This might be kind of a downer but I think everyone needs to know this. My best friend very recently lost her sister, Amy, to Toxic Shock Syndrome, or TSS. She died about a month ago at the age of 20. It was devastating to lose someone so young to something that is rarely talked about nowadays.
This is going to be long but please read this and share it with all your female friends!
Toxic Shock has actually been making a comeback for well over 10 years. It is caused by a bacteria that is multiplied by the rayon in tampons(It is not STRICTLY caused by tampons, as men can also get TSS, however it WAS caused by a tampon in Amy's case). According to Dr. Patrick Schlievert, a toxic shock expert and professor at the University of Minnesota, 1 in 700 women will get tampon related TSS in their lifetime. He estimates that nationwide 5,000 to 10,000 cases of staphylococcal toxic shock syndrome now occur each year, making it as common as Lyme disease.
Amy was a hygiene FREAK, however, her diligence was not enough. You can develop TSS after only 2 hours of use! After Rely tampons were taken off of the market in the 80's because of the large number of TSS cases, Playtex began producing a product that was almost identical to the Rely brand(Schlievert).
It turns out that there have been multiple attempts to regulate the materials used in tampons to make them safer, but both times lobbyists have paid off legislators to have the legislation dropped. I've been learning more and more about this disease and its causes and have come across some disturbing information. Doctors and nurses are taught that TSS is a very rare illness and are not always considering it as a possibility when diagnosing a patient. Many are not taught about it at all! After Amy's death, the entire emergency staff attended a special seminar on Toxic Shock Syndrome and what to look for when a person walks into the hospital. It should NOT take a death for medical professionals to learn about Toxic Shock. Currently, the reporting of TSS to the CDC is both optional and uneven, resulting in "lower" death counts and making TSS look much more rare than it actually is.
Many tampons sold in the United States are manufactured out of the country. They are not required to be sterile, nor are they required to list ingredients on the package. Companies are allowed to hire their own inspectors to report to the FDA so the FDA doesn’t check them personally. Obviously this is alarming.
What can you do?
1. Use 100% cotton, unbleached tampons. They are more difficult to find (you can often find them in health food stores or online) and slightly more expensive, but there has never been a case of TSS reported by someone who was using them.
2. If you have been using tampons and you experience flu-like symptoms and a fever, remove said tampon and go to the hospital immediately. Insist on getting blood work. If it is caught early enough, you have a much better chance of survival.
3. Tell all of the women that you know. Women under 25 are the most at risk because they haven't developed the proper antibodies against the bacteria. Women should know that Toxic Shock is happening more frequently than we are led to believe and that even doctors and nurses aren't learning about the risk that it poses today. Attempts at getting this into the press have failed because manufacturers threaten to pull sponsorships of magazine companies and other outlets. Think about it... How many tampon ads were in the last magazine you read? It is up to us to get the word out.
Please think about this and pass it on to as many women as you can and then urge them to do the same. Lets help Amy make a difference.
It was very sad. She literally went to the hospital with the flu and was gone within 3 days due to sepsis and organ failure from TSS. Its something we can prevent. I have started using 100% cotton tampons but just like cb1 said, there are other alternatives to using tampons.
I just want people to be made aware that TSS is still happening and that there are ways to prevent it. Even if you must still use traditional tampons jut be aware of the symptoms of TSS and be aware of proper tampon use.
Thank you for sharing, and I too am so sorry for your loss. What a senseless tragedy. Thank you so much for the educational info... may I copy and paste and email to my friends?
I'm sorry to hear about your loss I remember hearing about TSS years ago when the school gave us girls 'the talk'.. i always thought it was just from wearing a tampon too long. I didnt know it had anything to do with what is used to make one. I personally do not like them so i rarely use them anyway..but good to know none the less.
Last edited by Phoenix301; 08-02-2010 at 08:42 PM.
I didn't know this was stll around. I remember it from many years ago,Over 20 years ago. Thanks for the reminder. So sorry for the loss of your friend.
IMPORTANT, please READ this! Its for your SAFETY!
Thank you for posting this.
