It’s no surprise the show The Bachelor is known for having hot contestants. However, what is even hotter than The Bachelor contestants? Hyperthermia treatment is about as hot as you can get. Hyperthermia treatment involves raising the body’s core temperature to kill pathogens and boost the immune system. Now, besides both The Bachelor contestants and hyperthermia treatment being hot, what else do they have in common? Daisy Kent is a contestant on Joey Graziadei’s Seasons 28 of The Bachelor. During this season Daisy explains that she had been battling Lyme disease for many years and received hyperthermia treatment to kill the infection and gain her health back.
Who is Daisy Kent?
Daisy grew up in Minnesota, and as a child, she began experiencing seizures, hair loss, joint pain, and severe dizziness. On CBS 8, Daisy explains that when she was 15, one day her dad was trying to wake her up “He was shaking me, and I was like, this is weird, I looked at him, I couldn’t hear him, then sat up and realized something was wrong with my left ear.1
Daisy states that she battled with “a lot of high-pitched ringing and then just progressively got worse, and I couldn’t understand speech very well. She said the experience was super isolating and that she felt very alone at the time.”1
What is Ménière’s Disease?
A few years later, when she was 17, she was diagnosed with Meniere’s disease, a disorder of the inner ear. Ménière’s disease is a condition in which people experience possible hearing loss, feelings of pressure or fullness in their ear, tinnitus, dizziness and vertigo that can lead to feeling nauseous. Oftentimes, Ménière’s disease impacts one ear, although experts estimate that anywhere from 10 to 40 percent of patients will eventually begin having symptoms in their second ear. “Kent has said she has symptoms in both ears.1
It wasn’t until she was 21 when she received the diagnosis of Lyme disease that contributed to her inner ear disorder. Lyme disease likes to attack the eighth cranial nerve, which controls the inner ear, causing Ménière’s disease.
What is Lyme Disease?
Lyme disease is caused by a spiral-shaped bacteria (spirochete) called Borrelia Burgdorferi and it is commonly contracted by a tick bite. However, fleas, mites, lice, mosquitoes, and biting flies can also transmit this disease. Lyme disease can affect multiple organs including the heart, skin, joints, and nervous system producing a wide range of symptoms. Lyme disease has been called “The Great Imitator” and should be considered when diagnosed with rheumatologic and neurologic conditions as well as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, Meniere’s Disease, ALS, MS, Parkinson’s, Dystonia and any other multi-system illness.
Daisy had tried many different treatments for Lyme Disease in the United States. However, it wasn’t until she traveled to Germany to receive hyperthermia treatment, that she was able to feel significantly better.
What is Hyperthermia Treatment?
Hyperthermia treatment for Lyme disease involves raising the body’s temperature to combat the Lyme bacteria and other tick-borne infections effectively. This approach is rooted in the idea that elevated temperatures can weaken or kill the Borrelia Burgdorferi bacteria, which are known to be sensitive to heat. The treatment aims to create an environment where the bacteria are less resilient, making it easier for the immune system to eliminate them.
The core temperature of the body is increased carefully through the use of whole-body infrared-A-irradiation. The goal is to bring the body temperature to at least 106° F (41.1° C), which is the temperature at which it is believed many strains of Borreliosis are affected. This is known as extreme whole-body hyperthermia.2
Why is Hyperthermia’s Approach So Effective for Lyme Disease?
- Increasing body temperature kills Lyme microbes.
- Elevated temperatures also increases the effectiveness of antibiotics, decreases microbes’ resistance to antibiotics, and enables antibiotics to get inside the cells more easily.3
- Disrupting the structural integrity of biofilms.
- When a person has chronic Lyme disease, biofilms form around the spirochete, preventing antibiotics from reaching the pathogen. Increased heat breaks down these biofilms, allowing antibiotics to penetrate them.4
- Stimulating the immune system.
- This induced fever increases blood flow to organs and tissues, improving the oxygen supply to the body. Also, the immune system responds with a strong production of natural killer and helper cells. This process gives your body the best fighting chance of becoming stronger.
Daisy Kent and Her Cochlear Implant
While hyperthermia was very effective in helping Daisy move forward from the debilitating illness of Lyme disease, it was not able to reverse the damage that had been done to her inner ears. Hearing aids didn’t seem to be effective, and this is when she looked into cochlear implants. A cochlear implant is a small complex electronic device that can help to provide a sense of sound to a person with profound hearing loss. Through the combination of hyperthermia therapy to treat her Lyme disease, and undergoing surgery for a cochlear implant, her quality of life has significantly improved.
Daisy Kent, 25 years old, now resides in San Diego, CA. She is able to move forward with her life, spread awareness on the seriousness of Lyme disease, and her experience with profound hearing loss and the effectiveness of cochlear implants. She even wrote and released a book this past August called Daisy Doo: All the Sounds She Knew. The book follows a young girl named Daisy Doo as she relearns her favorite sounds thanks to a cochlear implant. Daisy has also started a non-profit organization called Hear Your Heart, with the purpose to help others pay for the expenses related to cochlear implant surgery.1
Daisy Kent is quite the Lyme Warrior. Having gone through Lyme disease myself and experiencing 70% nerve damage in my left inner ear, I can relate to how misunderstood this disease is and how important it is to create more awareness on tick-borne infections. I too ended up receiving hyperthermia treatment in Germany, which undoubtedly saved my life. As a fellow Lyme Warrior, it has been so refreshing seeing Daisy Kent on The Bachelor and watching her share her story so eloquently. On the season finale of The Bachelor, Daisy reveals how truly strong she is from everything she has overcome, and states “I am healthy and I’m happy, and I haven’t been that in a really long time.” While suffering for so many years, then finally healing, it’s very impressive that she has taken her experience and turned it into an opportunity to help so many people battling with similar conditions looking for hope.
Citations:
- https://www.cbs8.com/article/news/local/tick-bite-to-tiktok-influencer/509-5d9c94fd-f6f3-44b4-9eb7-1928b2bac86c
- https://www.klinik-st-georg.de/en/klinik-st-georg/lyme-specialized-center/lyme-treatment-protocol/
- https://thelymespecialist.com/answering-questions-about-hyperthermia-treatment-for-lyme-disease/
- Progress on utilizing hyperthermia for mitigating bacterial infections. Taylor Ibellia, Sarah Templetonb and Nicole Levi-Polyachenkoc. Intern J Hyperth. 34(2):144–156, 2018.
