Last Sunday, the 6th, the model Bella Hadid26-year-old posted an account on his Instagram about his fight against Lyme diseasea tick-borne infection common in North America.

She posted a behind-the-scenes photo sequence of her treatment for the disease, along with a long rant about its effect on her life. “I’ll be back when I’m ready,” she wrote.

The model is just one of many celebrities who have revealed they have been infected with the disease and have opened up about the impact it has had. The singer justin bieber29, for example, had to cancel a tour he was going to do in 2022 to cure the problem

What are the symptoms of Lyme disease?

The first symptom of Lyme disease is usually a red spot that appears in the area where the person was bitten by the tick transmitting it. It may be followed by malaise and fatigue.

Then the infection affects the immune system, causing fever, headaches, joint stiffness and muscle pain. Early symptoms resemble those of the flu or a virus, which can make diagnosis difficult.

In more severe cases, when the bacteria reaches the heart, the heart tissue (myocarditis) can become inflamed, causing chest pain, arrhythmias and even fainting.

Celebrities with Lyme disease

• justin bieber: The Canadian singer revealed, in 2020, to have been diagnosed with the infection. At the time, he said his skin, cognitive functions, energy and general health were affected by the disease. Already in 2022, the artist canceled the rest of the Justice World Tourtour that went through Rock in Rio, after it was revealed that he had suffered a worsening of his health.

• April Lavigne: In 2019, the 38-year-old singer released the song warrior, in which he recounts in detail his fight against the disease. Before that, the artist even said that she had “accepted death” and said that the years in which she fought the infection “were the worst years of her life and that she had gone through battles like both physical and emotional.

• Shania Twain: The 57-year-old singer, owner of the hit Male! I feel like a woman she was bitten by the tick that transmits the disease while on a horseback ride in 2003. She has been battling the effects of the infection ever since. In July 2023, she fell during a concert in Chicago, United States. According to a friend of Shania’s, she fears her symptoms will return.

• kelly osbourne: Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne’s daughter details her battle with Lyme disease in her memoir There’s no fucking secretreleased in 2017. The actress and singer, now 38, said she wanted to “bring visibility to this disease, which is serious and mostly lives with misdiagnosis”.

• Bella Hadid: The 26-year-old model was diagnosed with Lyme disease in 2012. In April, she revealed that complications with a root canal had revived her symptoms of the infection. Since then, she has stayed away from the catwalks and major fashion events.