Another celebrity has fallen victim to an illness that's common among A-listers and shared the one warning sign she overlooked.
This time it's Kevin Jonas' wife Danielle Jonas who's opened up about her struggles with the bacterial infection, adding her name to a list of many famous faces, including Shania Twain, Avril Lavigne and Alec Baldwin.
Other household names who have suffered with this particular health condition include Yolanda Hadid, Bella Hadid, Justin Bieber, Ben Stiller and Justin Timberlake.
In an interview with Parents Magazine yesterday (Thursday, 9 October), Danielle revealed news of her diagnosis.
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She told the publication: “They tried to tell me it was anxiety," and shared that the first symptom she experienced was her hair falling out, which is not one of the most common signs and so can be overlooked.
However, following a biopsy, it was discovered that she actually had the disease that many celebs have, which is spread to humans by infected ticks - Lyme disease.
What is Lyme disease?
Lyme disease is a bacterial infection that can be spread to humans by infected ticks. The disease itself refers to the symptoms and health problems that develop as a result of the infection, which can vary from person to person.
It’s usually easier to treat if it's diagnosed early, and the main thing you should be looking out for is a circular or oval-shaped rash located around a tick bite.
This can appear up to 3 months after being bitten by an infected tick, but it usually occurs within 1 to 4 weeks, according to the NHS.
The rash may have a darker or lighter area in the centre like a bullseye and is not usually hot or itchy.
Some people also get flu-like symptoms several days or weeks after they were bitten - these include:
- A high temperature, or feeling hot and shivery
- Headache
- Muscle and joint pain
- Tiredness and loss of energy
Why do so many celebrities seem to get diagnosed with Lyme disease?
As we say, there is a long list of celebrities who have spoken out about their health battle with Lyme disease.
Recently, Bella Hadid, who was diagnosed in 2012, updated her fans on what she was going through, sharing a slew of hospital photos on Instagram.
So, why is it that so many A-listers seemingly get struck down with this disease?
Professor Paul Hunter, an expert in infectious diseases from the University of East Anglia, told MailOnline that some factors may contribute to more famous faces getting Lyme disease.
Although the ticks that may cause it are found in a variety of different places, the riskiest locations include grassy and wooded areas where celebs may holiday.
For example, the Hamptons is a Lyme disease hotspot.
The expert explained: "If there is a rich and famous or class bias in this, it's probably because they spend more time walking around in wooded parkland, more money to go out to those areas, or have big homes with these sorts of places.”
He added: "As you're walking along, the ticks jump on your legs and crawl their way up... have a blood feast and give you Lyme disease.
"If you go walking in these sorts of places the best thing to do is check, when you get home, that you don't have any ticks on you and if you have remove them safely."
Secondly, as we know, celebs have more money than the average person, so they have access to the best healthcare, making it more likely they'd get their diagnosis sooner.
And finally, it may not actually be that it's more common among the rich and famous; they just have a bigger platform to speak out about it, making their experiences more visible due to their public platforms.
Is hair loss a symptom of Lyme disease?
As Danielle mentioned, her first warning sign of the illness was her hair falling out.
She told Parents Magazine: “I also had eczema on my scalp, which was likely from the inflammation [caused by Lyme disease]. The hair loss was very traumatic. I got to a point where I wanted to wear a wig."
Although there aren't tons of studies out there on the connection between Lyme disease and hair loss, it has been listed as a symptom that some people have experienced.
As per Healthline, researchers think the illness could be causing temporary hair loss due to an 'autoimmune-like response' from the body.
Hair follicle damage is also reportedly possible from the tick bites, leading to what’s known as tick-bite alopecia.
Topics: Lyme disease, Health, Life, Celebrity
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Madison Burgess