What Is Lyme Disease? Shania Twain Speaks About Battle With Illness

Shania Twain has revealed she feared she would never sing again after being diagnosed with Lyme disease.

“I lost my voice for several years and I could speak but I couldn’t yell. I could never yell for my dog or my son or whatever," she told The Sun.

“I also felt that I was never going to make another album — that was probably my truth. It was devastating. I really grieved about that. It did bring me down and I struggled with it every day.

“It was very depressing and I was really sad about it but I still had my writing and my writing is my first love, really, over everything."

Twain isn't the first celeb to open up about Lyme disease with Avril Lavigne previously sharing her experience. But what is it and what are the warning signs.

What Is Lyme Disease?

Public Health England estimates there are 2,000 to 3,000 cases of Lyme disease in England and Wales each year.

According to the NHS, the disease is caused by a type of bacteria that is present in many animals, including mice, deer and pheasants.

If a tick bites one of these animals, it becomes infected. Ticks then pass the bacterial infection on to humans if they bite them, causing Lyme disease.

However, it may be useful to know that being bitten by a tick doesn't immediately lead to infection.

"You think it bites you and you get the infection but actually you have about 36 hours from the time of the bite to remove it before you get sick,” Dr. Richard Besser said, according to ABC News.

What Are The Symptoms Of Lyme Disease?

One of the first signs of an infected tick bite is a rash. The rash that appears around the bite is commonly described to look like a bull's eye on a dart board.

Other early symptoms include aching joints and muscles, plus a stiff neck and fever.

Symptoms are thought to begin showing at around 30 days after a person has been bitten.

If the condition is left untreated, symptoms can progress to numbness of the limbs and temporary paralysis of your facial muscles.

In rare cases, Lyme disease can lead to inflammation of the heart muscles, which can cause the heart to beat irregularly.

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What Treatment Is Available For Lyme Disease?

Oral antibiotics are the most common treatment used for Lyme disease. Antibiotic injections are sometimes used in severe cases.

But prevention is better than treatment - if you're walking in long grass, wear long clothes and tuck your socks into your trousers to avoid being bitten in the first place.

The good news is that if Lyme disease is spotted early, treatment can be effective.

Celebrities With Lyme Disease

George W. Bush(01 of08)

In 2007, the annual report on the president's health revealed that in August of 2006 Bush had been treated for Lyme disease. A White House spokesman said the president likely was bitten during a bike ride. He noticed a rash that doctors treated, and he had no other symptoms or any recurrence, according to CNN."I wouldn't expect any problem at all for the president," Gary Wormser, chief of infectious diseases at New York Medical College and an expert on Lyme disease, told the Washington Post. "He won't be impacted by this infection in the future." (credit:Getty)

Jamie Lynn Sigler(02 of08)

The actress, most well-known for her role on "The Sopranos," contracted Lyme disease in 2000. Her feet began tingling and eventually her legs became paralyzed. Doctors were stumped for five days as to the cause, the New Jersey Star-Ledger reported. "It was such a life-altering experience," she told the paper. "I realized it could all be taken away in a moment" She recovered completely after taking antibiotics. (credit:Getty)

Avril Lavigne(03 of08)

The Canadian singer revealed that she has been struggling with the disease for almost a year. (credit:Robb Cohen/Invision/AP)

Parker Posey(04 of08)

The actress was diagnosed with Lyme disease in 2009. "I had the opportunity to approach it both with conventional medicine (antibiotics) and homeopathic remedies and supplements," she said in a statement. "The first round of antibiotics did not destroy all the bacteria and I made a decision not to take them anymore and instead approach it purely holistically -- through the help of my homeopathic doctor who guided me with my diet and gave me the natural supplements to bring my body back to its vitality." (credit:Getty)

Daryl Hall(05 of08)

Duo Hall and Oates was forced to cancel performances in 2005 when Hall was diagnosed with Lyme disease, USA Today reported. A publicist told E! Online that Hall had the trademark bull's eye rash and flu-like symptoms. "We are so sorry to disappoint our fans, but we promise to make it up to them," he said in a statement. "This illness made it impossible for me to give my best effort to our audience, but now that it's been identified, I'm looking forward to a complete, quick recovery and to get back out there with John as soon as possible." (credit:Getty)

Amy Tan(06 of08)

The author most famous for her hit novel "The Joy Luck Club" suffered mysterious hallucinations, confusion, neck and joint pain, numbness and insomnia for more than two years before she was diagnosed with Lyme disease. By that time, she had consulted 11 different doctors and paid $50,000 in medical bills, People reported. After researching her symptoms on the Internet, Tan told the magazine that everything clicked -- she had taken many hiking trips in parts of California where Lyme disease is common and she even remembered pulling ticks off of her dogs. While her symptoms were advanced, her doctor told People, antibiotics helped, and she started a charity organization called Lyme Aid4Kids to help raise awareness for the disease. (credit:Getty)

Christie Brinkley(07 of08)

It's not clear if model Brinkley ever had Lyme disease -- but she's certainly taken a strong stance against ticks. In the early '90s she made headlines for raising guinea hens, birds thought to eat deer ticks, at her home in East Hampton, New York, according to TIME. She reported the deer-tick population had fallen on the grounds around her home since introducing the hens, the Philadehlphia Inquirer reported. (credit:Getty)

Alec Baldwin(08 of08)

Few details are known about the actor's Lyme disease, but he told the New York Times that his symptoms are chronic and return annually. "At the same time of year, I get really tired," he told the paper. (credit:Getty)

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