American author and reality TV star Lala Kent has revealed that she suffered a severe and “disgusting” reaction to a bug bite following a trip to Hawaii.
Speaking candidly on the January 14 episode of her iHeartRadio podcast Unconditionally Lala, Kent opened up about the ordeal while discussing Bethenny Frankel’s recent social media post about contracting a bacterial infection during a vacation in St. Barth’s.
Recalling the incident to her mother, Lisa Burningham, Kent said she woke up one morning to find what initially appeared to be small bites on her chest and back. “I looked at my body, and there’s what looked to be little bites… it was freaking weird,” she said, adding that the rash was “gnarly.”
Kent explained that she initially suspected she had brought a sand mite back from Hawaii, but the condition quickly worsened. “They were becoming bigger and weirder, and they were itchy,” she said, before bluntly describing them as boils. “I’m going to call it what it is. Boils. They were disgusting and oozing,” she added.
The Vanderpump Rules alum said medical staff treated the situation with extreme caution, jokingly referring to herself as “patient zero” and claiming a healthcare professional examined her while wearing a hazmat suit.
After undergoing several tests, doctors ruled out bacterial infection, staph, chickenpox, and monkeypox. Worried about permanent scarring, Kent then consulted a dermatologist, who prescribed a combination of oral steroids, steroid creams, and antibiotics.
She later revealed that a biopsy confirmed the condition was most consistent with a rare reaction to a bug bite. “Mine was not bacterial like Bethenny Frankel’s,” Kent clarified.
Meanwhile, Bethenny Frankel, 55, had earlier shared photos from her New Year vacation on Instagram on January 4, featuring her daughter Bryn and offering fans a glimpse into her holiday celebrations.
