How come if you keep a tampon in for too long you get TSS?

Question

What causes TSS and what does it do?

Answer 1

It is a common misconception that TSS only occurs when you leave a tampon in for too long, in fact half of all TSS cases are caused by tampon use and the risks of TSS are there as soon as you insert a tampon because of their affect on vaginal health.

Tampons in particular are linked to TSS because of super-absorbent tampons introduced in the 1980's called Rely, these tampons were not safety tested, women started getting very ill and people did not know why at first, when it was found these tampons were causing TSS manufacturers promoted them further until finally the government stepped in to ban these tampons and set laws about how tampons can be made – the notification scheme was adopted for tampons in 1984.

Tampons are harmful to vaginal health because they prevent normal self-cleaning functions of the vagina by plugging the vagina as well as absorbing vaginal fluids preventing it from flushing out harmful or excess bacteria, this absorption can also dry out mucosa resulting in vaginal splitting giving bacteria another place to multiply and giving toxins produced by bacteria with TSS a more direct route into the body.

Tampons give bacteria the perfect environment to multiply upon, in the case of commercial tampons this is increased because of the super-absorbent materials still used by commercial tampon manufacturers and chemicals unnecessarily used to make tampons whiter can affect normal vaginal pH and in turn balance of 'good' and 'bad' bacteria letting 'bad' bacteria take over – this includes the bacteria that cause TSS.

TSS is rare but not as rare as official statistics imply because of the way in which the data is collected, furthermore TSS is not the only risk associated with tampons only the most commonly known about – these risks are always present but the risks are increased the longer you leave a tampon in the vagina (longer preventing vaginal self-cleaning and allowing bacteria to multiply), increased if you use more absorbent tampons and increased if you use commercial tampons over organic, sponge or homemade or soft tampons. It is far safer to stick to other menstrual options such as pads, free-flow methods or menstrual cups – menstrual cups are the only safe internal menstrual option, they are not linked with TSS.

There is a bacteria in the body called 'Staphylococcus aureus' which is present in one in three people, normally within the groin, nose and skin, half of TSS cases are associated with tampons, the other half tend to occur after surgery or in scars and boils – essentially anywhere where there is no protective layer protecting the skin (mucosa in the vagina does not have the protective layer skin does). This bacterium grows out of control and start producing a toxin which results in blood poisoning.

There are many symptoms;

The initial symptoms of TSS are high fever, sun-burn type rash, nausea or vomiting, feeling faint or fainting, diarrhoea, muscle ache, dizziness and sudden high temperature. As TSS is blood poisoning the effects become much greater, even fatal or resulting in life-long health problems, I personally know two people who have had TSS, there symptoms are grotesque;

Person #1 – Flat-lined on the trauma table with complete kidney shut-down, brain swelling, liver failure, weak/slow pulse, thick black blood reversing out of the IV's and coming out of her eye sockets – she was induced into coma to avoid a stroke, lost her hair and her finger prints. She is okay now but has skin issues, is hypoglycaemia, anaemic, has a body temp permanently .6 lower than normal, heart rate of 90 bpm and has to have kidney biopsies every 4 months.

Person #2 – Flu-like symptoms, excessive vomiting and hallucinating, low blood pressure, kidney failure, change of hair colour and complexion. She was caught early and has very few long-term health problems – hers would not be officially counted within TSS statistics as only one organ failed, to be counted in official statistics she would have had to have three organs failing.

More information;

http://www.toxicshock.com
http://www.tamponalert.org.uk
http://www.spotsite.org
http://cookiepuss.tripod.com/tampons.htm
http://www.web.net/%7Ewilli/uspoltam.htm

Answer 2

TSS or Toxic Shock Syndrome is cause by a bacteria known as Staphyloccoccus aureaus. If a tampon is left inside the vagina too long, the damp and warm environment causes the bacteria to multiply. The Staph may release a toxin (TSST-1). Increase levels of this toxin causes TSS.

Fully blown TSS can lead to shock and death. Avoid it by regularly changing tampons, and proper hygeine.

Answer 3

Bacterial growth is the reason why. TSS syndrome is a rare, treatable, and can be a fatal disease. It's associated mostly with tampon use, however, you can get TSS without a tampon. You can get it from a pad - even guys can get TSS. However, your chances are higher with a tampon, but it's still pretty low. To be on the safe side I suggest you look it up on sites like beinggirl.com and wikipedia.org.

Answer 4

Tampons get a degree of bacteria on them when inserted. Plus bacteria naturally exist in the vagina. That's usually not an issue, but if left in, the bacteria can multiply because--gross as it is--they have an abundant food source--the menstrual fluid.
The tampon contains and holds all the bacteria and their by-products in. And, if a person is susceptible to these by-products, can develop TSS.

Answer 5

A tampon is a foreign body in your body. Your body will begin to reject it, thus toxic shock syndrome. I would suggest only using them for swimming. Even that, can cause TSS if your body decides to reject it. I hope this helps.

Answer 6

Bacterial growth. Think biology. Cellular reproduction.

Answer 7

i'm no expert but...
bacteria grow especially in the super absorbent ones
(i think they don't sell those kind anymore)
and that's what gives you tss.
i think...
RELY was the brand that had a lot of the problems.
it was back around 1980.