I'm A Celebrity's Tulisa praised by doctor after brave and vulnerable decision to reveal health battle

Tulisa was diagnosed with Bell's palsy in 2020, which is a neurological disorder that causes paralysis or weakness on one side of the face when the facial nerve is damaged or stops working properly

A GP Doctor has praised N-Dubz star Tulisa Contostavlos for opening up about having Bell's Palsy as it's 'a great way of raising awareness'.

The iconic singer was diagnosed with Bell's palsy in 2020, which is a neurological disorder that causes paralysis or weakness on one side of the face when the facial nerve is damaged or stops working properly. Tulisa had her first attack when she was 24 and had also been diagnosed with dermatillomania years before.

Before entering the Australian jungle for I'm A Celebrity, Tulisa opened up about having Bell's Palsy during a chat with Olivia Attwood on the So Wrong It's Right podcast. She said: "When I was about 24, I had my first Bell's Palsy attack. So I sat at home, and I had a massive burst of inflammation, and it went down, but my whole face dropped – eye, everything.

"I couldn't move it; my face remained like that for seven months; I didn't go out; I just hid in the house." Tulisa also revealed she got fillers in order to try balance the symmetry of her face. She had explained: "So I’d be like right, if you put some in that cheek to match the swelling on that cheek and then if you put some here to lift this up so my lip isn’t down there. You can imagine the vicious cycle."

GP Dr Jeff Foster, Director of Health at Manual, discussed the importance of a celebrity opening up about Bell's Palsy. Dr Foster said: "I think having a celebrity, especially someone who is still relatively young talking about a health condition is a great way in raising awareness of something in which a lot of individuals seem to know little about or think it’s only something which affects older people.

"When you’re in the public eye and getting photographed almost on a daily basis, it can affect someone not just physically but also mentally and can really take a toll on their personal life."

Plastic surgeon Mark Solomos also explained whether getting fillers could help 'balance out the symmetry' of those suffering the symptoms of Bell's Palsy. He said: "Bell’s Palsy is a dynamic, where half of your face doesn’t move and the other half does, so really if you want to create some symmetry, what you should do is inject Botox into the muscles of the face that moves, so that it drops.

"Dermal Fillers I don’t think is the best thing to treat Bell’s Palsy unless you inject so much which can create quite an odd appearance where it doesn’t move at all. My advice is to not put any more filler in the face and look at reversing some of this. I know some Dr’s do inject fillers but my professional opinion is that you get a more natural and better look using Botox to correct the facial symmetry."

Dr Foster also shared the signs of Bell's Palsy, which include a weakness on one side of the face or being unable to move one side of the face. Other signs include a dry or watery eye, a dry mouth and possible loss of tase, a dropping corner of the mouth or/and eye.

"On occasion you might find it difficult to close the eye on the weaker side of the face," he added.

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