Crystal Harris Hugh Hefner
Hugh Hefner and his fiancee, Playboy Playmate Crystal Harris, arrive at the opening night gala of the 2011 TCM Classic Film Festival featuring a screening of a restoration of 'An American In Paris' in Hollywood, California April 28, 2011. Reuters/Fred Prouser

Hugh Hefner’s wife Crystal Harris has been diagnosed with Lyme disease, an infectious disease caused by bacteria of the Borrelia type. Mrs Hefner even posted on Instagram about her condition and urged her fans to get tested for the infectious disease. Lyme disease affects the nervous system, heart, joints and skin.

The 29-year-old model learned about her condition last week and is trying to raise awareness of the tick-borne illness that is very hard to detect. Harris shared an infographic of the disease and said all it takes is a dot. The former Playboy babe has been suffering symptoms for a while. The disease even made her think she is a hypochondriac.

 

If you have EVER GONE HIKING, please get tested for #LymeDisease. The best lab to do this is called "Igenex" they are based out of Palo Alto. I was diagnosed a few days ago and have a long road ahead of me. Supposedly you get it from ticks but I have absolutely no recollection of being bit or having a rash or ANYTHING. Most importantly there are SO MANY of you carrying Lyme that don't even know you have it. Probably because the ticks can be the size of specs. I always thought of ticks to be big and noticeable. The symptoms are vast and when it has been left untreated for a long time can turn into MS, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Dementia and ALS. Symptoms can range from sore muscles, sore back, sore neck, anxiety, fatigue, heart palpitations, muscle twitches, bladder pain, vision or hearing problems, swollen lymph nodes, flu like symptoms, brain fog, memory problems. Having just one of these could mean you have Lyme. Please please get tested. It is a disease so many people are living with and is becoming an epidemic. I always thought I was a hypochondriac. Doctors told me it was just "stress" or "all in my head" but I finally figured it out and you can too. Lyme is also related to syphilis and can be sexually transmitted and also passed from mother to child during pregnancy. #LymeDisease #lymewarrior _ please tag some friends to raise awareness for this illness not many people know about _

A photo posted by Crystal Hefner (@crystalhefner) on

The sizzling beauty said that she is relieved to be at least diagnosed so can go ahead with treatments. She expressed disappointment over the fact that all these years, doctors kept telling her it was “all in her head.”

“Doctors told me it was just "stress" or "all in my head" but I finally figured it out and you can too. Lyme is also related to syphilis and can be sexually transmitted and also passed from mother to child during pregnancy. #LymeDisease #lymewarrior,” she wrote on Instagram.

Harris joins a list of many celebrities who have been diagnosed with Lyme disease. In 2015, Avril Lavigne discussed about her fight with Lyme disease. It left her bedridden for months. Yolanda Foster of “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” fame recently revealed that her son Anwar Hadid and daughter Bella Hadid also suffer from the same condition as she does. Ben Stiller and Alec Baldwin also have Lyme disease.

The disease is transmitted through the bites of blacklegged ticks. Symptoms include bulls-eye type rashes, severe weakness in limbs, fatigue and headache. If left untreated, Lyme disease can spread to heart, joints and the nervous system.

Harris started dating Hugh Hefner in 2009 and the two tied the knot in December 2012. She is Hefner’s third wife.

RELATED STORIES