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Topics: Lyme disease, Health, Real Life, True Life, Celebrity
Rhianna Benson
Topics: Lyme disease, Health, Real Life, True Life, Celebrity
In recent years, a potentially life-changing disease has caught considerable traction in the media, due to its prevalence within the celebrity realm.
Last month, Justin Timberlake joined the lengthy list of stars to have been dealt a diagnosis, claiming the condition left him enduring 'massive amount of nerve pain or, just feeling crazy fatigue or sickness'.
Previously, the likes of Justin Bieber, Bella Hadid, Amy Schumer and Ben Stiller have lifted the lid on their similar health battles, as well as Miranda Hart, Kelly Osbourne, and Avril Lavigne.
We are, of course, talking about Lyme disease - a bacterial infection that often flies under the radar due to its little-known and often conflicting symptoms, one of which affects the patients eyes.
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For those unfamiliar with the ailment, Lyme disease is transmitted when a person is bitten by a tick, and is believed by the Center of Disease Control and Prevention to affect around 476,000 Americans per year.
The most common indicator that someone has been bitten by one of these critters is something known as a 'bullseye' erythema migrans rash. This usually appears in the days following the bite, but in some cases, it could emerge up to three months afterwards.
After noticing the rash, doctors recommend booking an appointment as soon as, so as to be prescribed the appropriate antibiotics to tackle the frustrating infection.
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Many people who fail to clock they've been bitten, however, go on to battle a number of flu-like symptoms, specifically a fever, headache and serious fatigue. In some of the most severe cases, meanwhile, Lyme disease can trigger complications with the heart, known as Lyme carditis.
As we say, however, some patients are diagnosed with the condition after noticing a change in their vision.
Medical News Today recently explained that Lyme disease has the potential to move into the body's central nervous system, and as such, it can cause some major sensory issues.
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This could include a newfound sensitivity to light and sound, as well as other visual disturbances.
As such, a patient could find themselves enduring sensory overloading.
An individual who recently suffered these unnerving symptoms penned an article for Global Lyme Alliance recently, recalling enduring 'bright flashing lights, fast-moving images on a screen, or even fluorescent lighting in a store'.
As mentioned, however, as well as affecting the eyes, Lyme disease can also affect the ears, causing hearing issues, including sudden onset or progressive hearing loss as the primary or sole symptom.