Everyone remembers rocking out to Avril Lavigne’s breakthrough single “Sk8ter Boi” when it was first released in 2002—but for the last five years, the singer has all but disappeared from the spotlight. The 34-year-old has been quite open about her physically and emotionally challenging battle with Lyme disease, detailing her struggles in a recent letter to fans posted on her official website.
In a new interview with Billboard, she delves deeper into her health crisis, revealing that the illness kept her in bed for two years. Lavigne reveals that she started feeling unwell during her 2014 tour and went to multiple doctors. “I’m achy, I’m fatigued, I cannot get the fuck out of bed — what the f*ck is wrong with me?” she told them.
After it got worse, a friend suggested she call Yolanda Hadid of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, who had been diagnosed with the condition. Hadid gave her the number of a Lyme disease specialist. After that, Lavigne claims she was in bed “for f*cking two years,” feeling “trapped” in her own body.
“I had accepted that I was dying,” she said. “And I felt in that moment like I was underwater and drowning, and I was trying to come up to gasp for air. And literally under my breath, I was like, ‘God, help me keep my head above the water.’” Her experience inspired her to write the first song released on her new album, “Head Above Water,” and though she is still angry that she was bit by a tick, she has succeeded in finding the silver lining: “I’ve really had the time to be able to just be present, instead of being, like, a machine: studio, tour, studio, tour. This is the first break I’ve ever taken since I was 15,” she admits.
What is Lyme disease, and how does it affect the body?
Lyme disease—which is transmitted through the bite of a tick infected with the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi—affects an estimated 300,000 people every year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In fact, Lyme disease accounted for 82 percent of all tick-borne diseases reported from 2004 to 2016, an official report released earlier this year.
The symptoms of Lyme disease are no joke, especially if you don’t get treatment right away. The earliest stages of Lyme include flu-like symptoms, like a fever, muscle aches, fatigue, and headaches. A majority of people who contract Lyme also get a bullseye-shaped rash on their body. The longer a person goes without treatment, the worse the symptoms get, such as shooting pains in the hands and feet, nerve pain, irregular heartbeat, and even inflammation of the brain.
“Part of me doesn’t want to talk about being sick because I want it to all be behind me, but I know I have to. Because not only is it a part of my life, I need to bring awareness to the severity of Lyme disease,” Lavigne wrote in her September 2018 letter. “A single bug bite can f*** you up hard. People aren’t aware that Lyme must be treated almost immediately. Often if they are aware, they go untreated simply because they can’t get a Lyme diagnosis! And even when they do get a diagnosis, a lot of times they simply can’t afford the treatment.”
Why is it so difficult to diagnose Lyme disease?
The current test for Lyme disease can take weeks to turn up results—and is known to bring up false negatives. The test relies on spotting antibodies in your blood, but it can take your immune system weeks to form these bacteria-fighters. That means the test could come back negative if you are in the earliest stages of Lyme disease. On the flipside, it might come back as a false positive, because other infections can look a lot like Lyme.
If you do get a Lyme diagnosis in its earliest stages, you should make a speedy recovery with a treatment of oral antibiotics prescribed by your doctor. But the longer its left untreated, the more likely you are to experience serious complications, like heart problems or cognitive issues.
Lavigne explains the recovery process was grueling. Her physicians put her on several antibiotics and antimalarials, as there is no specific protocol to treat the illness. “It’s a bug — a spirochete — so you take these antibiotics, and they start killing it,” she explained. “But it’s a smart bug: It morphs into a cystic form, so you have to take other antibiotics at the same time. It went undiagnosed for so long that I was kind of f*cked,” she told Billboard.
That’s why Lavigne is taking steps to bring awareness to what she went through. “My Foundation wants to be sure that doesn’t happen as often as it does, so on our website, we’re now providing Lyme prevention resources, and links so you can connect with Lyme Literate doctors (that have learned how to correctly diagnose this disease and provide treatment as quickly as possible). Soon we’ll be announcing an alliance with top scientific teams that will accelerate Lyme research,” her letter states.
“And we’re about to launch an initiative that YOU can help us with - so that together, we can help more individuals affected by Lyme disease get the treatment they desperately need to come out the other side of this insidious disease.”
How to protect yourself from tick bites
Any time you hang out in woody or grassy area, there is a chance of being bitten by an infected tick. So if you venture outdoors, keep the following tips from the CDC in mind:
- Cover up with long-sleeved shirts and long pants, and use an insect repellent that contains 20 percent or more DEET, picaridin, or IR3535 on any exposed skin.
- Ticks can hitchhike into your home by latching onto your gear (like tents and backpacks), so spray down your items with a product that contains at least 0.5 percent permethrin.
- Do some damage control once you step inside and perform a full-body check, making sure to look under your arms, around your ears, inside your belly button, behind your knees, between your legs, and in your hair. If you find a tick on your body, here’s exactly how to remove it.
- Then, tumble dry your dry clothes on high heat for 10 minutes to kill any remaining ticks. If your clothes need a wash, use hot water and dry on high for at least an hour.
- Remember your pets are at risk, too, so give them a daily scan.
Pros
- Easy to apply
- Long lasting
Cons
- Strong scent
OFF! Deep Woods Insect Repellent V offers up long-term protection against a slew of biting insects, including mosquitoes, gnats, black flies, and, yup, ticks. The repellent is aerosolized, making it easy to cover your body quickly. It also features 25% DEET for maximum protection.
Pros
- No strong smell
- Long protection range
Cons
- Pricey
Sawyer’s spray offers an impressive 12 hours of protection against mosquitoes and ticks, and a little less (eight hours) against flies, gnats, and chiggers. It’s fragrance free—a big perk for people who can’t stand the smell of bug spray—and contains 20% picaridin. It's also aerosolized and goes on evenly.
Pros
- No bug spray fumes
- Maximum protection
Cons
- Need to wash hands after applying
Sure, these wipes are technically designed to repel mosquitoes but they’re effective against ticks, too. Repel’s wipes go on easy—simply rub the 30% DEET-containing cloths over your skin. There’s no need to hold your breath to avoid breathing in bug spray fumes! You'll get 20 clothes per pack—plenty to cover you and your family.
Pros
- Not aerosolized
- Strong protection
Cons
- Too strong for everyday use
Ben’s Tick & Insect Repellent uses highly-concentrated DEET (98%, to be exact). While Dr. Russo says a level of DEET this strong isn't needed or recommended for everyday use, it can be helpful to spray on your clothes or if you're in areas where the ticks are really bad. This spray offers up 10 hours of protection and is also dispensed in an environmentally-friendly pump form.
Natrapel 12-Hour Tick and Insect Repellent
Pros
- Long-lasting protection
- Goes on gently
Cons
- Strong scent
Enjoy up to 12 hours of protection with Natrapel’s picaridin insect repellent. This spray features 20% picaridin to repel ticks, mosquitoes, gnats, and other biting insects. The brand’s bottle also dispenses a fine mist that’s easy to apply to your whole body.
Pros
- Odorless
- Low price
Cons
- Less coverage time than some other brands
Not everyone can tolerate the classic smell of bug spray. Coleman’s Skin Smart Insect Repellent is odorless, so you can get the protection you need without the lingering scent. This spray—which features 20% IR3535 as the active ingredient—has a handy twist-locking cap to keep it from going off in your bag. It also offers up to eight hours of coverage.
Pros
- Nice scent
- Environmentally-friendly pump
Cons
- Lower coverage time
Repel’s Lemon Eucalyptus Natural Insect Repellent is perfect for people who want a more “natural” approach to bug spray. It features oil of lemon eucalyptus to ward off ticks, mosquitoes, and other biting insects for up to six hours. The smell is also delicious.
Cutter Lemon Eucalyptus Insect Repellent
Pros
- Inexpensive
- Nice scent
Cons
- Smell can be too strong for some
Cutter Lemon Eucalyptus Insect Repellent also has a nice lemony scent many people can get behind thanks to its 30% oil of lemon eucalyptus formulation. The spray repels biting insects for up to six hours and features an environmentally-friendly pump dispenser.
Alisa Hrustic is the deputy editor at Prevention, where she leads the brand’s digital editorial strategy. She’s spent the last five years interviewing top medical experts, interpreting peer-reviewed studies, and reporting on health, nutrition, weight loss, and fitness trends for national brands like Women’s Health and Men’s Health. She spends most of her days diving into the latest wellness trends, writing and editing stories about health conditions, testing skincare products, and trying to understand the next greatest internet obsession.
