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Rachel Recchia<\/strong><\/a> is addressing a thorn in her side.<\/p>\n The Bachelorette<\/a><\/em> alum clapped back at online chatter about her recent weight loss<\/a>, shutting down rumors that she had “work done” on her face and sought plastic surgery to slim down.<\/p>\n Instead, Rachel noted that the change of appearance was the result of a lengthy health battle<\/a>.<\/p>\n “I have been extremely sick since May,” she wrote on Instagram Stories Aug. 18. “I was in the hospital for a bad kidney infection that spread into my back muscles.”<\/p>\n According to the 28-year-old, she had been on antibiotics through a peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) for over a month, making her feel “so tired and nauseous, which led to the weight loss everyone has been commenting on.”<\/p>\n “I am aware I look ‘sick’ because I was sick,” Rachel added. “Please be mindful.”<\/p>\n Indeed, Rachel was pictured with a PICC line on her right arm in some of her recent Instagram photos. On July 7, the Bachelor Nation<\/a> star posted a photo of herself in a purple bikini with her bicep bandaged up, writing in the caption<\/a>, “How I look while going through it.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n