Student, 16, nearly dies after developing toxic shock syndrome from using tampons

A teenage girl was left fighting for her life after developing toxic shock syndrome from using tampons. 

Katrina Shelton, was 16 when she contracted the rare illness, which she initially misdiagnosed as flu.

She was rushed to hospital when the ‘virus’ became steadily worse and she felt weak, feverish and was repeatedly vomiting.

She was transferred to intensive care where she was diagnosed with toxic shock syndrome. 

Katrina Shelton, was 16, when she contacted the rare illness, which was initially misdiagnosed as flu. She was rushed to hospital and spent two days in intensive care

Miss Shelton, pictured with her mother Jennifer as she prepares to leave hospital, says she now won’t use tampons

Medics desperately pumped her full of antibiotics in a bid to save her life and she pulled through and survived.

It is thought she caught the deadly infection as a result of using tampons – but she insists she didn’t leave them in for longer than the recommended time.

Miss Shelton, from Pentwater, Michigan, was feeling a little out of sorts when she got up to go to school. 

‘I was struggling to keep my eyes open. I felt really bad, so I called my mum and she came and took me home,’ she said.

After sleeping for the rest of the day, she felt better and went back to school.

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But again, after just a few hours, she was overwhelmed by intense tiredness and suddenly started vomiting.

She went to a doctor suspecting she had flue before going home again to rest.

Her symptoms continued the next day, but on the Thursday, her condition suddenly deteriorated.

As her mother Jennifer, 37, went to get the car to take her to hospital, she collapsed on the bathroom floor.

‘I woke up and I couldn’t move the right side of my body. I couldn’t lift my leg or my arm and I started freaking out.

‘I don’t remember how I got there, but my mum had to carry me to the car, because I couldn’t walk,’ she said.

Her mother and stepfather Mike Arambula, 46, rushed her to casualty at Sparrow Hospital in Lansing, Michigan, where doctors told her family she was seriously ill.

‘They took my vitals straight away and my blood pressure was so low that the nurse had to take it twice.

‘Suddenly, there were doctors and nurses in the room and they were sticking needles in my arm. I was crying and I was very scared.’

Her family sat by her bed and watched, as doctors pumped fluids into her arm, to try and bring her body back to normal.

‘If I had come any later, I probably wouldn’t have made it, because my blood pressure was so low. 

It is thought Miss Shelton’s case, she caught the deadly infection as a result of using tampons – but she insists she didn’t leave them in for longer than the recommended time

‘On that first day, doctors were preparing my family for the worst. It was very frightening for them,’ she said.

Medical staff stabilised her blood pressure and she was in intensive care for two days before she was diagnosed with toxic shock syndrome. 

Toxic shock syndrome is caused by bacteria getting into the body and then releasing harmful toxins.

In Miss Shelton’s case, it was caused by the tampons she was using.

‘They aren’t sure why exactly it happened,’ she said. ‘But I was told not to use tampons again. I was so shocked.

‘You see the warning labels on boxes of tampons, but you never think it’s going to happen to you. 

‘You think it’s just some scary thing that they put on there just in case.’

WHAT IS TOXIC SHOCK SYNDROME AND HOW CAN YOU GET IT FROM WEARING A TAMPON? 

Toxic shock syndrome (TSS) is a rare but life-threatening bacterial infection.

It is caused by staphylococcus aureus and streptococcus pyogenes – bacteria that normally live harmlessly on the skin, nose or mouth.

But they can invade the body’s bloodstream, where they release poisonous toxins.

The toxins damage tissue, including skin and organs, and can disturb many vital organ functions.

TSS is a medical emergency and sufferers must seek medical help as soon as possible.

It is caused by staphylococcus aureus and streptococcus pyogenes – bacteria that normally live harmlessly on the skin, nose or mouth

Signs of TSS include a temperature of 38.9°C or above; fainting; widespread; flat, red skin rash; three or more organs affected by infection; infection caused by staphylococcus or streptococcus.

If left untreated, TSS can cause shock and organ damage that results in death.

Anyone can develop TSS but for reasons that are not fully understood, a significant number of cases are in women who are on their period and using a tampon – particularly those designed to be ‘super absorbent’. 

The role of tampons in toxic shock syndrome remains unexplained.

One theory is that if a tampon is left in your vagina for some time, as is often the case with the more absorbent types of tampons, it can become a breeding ground for the bacteria.

Another theory is that the fibres of the tampon may scratch the vagina, allowing the bacteria or the toxins to enter the blood.

No evidence has been found to support either theory.

Source: NHS Choices 

Luckily, Katrina made a fast recovery and was able to leave hospital on Sunday – just four days after she was admitted.

She said: ‘I went home on the Sunday morning and I had to do breathing treatments, because they put so much fluid into my body and it was going it into my lungs. 

‘But I was much better on the Monday and I even went back to school on Tuesday.’

Three years on, the illness hasn’t had any long-term effect on her health.

‘I lost half the hair on my head in the hospital, but other than that, I was fine. Some of my friends didn’t even know I had been ill,’ she said.

But since then the psychology student, now 19, has been told to avoid using tampons.

‘Doctors told me not to use tampons for a while after I was ill,’ she said.

‘After about two years, I went back to using them and I thought it would be ok. 

‘I was lying in bed and I started feeling a bit sick and I freaked out. I just don’t want it to happen again.

‘I would warn people to read the package and take it seriously. I think if I had done that, it might not have happened. I think people also need to be aware of the signs and what to do.’