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Nothing puts an illness into the spotlight more than when an afflicted celebrity speaks out. Take Lyme disease. In January 2020, Justin Bieber stunned his fans when he revealed his Lyme disease diagnosis on Instagram. And he’s not the only celebrity whose life has been impacted by Lyme. Avril Lavigne, Shania Twain, Kelly Osbourne, Debbie Gibson, Alec Baldwin, Yolanda and Bella Hadid, and even President George W. Bush are among the celebrities known to have struggled with Lyme disease.
Unfortunately for the rest of us, Lyme disease isn’t reserved for the A-list. The Centers for Disease Control estimates that approximately 300,000 Americans catch Lyme disease every year.
What is Lyme disease and how do you get it?
Scientists and doctors are still studying the mysteries of Lyme disease, and no definitive cure or preventative treatment is yet available. It’s a bacterial disease which can strike every bodily system, transmitted by bites from ticks infected with the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi. Lyme disease may be short-lived and flu-like, or severe and disabling.
Lyme disease is most common in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Upper Midwest, but due to a warming climate and increased habitation in rural areas, its range is expanding. “It is critical that residents throughout the country take precautions and know the symptoms of tick-borne infections, even in areas where ticks have not previously been shown to cause disease,” recommends Linda Giampa, executive director of the Bay Area Lyme Foundation.
Symptoms and treatment of Lyme disease
Symptoms
The symptoms of Lyme disease grow more severe as the disease progresses through three stages.
From the CDC, the following are common early localized disease symptoms:
- A rash (Erythema migrans) that expands to resemble a bullseye is the classic first symptom of early Lyme disease. It occurs at the site of the initial tick bite after three to 30 days. However, 20% to 30% of infected people don’t have the rash.
- Fever
- Chills
- Headache
- Fatigue
- Muscle and joint aches
- Swollen lymph nodes
The American Lyme Disease Foundation states that symptoms worsen in the second stage, known as early disseminated disease.
- Severe headaches and neck stiffness
- Additional EM rashes
- Facial palsy
- Arthritis
- Joint pain and swelling
- Intermittent bodily pain
- Heart palpitations
- Dizziness or shortness of breath
- Inflammation of the brain and spinal cord
- Nerve pain
- Shooting pains
- Numbness and tingling in the hands or feet
If Lyme disease is misdiagnosed and/or left untreated, symptoms of the late disease stage can become severely disabling, affecting the joints, heart, and nervous system.
According to the American Lyme Disease Foundation, “The more severe, potentially debilitating symptoms of later-stage LD may occur weeks, months, or, in a few cases, years after a tick bite. These can include severe headaches, painful arthritis and swelling of joints, cardiac abnormalities, and central nervous system (CNS) involvement leading to cognitive (mental) disorders.”
Treatment
Only early and appropriate treatment from your healthcare provider can cure Lyme disease. The vast majority of people treated with antibiotics in the early stage of Lyme disease recover completely and quickly. Unfortunately, early diagnosis isn’t always conclusive, and delays in treatment can result in severe, long-lasting, and sometimes untreatable symptoms. It would be a dangerous mistake to try unproven treatments or home remedies, if you suspect you may have Lyme.
For some unlucky people the symptoms of Lyme disease linger despite treatment. About 10% of patients with Lyme disease continue to experience symptoms of pain, cognitive dysfunction, and fatigue after treatment. “Post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome (PTLDS) is a real disorder that causes severe symptoms in the absence of clinically detectable infection,” said Dr. John N. Aucott, associate professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and director of the Johns Hopkins Lyme Disease Clinical Research Center.
How can I protect myself and my family against Lyme disease?
The only guaranteed way to protect yourself against Lyme disease is prevention, and that means avoiding tick bites.
“I didn’t know anything about tick avoidance or Lyme disease, and that is why we got so sick. Be safe in the outdoors by staying on the trails and not in deep underbrush,” Kathleen O’Rourke — co-founder of Bay Area Lyme Foundation, Lyme disease patient, and mom to a son with Lyme disease — previously told TheStir. “Also wear light clothing, bug spray, and do tick checks. If you do get a tick, remove it by using a tick remover placed at the absolute closest point of the skin and lift it off.”
Nightly tick checks, showering after you come indoors, and putting your clothing in the dryer are among other tick-fighting steps recommended by the CDC.
