Tulisa has revealed she has Bell’s palsy, a type of paralysis that temporarily affects the ability to control the facial muscles.
Speaking to ITV’s Loose Women, the singer and former X Factor judge said she sustained nerve damage after a horse riding accident.
“I do suffer from Bell’s palsy… it can cause facial paralysis, it can cause swelling,” she explained.
“I think the first attack I had was after a serious horse-riding accident.
“I fractured my skull and it caused a lot of nerve damage.”
It is the first time the N-Dubz star, whose full name is Tulisa Contostavlos, has revealed the diagnosis.
“At any time, I have emergency steroids on me, and now luckily I know how to manage it, so the attacks don’t last as long,” she explained.
“There have actually been times when people have criticised me for the way I look and my face, not knowing I’m actually going through a Bell’s palsy attack.”
She added: “If you have steroids within a 72 hour period, it can last days instead of seven months, which happened to me the first time. I was hiding in the house.”
