Angelina Kirsch
“The Taste” host has hemiplegic facial paralysis
© imago/Future Image
“The Taste” presenter Angelina Kirsch woke up yesterday Monday with half of her face paralyzed. The reason is an infection.
Model and presenter Angelina Kirsch (35) had a “bad luck Monday” – and for good reason. She woke up on Monday morning (July 24) with numbness on the left side of her face, like her explained on Instagram. “Including a semi-numb tongue and loss of taste,” she writes.
After a visit to the family doctor and four hours in the hospital, she received a diagnosis: idiopathic peripheral facial nerve palsy. Kirsch explains: “Simplified means that my left facial nerve is irritated by viruses or bacteria and is so swollen that it causes the symptoms.” Meanwhile, her vision on the left is also slightly impaired, her tongue is still numb, her mouth moves strangely and her left eye doesn’t close well.
Angelina Kirschs “Symptoms are getting worse”
In her Instagram post, Kirsch shows herself with a drip on her arm. “I’m still in the early stages, so the symptoms will get worse first,” says the “The Taste” presenter.
In an Instagram story she pleads with her followers: “I share this with you because I want you all to take good care of yourselves and listen to your body, because serious things are quickly underestimated.” She herself would probably not have gone to the doctor if her tongue hadn’t been numb, the 35-year-old admits.
However, she is now being treated immediately and the prognosis is good: “I am now being treated with cortisone and then hopefully it will go away again,” she explains in an Instagram story.
Idiopathic facial nerve palsy: what is it?
According to “Deutsches Ärzteblatt” Idiopathic facial paralysis is a sudden weakness of the mimic muscles on one side of the face. It is often noticed by the patient himself when looking in the mirror. A first symptom can be leakage of liquid when drinking. Taste disturbances can also occur, as with Angelina Kirsch. The peripheral-type facial palsy experienced by the presenter is to be distinguished from central facial palsy, such as occurs after a stroke.
Facial paralysis is the most common cranial nerve disease, and the cause is unknown in about 75 percent of cases. Known causes include infections, as well as injuries, tumors, or autoimmune diseases. In about 80 percent of patients, there is complete repair of the nerve within three to eight weeks.