Dr Amir Khan shares Bell's Palsy 'triggers' after I'm A Celeb Tulisa's diagnosis

Tulisa Contostavloshas been in the headlines this week as she appears on this year's line-up of I'm A Celebrity.

After watching the ITV show, many viewers have noticed that the N-Dubz singer have undergone surgery. However, the former X Factor judge has previously explained that there is a medical reason behind her getting work done.

Speaking to former Love Island star Olivia Atwood on her 'So Wrong It's Right' podcast, Tulisa, 36, revealed she'd had surgery and fillers after she was diagnosed with Bell's Pallsy.

READ MORE: I'm A Celeb's Tulisa says she can eat the same superfood 'all week' as she keeps strict diet

But what is the condition? And what are the symptoms and triggers? ITV's Dr Amir Khan has explained all about the condition in a TikTok video.

Addressing his 246,000 followers on the site, he said: "Let's talk about Bell's Palsy. It's a condition that causes temporary weakness or paralysis of the muscles in the face. It's usually one side, although rarely it can be both sides.

"It occurs when the facial nerve which controls these muscles in our faces becomes inflamed, swollen, or compressed."

Talking about what causes it, Dr Khan said that the "exact cause is unknown" however he said it's "most likely to be triggered by a viral infection". He explained that the most common viruses are the cold sore virus, chicken pox virus or the Epstein–Barr virus.

"These viruses normally lie dormant inside of us, but can be woken up by triggers," he said. The medical expert listed these triggers as stress, sickness, and sleep deprivation."

Getting on to symptoms of Bell's Palsy, the doctor said there were a "lot of them". He said the most common are an inability to lift the eyebrow on the affected side, or close the eye on the affected side. He also said the affected eye can droop, as can one side of your mouth.

Other symptoms Dr Khan listed were drooling, pain in the area and a headache.

He said that there's an "increased risk of developing Bell's Palsy" if you're pregnant, suffer from diabetes or if you have a family history.

The doctor also said that there is no specific test for the condition, but he said that sometimes tests are done to rule out other conditions.

Talking about treating, Dr Khan said: "Most cases of Bell's Palsy will resolve in time without any treatment, but sometimes you need to put a patch over your eye if you can't close it to stop it drying out and becoming damaged."

He also said that doctors sometimes prescribe steroids to treat the condition or anti-viral medication. However, he said the evidence for the latter is "limited".

Concluding his video, Dr Khan told viewers: "If you're worried, speak to a healthcare professional."

Talking to Olivia Attwood about her Bell's Palsy, Tulisa previously said: "When I was about 24, I had my first Bell's Palsy attack, I was sat at home and I had this massive burst of inflammation."

The singer said she suffered from swelling on one side that had "tingling sensations like little ants crawling in [her] face".

Tulisa revealed she was prescribed steroid injections for the swelling, but after it went down, half of her face was left drooping. This left her hiding in her home for several months, as she was self-conscious about her appearance.

She added: "I had a massive burst of inflammation and it went down but my whole face dropped... 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 said that's when her face started to droop, she got in a "vicious cycle" of getting filler to try and balance out the "symmetry" of her face.