drink all kinds of liquids through a straw, even coffee, she told Reuters.
“I went from being so independent, so fiercely independent, to having my husband take care of me because I couldn’t do it alone,” she said.
Some of the symptoms of the condition may become permanent – but most improve with treatment, according to the Mayo Clinic.
After a chickenpox infection, the virus can survive on the nerves and can be reactivated years after the primary infection has cleared, depending on the site.
According to the Mayo Clinic, varicella vaccination, which is routinely done in childhood, can reduce the risk of infection.
“Don’t worry, honey, we’re in this together,” said TikTok star Calum Graystock, who said he had contracted the disease 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 to his house “just to make sure I didn’t have a stroke”.
He described partial facial paralysis and hearing loss in one ear shortly after the end of the week after steroid treatment.
Mikaela Pretorius developed the condition in November 2014. She told the Australian television ABC News that she feels for Bieber because she can imagine his suffering.
Her symptoms have never completely disappeared.
“I have permanent facial paralysis,” Pretorius said. “The right side of my face has a movement, as if I can blink again, but it’s not the same,” she said.
According to her, none of her patient support group has fully recovered, although many have improved.
The usual treatment for Ramsey Hunt syndrome is antiviral drugs and steroids, according to the Association of Rare NORD Patients. 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’ll be fine,” Bieber said in his Instagram post on Friday. “I do all these facial exercises to get my face back to normal and it will return to normal.”
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