Kevin Jonas’ Wife Danielle Diagnosed with Lyme Disease; Her Traumatic Symptom Revealed

Danielle Jonas, wife of Kevin Jonas, has revealed stressful and traumatic symptoms that led to her recent diagnosis of Lyme disease. The 39-year-old jewelry designer started her treatment when she noticed

that she was shedding more hair than usual. “They tried to tell me it was anxiety. Finally, I had a biopsy that showed I actually had Lyme disease,” she said in a recent interview with Parents magazine. Lyme disease is a bacterial infection transmitted to humans by the bite of infected blacklegged ticks. The condition is treated with antibiotics, with early diagnosis leading to a full recovery. Danielle said many years back she had experienced symptoms of eczema, which seemed to have worsened during this new health battle. “I … had eczema on my scalp, which was likely from the inflammation [caused by Lyme disease],” said Jonas. “The hair loss was very traumatic. I got to a point where I wanted to wear a wig,” she added. While wanting to hide her hair loss, Danielle started wearing hair extensions, which started to pull on her scalp and further aggravated her eczema. “I had to go out and do things with Kevin. I just wanted to feel like myself,” she said. Eczema is a noncontagious, inflammatory skin condition – a form of dermatitis, that causes uncomfortable and itchy dry patches and rashes.

What is Lyme disease?

Lyme disease is caused by a bacterium, Borrelia burgdorferi, which you can get if an infected deer tick – also known as the black-legged tick- bites you. The first recognition of Lyme disease - also called borreliosis - began in 1975 when many children received a diagnosis of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis in Lyme, Connecticut, and two neighboring towns. Researchers found that bites from infected deer ticks were responsible for the outbreak of arthritis. Doctors say the disease may evolve through phases, which overlap and cause symptoms that involve the skin, joints, heart, or nervous system. These stages are:

• Early localized Lyme disease, which starts in the first week
• Early disseminated Lyme disease which begins in the first month.
• Late persistent, late disseminated, or just late Lyme disease, which starts after four months.

According to experts, there are about 30,000 cases of Lyme disease reported to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, every year. But there are other diagnosed cases that are not reported.

Signs and symptoms of Lyme disease

A few signs and symptoms of early Lyme disease typically include:

• A reddish rash on the skin – also known as erythema migraines, which starts as a small red spot at the site of the tick bite, anywhere from one week after to four weeks after the bite.
• High and chronic fever
• Severe headache
• Neck stiffness
• Body and joint aches
• Fatigue
• Swollen lymph nodes
• Paralysis of facial muscles
• Heart block or an interruption of the electrical system of the heart
• Areas of numbness or abnormal feelings

If left untreated, Lyme disease can lead to:

• Recurring episodes of swollen joints due to arthritis which typically affect large joints like the knee.
• Difficulty concentrating, known as brain fog
• Damage to nerves all over your body, including your skin, muscles, and other organs