Selena Gomez was hospitalized earlier this month for a low white blood cell count. While in the hospital, she suffered an “emotional breakdown” which resulted in her deciding to check into rehab. But the condition that landed her in the hospital in the first place could have been a sign that Selena was suffering from a lupus flare up.
“A low white blood count can be a little tricky to sort out in lupus,” Dr. Maureen McMahon, an associate clinical professor at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine, tells Hollywood Life. “It can be low because of a lupus disease flare, or it can be low as a side effect of medications used to treat lupus and/or kidney transplants.”
The singer has been open about her battle with lupus over the past few years, and revealed in 2017 that she had to undergo a kidney transplant, which was donated to her by friend Francia Raisa.