Shania Twain on contracting ‘debilitating’ Lyme disease that led to vocal issues

TORONTO – Shania Twain is cautioning nature lovers to immediately seek treatment if they suspect they've been bitten by a tick.

The Canadian country music superstar, who recently revealed she's battling complications from Lyme disease as a result of a tick bite over 10 years ago, says there's "a very short window to catch it and then treat it."

Twain says even when you treat it, you could still be left with symptoms, which is what happened to her.

Twain, who recently released the single "Life's About to Get Good" off her upcoming album "Shania Now," notes Lyme is "a debilitating disease" that "you can't play around with."

The Timmins, Ont., native says she saw a tick fall off her in Norfolk, Va., during her 2003-04 "Up!" tour.

She recalls becoming dizzy in the ensuing days and almost falling off the stage while performing.

Twain says her contracting Lyme disease led to a vocal cord disorder for which she's had to have physiotherapy.

"Normally it can attack your nervous system or the vital organs — heart, liver, kidneys, nervous system," she said in a phone interview on Thursday.

"So it's a debilitating disease and extremely dangerous. You can't play around with it, so you've got to check yourself for ticks.

"In my case I was lucky that I saw a tick fall off me. But a lot of people don't even realize that they got bit.

"So this is the thing. It's the symptoms — the symptoms kick in fairly quickly and I was on tour, so I almost fell off the stage every night. I was very, very dizzy and didn't know what was going on."