UnTouchableLyme disease
Lyme disease is an infection you can catch from the bite of an infected tick. Ticks live in grassy and wooded places all over the UK and are more common in parts of southern England and the Scottish Highlands; not all of them carry the bacteria. The first sign is often a circular or oval rash spreading out from the bite, usually within one to four weeks but sometimes as late as three months, and it can be harder to see on brown and black skin. Not everyone gets a rash. Other early symptoms feel like flu — a high temperature, headache, aching muscles and joints, and tiredness. It is treated with antibiotics, and the earlier treatment starts the better it usually works. Most people get better, although it can take months to feel well. Left untreated it can go on to affect the joints, the nerves and the heart, and cause problems with memory and concentration. Some people still have symptoms after treatment, and there is no agreed way of treating those.
This is a plain summary, not medical advice, and it is not a substitute for talking to your GP or your clinical team. For NHS information about lyme disease, speak to your GP or call NHS 111.
People who have talked about it
1 story, each one written in our own words from what the person said publicly themselves.
Shania Twain
Shania Twain on Lyme disease, and the seven years before anyone could explain her voice
Shania Twain has said she was bitten by a tick while out horse riding in a forest, and that this is how she caught Lyme disease. Her voice changed afterwards and she could not rely on it. She has described it failing without warning, with no control over her breath. It took about seven years, she has said, before a doctor was able to work out what was behind it: nerve damage to her vocal cords, caused by the infection. For most of that time she believed she would never sing again, and she has said she had come close to accepting that. She has talked about what a damaged voice does to an ordinary day. She started avoiding the phone. She started avoiding anywhere with background noise, because speaking over it was too much effort. She has described that as debilitating, and has said a voice is a large part of how any of us express ourselves — more so for a singer. She decided to have open-throat surgery, which she has said was frightening and a risk she chose to take. She has described supports being fitted to stabilise the weakness in her vocal cords, and has joked that they will still be there long after she is gone. Her voice is different now, and she has been clear that it will never be what it was. Speaking is the harder part: it turns hoarse and she has to adjust as she goes. Singing, she has said, is easier, because there is more projection in it, and she has described the voice she sings with now as having more power and more character than she expected. She has said she loves it, and that she is grateful. Nothing here is medical advice. Lyme disease and its after-effects differ from person to person, and any decision about testing, treatment or surgery belongs with you and your clinical team.
Photographs, in order: Shania Twain by Raph_PH (CC BY 2.0).