Ramsay Hunt Syndrome is neurological disease in which a virus – Varicella Zoster – causes inflammation of the nerves involved in facial movements.
When the nerves get inflamed, they lose their ability to function, leading to temporary facial palsy or paralysis. Facial muscles in the infected person cannot receive necessary signals to function properly. There are 12 cranial nerves in the body. Ramsay Hunt Syndrome is the viral infection impacting the 7th cranial nerve that is involved in facial movements. The inflammation caused by the Varicella Zoster Virus makes the nerve ineffective.
The symptoms include painful, red rash and blisters in and around the ear, and facial paralysis on the same side. Patients also report hearing loss in the ear that has been impacted apart from Tinnitus or ringing sounds. Inability to close the eye causes dryness. A rash on the eardrum, the ear canal and the earlobe. Rashes can also appear inside the mouth, on the tongue. There is hearing loss, vertigo or spinning sensation. It causes weakness of one side of the face and causes difficulty in closing one eye and eating as food falls off from the affected side. There is drooping of the face.
The Varicella Zoster Virus (VZV) is the same virus that causes chickenpox and shingles.
This virus belongs to the Herpesvirus group and can stay in the body as a latent infection.
The virus can stay dormant in a person’s body and can reawaken to attack the nerves.
VZV can get reactivated due to weakening of the immune system. Stress is also considered a trigger, according to some studies, as it depresses the immune system. Some reports also suggest that T-cell dysfunction caused by coronavirus infection can reactivate VZV.
The disease is reversible. Patients get cured within 15 days to three months of starting the treatment.
Eduindex News 