country music star shania twain shares experience with lyme disease in new documentary

canada’s country music icon shania twain was honoured in nashville this august with one of the industry’s top accolades, the poet’s award, recognizing her affect the culture of country music, iheartradio reports .

but the five-time grammy winner’s career could have ended much earlier because of her battle with lyme disease — a condition that she says impacted her vocals and also caused “millisecond blackouts” during performances on stage, according to etcanada .

as the daily mail reports , “my symptoms were quite scary because before i was diagnosed, i was on stage very dizzy. i was losing my balance, i was afraid i was going to fall off the stage,” twain says in the documentary that’s now streaming on netflix. “i was having these very, very, very millisecond blackouts, but regularly, every minute or every 30 seconds.”

lyme disease can bring on lifelong health issues, and has affected other canadian celebrities, including justin bieber and avril lavigne, along with thousands of citizens each year, the toronto star reports .

lyme disease spreading to new areas in canada

lyme disease is caused by the bacterium borrelia burgdorferi that can be transmitted to people by a bite from an infected blacklegged or deer tick. the tick itself is infected after feeding on infected rodents, birds or deer, according to the centers for disease control and prevention , and is the most common tick-borne illness in north america and europe.

health canada says that provincial public health units have reported 14,616 human cases of lyme disease across the country between 2009 and 2021. the risk is considered on the rise because blacklegged ticks are spreading to new areas in canada, a shift attributed in part to climate change. the ticks can also spread by travelling on birds and deer.

body rash, fever, muscle aches are common symptoms

protect yourself outdoors

ticks are most common in spring, summer and fall, but they can be active at any time when the temperature is consistently above freezing. protect yourself when you’re working outdoors or spending time hiking, camping, fishing, golfing or even gardening by using insect repellent and wearing long sleeves and pants to cover your skin. also, stay on cleared paths and walkways.

for more information and patient support, reach out to the canadian lyme disease foundation .

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country music star shania twain shares experience with lyme disease in new documentary

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