Bella Hadid opens up about ‘aggressive’ symptoms she experiences due to Lyme Disease

Model called the illness an ‘invisible disease’

Bella Hadid has opened up about the symptoms she experiences every day due to having Lyme disease.

The model was first diagnosed with the condition, which spreads to humans by infected ticks, in 2012 and, while she rarely discusses the bacterial infection, Hadid recently provided some insight.

In a series of Instagram stories, some shared from the account of Joudie Kalla, a Palestinian chef and fellow Lyme disease sufferer, Hadid referred to the illness as an “invisible disease”.

In one post, Hadid shared a diagram of the ways Lyme disease can affect people, adding arrows to the symptoms she experiences on a daily basis.

Alongside the list, she wrote: “Everyday I feel at least 10 of these attributes without fail... since I was probably 14, but more aggressively when I turned 18.”

Among the symptoms highlighted by the model were headaches, brain fog, sensitivity to light and noise, thyroid dysfunction, inflammation, joint pain and numbness.

According to the NHS, Lyme disease is a bacterial infection that can be spread to humans by infected ticks and is usually easier to treat if it is diagnosed early.

(Instagram: Bella Hadid)

It adds that many people with early symptoms of Lyme disease develop a circular red skin rash around a tick bite, while others have flu-like symptoms, such as a high temperature, headaches, muscle and joint pain, and tiredness.

A few people who are diagnosed and treated for Lyme disease continue to have symptoms that can last for years, the NHS explains.

This is not the first time that Hadid has spoken about the condition. In a 2015 interview with the Evening Standard, she discussed the difficulties she experienced when she “first got sick”.

“It affected my memory so I suddenly wouldn’t remember how to drive to Santa Monica from Malibu where I lived,” she recalled.

“I couldn’t ride. I was just too sick and I had to sell my horse because I couldn’t take care of it.”

Hadid explained that she had dreamed of becoming a competitive horseback rider prior to falling ill with the disease.

“If I’d had the chance to succeed in riding, I might not have modelled,” she said. “I didn’t know that I was going to get sick.”

She is also not the only member of her family with the condition. Hadid’s mother, Yolanda, and brother, Anwar, have also been open about their struggles with the condition.

Other stars who have also been diagnosed with Lyme disease include Justin Bieber, Alec Baldwin, Ben Stiller and Kelly Osbourne.