Justin Bieber battling rare virus causing facial paralysis: 'This is pretty serious as you can see'
Justin Bieber shared a scary health update on Friday after postponing dates of his world tour earlier this week. In an Instagram video, Bieber revealed that half of his face is paralyzed as he's been diagnosed with Ramsay Hunt syndrome, a rare virus that affects nerves in the face and ear.
"As you can see, this eye is not blinking. I can't smile on this side of my face. This nostril will not move. So there's full paralysis in this side of my face," Bieber shares. "So for those who are frustrated with my cancellation of the next shows, I'm just physically obviously not capable of doing them. This is pretty serious, as you can see. I wish this wasn't the case, but obviously my body's telling me I gotta slow down."
According to Mayo Clinic, Ramsay Hunt syndrome occurs in people who've had chickenpox. Ramsay Hunt syndrome is a shingles outbreak that affects the facial nerve near one of a person's ears. It's more common in older adults, usually affecting people over 60.
"I gotta go get my rest on so that I can get my face back to where it's supposed to be. I love you guys," Bieber continued. "And I'm gonna get better and I'm doing all these facial exercises to get my face back to normal — it will go back to normal. It's just time. We don't know how much time it's gonna be, but it's gonna be OK."
It's been a challenging few months for the Biebers. Earlier this year, Hailey Bieber was hospitalized after suffering stroke-like symptoms. Doctors discovered a small blood clot in her brain. Luckily, the 25-year-old model made a full recovery.
