Tampons and TSS

[anonymouslydriven]

I had TSS when I was 2, I am now almost 22 and I have never used a tampon because I've always been afraid of getting TSS again. Does anyone know if it's ok to use tampons if you had non-menstrual TSS as a child? Does it still increase your risk? Please, don't tell me to ask my gynecologist. Thanks.

[anonymouslydriven]

Thank you all for your input it has been extremely helpful. I have never had any other problems with staph. I've been around it and one of my friends is a carrier.

Vera 676: The doctors don't know how I got it they told my parents that I was mentally challenged and that I would never be able to walk or function normally. Then my parents told them that something else was wrong and that wasn't the problem they ran every test available for 2 year old in 1990. Finally, one doctor found out that I had TSS and treated me for it. I've never had a problem since.

[Heatherm4]

http://health.yahoo.com/infectiousdisease-causes/toxic-shock-syndrome-what-increases-your-risk/healthwise--tp17634.html

This has some good info to read.

[Vera676]

TSS is caused by an immune reaction to the foreign proteins in the membranes of certain bacteria. It achieved notoriety in 1980 when the Rely brand of tampons was linked to cases of TSS. The Rely tampons were newly super-absorbent, which allowed women to leave them in for days sometimes. That they worked so well was their downfall, because it gave bacteria time to grow to numbers able to cause TSS. No tampon since then has been as absorbent and women are cautioned to change them frequently anyway.

You don't say how you came down with TSS as a child, but if you're normal then as long as you are not exposed to excessive amounts of bacteria (Staph) you should be OK. Modern tampons, changed as directed, will not give you TSS.

However, any individual can be hyper-allergic to anything. If you are hyper-allergic to Staphylococcus, then tampons might be a bad idea. Most women who left the Rely tampons in for a long time did not get TSS, suggesting that some people a just more sensitive. But even those people don't seem to get TSS these days. If you wanted to be sure, you could have yourself tested for an allergic reaction to Staph (S. aureus and S. pyrogenes).

[AnnieBrooke]

Look up the Mayo Cliinic site on the subject, there's some good info there.  They say toxic shock syndrome can sometimes return in those who have had it.  They also say that the odds of getting it are reduced if you change your tampon often and if you don't wear a tampon all the time when on your period.  Their general page on the topic did not say if the chance of getting it again was reduced if the case of TSS was not menstrually related and the next risk was the possibility of tampon use.  Since more than one kind of bacteria can cause TSS, it would be interesting to know if each type of bacteria carries independent risk, and if the kind you had when you were little is the same kind usually implicated with menstrual TSS.  

If you don't want to ask your doctor, ask a researcher who is working on recurring TSS.  Google the subject and follow up on any papers written on the topic that are accessible online.  A lot of times, if a member of the public (who has done some reading on the subject and doesn't sound like a complete bozo) writes to a researcher who is working on that topic, they will drop a note back.  They might say "I can't diagnose your case," but if you don't sound like you are asking for personal diagnosis but just want general information, they can be surprisingly helpful (if brief).