Ashley Olsen has been diagnosed with Lyme disease

Avril Lavigne is also suffering from the illness

Ashley Olsen

by Rosie Gizauskas |
Published on

Poor Ashley Olsen – she’s been diagnosed with Lyme disease.

The 28-year-old fashion designer is said to be battling the debilitating bacterial illness, which is caused by tick bites.

The disease causes pain in the sufferer's skin and joints and problems with the heart and nervous system, due to bites she received from the parasitic arachnids several years ago.

A insider told America's OK! magazine: "She's really sick. It's gotten worse. She was diagnosed in the very late stages so early detection measures weren't options for her. She's really going through it."

The illness has taken a physical toll on Ashley - the twin sister of Mary-Kate Olsen and older sibling of Avengers: Age of Ultron star Elizabeth Olsen - in recent months and has affected her ability to work.

The insider added: "When she does come to work, she looks haggard and dishevelled. And she's often moody. Ashley's having a very rough time right now."

Pop singer Avril Lavigne has also been suffering from Lyme disease and recently admitted she thought she was "dying" when she was stricken down with the disease.

The singer said: "I felt like I couldn't breathe, I couldn't talk and I couldn't move. I thought I was dying... I had no idea a bug bite could do this. I was bedridden for five months."

We wish Ashley a speedy recovery.

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