Man's Theory Attempts To Explain Why So Many Celebrities Have Lyme Disease
He pointed out a specific place in America where most celebrities could be contracting Lyme disease.
@richardjosephjordan / TikTok In the United States, an estimated 476,000 people are diagnosed with Lyme disease every year, an illness that people normally get from a tick bite. While the disease is the most common among tickborne diseases and can happen to anyone, one man named Richard Jordan explained why it seems to be common among celebrities.
He showed where celebrities in the United States are often bitten by ticks and get Lyme disease.
In Jordan's TikTok video, he stitched a video of another content creator talking about why it seems that there are so many celebrities who have Lyme disease, and where they could possibly be getting bit by ticks.
Jordan, who has Lyme disease, explained that the deer tick, which bites humans and other animals to spread the disease, was first discovered in Lyme, Connecticut in the 1970s. He showed a map of the United States where, today, the highest concentration of Lyme disease exists in the Northeast.
"Right across from Lyme, Connecticut [and] across the Long Island Sound is the town of East Hampton," Jordan explained, showing an image of the sand dunes in East Hampton. "These are some of the sand dunes in East Hampton with some very long grass, and this is the habitat of the deer tick."
He continued, alluding to the fact that many celebrities who vacation in the Hamptons are most likely to get bit by the deer tick while there.
It could make sense when looking at the number of celebrities who have been diagnosed with the illness, including Yolanda and Bella Hadid, Justin Bieber, Avril Lavigne, and Ben Stiller, who have probably all been to the Hamptons for an extended amount of time.
The reason many celebrities have been diagnosed with Lyme disease is because they can afford to seek treatments.
There were some people in the comments section of Jordan's video who claimed that the reason why it seems so many celebrities have been vocal about their Lyme disease diagnosis is because they have the financial means to detect the illness.
According to the CDC, while almost 476,000 Americans are diagnosed and treated for Lyme disease, and there's a recorded number of 36,000 cases each year, not all cases of the illness are reported. An estimated one in six people with Lyme disease do not experience the tell-tale rash and up to 7% of people with Lyme disease have no symptoms.
It's a well-known reality that celebrities and wealthy individuals often have better access to healthcare resources, including early diagnosis and treatment, compared to the regular working-class population. People like the Hadids and Justin Bieber can seek out the best medical professionals to help treat their Lyme disease.
Research conducted by the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health found that Lyme disease costs the U.S. healthcare system between $712 million and $1.3 billion a year, meaning many Lyme disease patients often have to shell out their life savings just to cover the medical costs.
Jordan's exploration of how common Lyme disease is in North America, coupled with the reality that there is an imbalance in Lyme disease patients who can afford to seek out treatment, reminds us of the necessity for affordable healthcare, and that it shouldn't just be a privilege dictated by financial status.
Nia Tipton is a Chicago-based entertainment, news, and lifestyle writer whose work delves into modern-day issues and experiences.