Model Bella Hadid recently shared an update on TikTok, that her Lyme disease symptoms had flared up following a tooth infection. The Dutch-Palestinian 26-year-old was diagnosed with Lyme disease in 2012, and in her latest health update, shared she was struggling with its symptoms once again. “There was a low-grade infection underneath the tooth, next to the tooth I thought was suffering (she’s good) which is the one I got a root canal on a year ago. It continued to spread down, causing a low-grade infection in my jaw,” Hadid shared on TikTok. She continued by saying: “Please listen to your bodies my friends! This made my Lyme flare up, which means the Lyme is attacking the places that are suffering i.e. tooth, jaw, gut, brain, spine, bones etc oh, and the entire nervous system.” So, what is Lyme disease? “Lyme disease is an infection caused by a group of bacteria transmitted through an infected tick, giving you a specific set of symptoms,” says Dr Sanjay Mehta, GP at the London General Practice. According to analysis published in the open access journal BMJ Global Health, more than 14% of the world’s population probably has, or has had, tick-borne Lyme disease. But Mehta says you can’t catch it from any tick, only infected ones. The disease can also be seasonal – “It doesn’t die down to zero, but it drops significantly during summer and winter, and peaks during early autumn and spring,” he says. What are the symptoms? Lyme disease can manifest in a variety of different ways – from being asymptomatic, to nerve damage, in more severe cases. “There are two main groups of patients,” says Mehta. “First, there’s the group who catch it early, and they don’t really get any symptoms – they just see they’ve been infected by a tick. “Then there’s the second group of people who don’t get treatment, and although only a very small percentage of them actually end up with symptoms, they are the ones we worry about. “Those patients tend to get three stages of symptoms. First, they might get flu-like symptoms kicking in a week or so after the bite, and a characteristic rash. Second, some might then get symptoms related to their nerves, their heart and their brain, several weeks or months later. “An even smaller number of people might then get the third stage, and these are the symptoms people typically associate with Lyme disease – long-term joint problems and neurological symptoms.” How do you contract Lyme disease? As Lyme disease is passed on exclusively via infected ticks, you can downgrade the disease from unlikely to highly unlikely by avoiding tick-heavy areas or taking precautions within them. “There are areas of the UK known to harbour infected ticks, like the Lake District, the New Forest, the North York Moors, and the Scottish Highlands,” says Mehta. “If you see ticks on your skin, you don’t necessarily get transmission for up to four hours, so if you can remove them, that’s ideal.” If you are going to any of these areas, there are also a few simple things you can do to limit the risk. “Try to keep to paths in grassy, wooded areas, and keep away from long grass and vegetation,” advises Mehta. “It sounds obvious, but shower on your return – often ticks fall off – and check yourself for them too. Wear insect repellent, long T-shirts, and long trousers if possible.” What should you do if you get bitten? The simple answer is, if you’ve gone to a high-risk area and you know you’ve been bitten by something, see a doctor. “It is worth going on to treatment, which is a course of specific antibiotics,” says Mehta. “We do run tests, and the tests are fairly reliable, but the main things are a) have you gone to a risky area? b) have you seen you’ve been bitten? And c) have you developed symptoms?” “The take-home message is to seek medical help if there is a bite, but be aware, it’s only a small percentage of people who end up with problems.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Study reveals how muscle cells deteriorate with age, hampering injury recovery Tips and tricks to preserve your harvest Is it heat exhaustion or are you just tired?

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A Russian warship fired warning shots at a dry cargo ship in the Black Sea on Sunday, after the Russian defence ministry said it intercepted the Palau-flagged “Sukru Okan” ship heading towards Ukraine. Issuing a statement, Russia said its Vasily Bykov patrol ship open fired with an automatic weapon at the vessel after its captain did not respond to their request to halt for an inspection. "To forcibly stop the vessel, warning fire was opened from automatic weapons," the Russian defence ministy said. A Ka-29 helicopter carrying Russian soldiers was then scrambled to inspect the ship. While Russia claims the ship was heading towards Ukraine’s port of Izmail, Refinitiv shipping data showed the ship was heading north towards the coast of Bulgaria, reported Reuters. "After the inspection group completed its work on board, the Sukru Okan continued on its way to the port of Izmail," the Russian defence ministry said. Shipping databases list the Sukru Okan as a Palau-flagged vessel with a tonnage of 2155 whose home port is Istanbul. The Black Sea handled about 95 per cent of Ukrainian grain exports before Russia’s invasion, according to Joseph Glauber, senior research fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute. Earlier last month, Russia ended a UN-brokered grain deal that ensured Ukraine could get its agricultural produce to market via the Black Sea and Moscow cautioned that it would deem all ships heading to Ukrainian waters to be potentially carrying weapons. Ukraine, a major supplier of corn, wheat, barley and vegetable oil to the world, shipped 32.9 million metric tonnes of grain under the nearly year-long deal designed to ease a global food crisis. It has been able to export an additional two million to 2.5 million metric tonnes monthly via the Danube River, road and rail through Europe. Those are now the only routes to ship Ukrainian grain, Mr Glauber earlier told the Associated Press. Ukraine’s response including sea-drone attacks on a Russian oil tanker and a warship at its Novorossiysk naval base, next door to a major grain and oil port, has added to these new dangers for transport in the Black Sea. Additional reporting by agencies Read More Russia vows retaliation after Ukraine launches attack on key Crimea bridge Ukraine accuses Russia of targeting rescue workers in latest missile strikes Moment sea drone ‘hits Russian tanker’ near Crimea captured in dramatic footage The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary

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