Alexis Ohanian reveals he was diagnosed with Lyme disease after having no symptoms
Alexis Ohanian, the co-founder of Reddit, has revealed he was diagnosed with Lyme disease, a condition transmitted to humans via infected tick bites.
Ohanian, who shares two children with his wife, tennis legend Serena Williams, said bloodwork detected the disease and that he showed no symptoms.
"Doing a full battery of health scans, tests, etc, and found out I have lyme disease," Ohanian wrote in a post shared Tuesday on X. "Wild. No symptoms, thankfully, but gonna treat."
In a subsequent post, Ohanian wrote that the diagnosis came as "quite a surprise" given that he doesn't spend much time in the Northeast or in the wilderness, where ticks are most common.
Ohanian is in the minority of Lyme disease patients when it comes to not having symptoms of the disease prior to his diagnosis.
Around 70% to 80% of people infected with Lyme disease develop what is known as an erythema migrans rash -- a "bull's eye" rash which expands in size at the site of the bite -- on their body, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
What to know about Lyme disease
Lyme disease, the most common vector-borne disease in the U.S., according to the CDC, has impacted other celebrities including Amy Schumer, Shania Twain and Justin Bieber.
The illness, caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi, is transmitted to humans via tick bites and is more likely to be contracted in the late spring, summer and fall. In most cases, the tick must be attached to the skin for at least 24 hours before the bacterium can be transmitted.
Symptoms appear as soon as three days after the tick bite.
Symptoms in the acute phase include fever, headache and fatigue. If left untreated, the infection can spread to joints, the heart and the nervous system. People also may experience lingering symptoms that last months or even years, such as muscle and joint pain.
Most cases of Lyme disease can be treated with antibiotics over the course of 10 to 14 days.
Lyme disease is most commonly found in the Northeast and upper Midwest.
The CDC recommends preventive measures such as treating your clothes and gear with products containing 0.5% permethrin. They also recommend always doing a "tick check" after being outside and wearing insect repellent with Deet.
Ticks can also come into the home through clothing and pets, so the CDC recommends checking pets for ticks and tumble drying clothes on high heat for 10 minutes after coming indoors to kill ticks.
If you are ever in a situation where you are bitten by a tick, the CDC recommends tugging gently but firmly near the head of the tick until it is pulled away from the skin.
People who are outdoors in areas that may have ticks should also conduct a full body check when they return, including checking under the arms, in and around the ears, inside the belly button, behind the knees, in and around the hair, between the legs and around the waist, the CDC says.
John Smith, M.D., a psychiatrist and contributor to the ABC News Medical Unit, contributed to this report.
