Illinois Girl Suffers Fatal Toxic Shock Syndrome From TAMPON After Swimming In Ozarks

A middle school girl was hospitalized after suffering a fatal reaction after swimming in the Ozarks with a tampon inserted.

Kelci Anthony of Pittsfield, Illinois, was driving home from a family vacation when she began feeling nauseous, but mistook it for motion sickness.

In reality, toxins were circulating in his blood, attacking tissues and organs. These were the early stages of toxic shock syndrome.

Within hours, her blood pressure dropped to dangerously low levels, her fever spiked to 102.4 degrees Fahrenheit (39 degrees Celsius), and a rash developed. She had to be rushed to the pediatric intensive care unit to keep her body from shutting down.

Kelci’s mother, Ashley Anthony, said: “She was suffering from multiple organ failure. Our daughter was dying. A parent’s worst nightmare.”

Kelci assumed her nausea was simply due to motion sickness and ignored what would become the first symptom of a potentially fatal illness.

After interviewing the family and tracing their whereabouts, doctors said they believed Kelci had suffered a bacterial infection contracted from the lake water.

“She had toxic shock syndrome, not from improper tampon use, but from wearing one while swimming in the Lake of the Ozarks,” her mother said.

The bacteria Staphylococcus aureus causes most cases of toxic shock, although it can also be caused by the bacteria that causes strep throat.

These bacteria also thrive in warm freshwater environments, including lakes and rivers, and have been detected in the Ozarks and Great Lakes, including on beaches around Lake Erie.

“The dirty water had been absorbed into the wire and the bacteria in the water caused a staph infection, which led to toxic shock syndrome. She had also become septic (causing the shutdown),” her mother continued in a heartfelt Facebook post.

Bacteria entering the body cause toxic shock, and leaving tampons in too long greatly increases this risk.

Tampons, especially high absorbency ones, create a warm environment for bacteria to grow. When a tampon is left in for more than eight hours, bacteria have more time to multiply.

Swimming in contaminated water, as Kelci did, can also result in personnel entering the body, either through the vagina or through cuts in a person’s skin.

Inserting and removing tampons can also cause cuts in the vaginal walls, which can become entry points for harmful bacteria that infuse the bloodstream with toxins.

Staff also lives on the skin and in the nostrils of many healthy people without causing harm. It is part of a healthy natural balance of bacteria that live on the skin.

But once in the body, the S. aureus bacteria enter the bloodstream and infect body tissues, which can also lead to tissue death and require limb amputations.

When staph infects the body, it triggers a massive immune response that causes inflammation in the body, worsening symptoms like fever and muscle aches.

Toxic shock can be fatal because of the rapid speed at which it ravages the body and strengthens the immune system.

Severe drops in blood pressure caused by shock can cause insufficient blood flow to vital organs such as the heart and kidneys, causing widespread damage.

TSS can also cause mini blood clots to form in the bloodstream, further reducing blood flow to organs.

The heart may also have difficulty pumping blood efficiently due to the sudden drop in blood pressure, which can lead to cardiovascular collapse.

Toxic shock syndrome comes on rapidly and causes fever, muscle aches, rash, flu-like symptoms, and organ damage.

Prompt diagnosis and treatment are essential to prevent death from toxic shock, which can be fatal in 30 to 70% of cases.

Ms. Anthony posted about her daughter’s ordeal in hopes of helping other young girls and their mothers to be alert to the signs.

Their harrowing experience began while they were having summer fun at the Lake of the Ozarks, a mountain range that stretches across Missouri, Arkansas and Oklahoma.

Her mother Ashley said Kelci suffered organ failure and sepsis, but doctors now say she will make a full recovery.

Mrs Anthony and her husband Tim (pictured) have described their daughter’s ordeal as “parents’ worst nightmare”.

Anthony says his daughter’s decline is due to tampon use, not misuse, but bacteria absorbed by the tampon while Kelci was on the lake.

The family spent three days there, swimming and enjoying the outdoors.

WHAT IS TOXIC SHOCK SYNDROME?

Toxic shock syndrome is an extremely dangerous bacterial infection, but it can be misdiagnosed because the symptoms are similar to other diseases and because it is very rare.

It occurs when normally harmless bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus or Streptococcus, which live on the skin, invade the bloodstream and release dangerous toxins.

The prevalence of toxic shock syndrome is unclear, but doctors say it affects about one or two in 100,000 women.

Its mortality rate is between 5 and 15% and it recurs in 30 to 40% of cases.

Symptoms usually begin with a sudden high fever – a temperature above 38.9°C/102°F.

Within hours, the patient will develop flu-like symptoms, including headache, muscle aches, sore throat and cough.

Nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, feeling faint, dizziness and confusion are also symptoms.

Women are at higher risk of developing toxic shock syndrome during their periods, especially if they use tampons, have recently given birth, or use an internal barrier contraceptive, such as a diaphragm.

Although tampon boxes advise changing them every four to eight hours, it’s common for women to forget and leave them in overnight.

Treatment may include antibiotics to fight infection, oxygen to make breathing easier, fluids to prevent dehydration and organ damage, and medications to control blood pressure.

Dialysis may also be needed if the kidneys stop working.

In severe cases, surgery may be necessary to remove dead tissue. In rare cases, it may be necessary to amputate the affected area.

To prevent toxic shock syndrome, women should use tampons with the lowest absorbency for their flow, alternate between tampons and sanitary napkins, and wash their hands before and after insertion.

Tampons should also be changed regularly, as directed on the package – usually every four to eight hours.

On the way home, Kelci assumed her nausea was simply due to motion sickness and ignored what would become the first symptom of a potentially fatal illness.

Kelci, who wasn’t feeling well, went to stay with her mother while she worked as a surgical technician at Jacksonville Memorial Hospital. In the early morning, she developed a high fever and took ibuprofen at home.

The next day, she woke up to go to the bathroom and immediately passed out. Kelci and her mother immediately went to an urgent care center, where doctors ran tests for strep throat and COVID.

Although both tests came back negative, Kelci’s blood pressure was dangerously low and her heart rate abnormally high, so a trip to the emergency room was recommended.

Emergency room staff at Jacksonville Hospital immediately placed Kelci in a bed. But when she started to blush, they sent her to St. Johns Children’s Hospital in Springfield, Illinois.

Ms Anthony said: “We got to St Johns and they put her on the general paediatric floor, but only for about 30 minutes, and then very quickly moved her to the paediatric intensive care unit.

“At that time her blood pressure was 79/44 and her heart rate was 160. Her temperature was 102 (medicated) and she looked sunburned. After many tests, 3 IVs, 1 arterial line and 1 central line and an extremely long night…we figured out what was wrong with our daughter.”

Her red skin caused by the body’s intense immune response to the bacterial toxins is what led doctors to suspect it was toxic shock syndrome.

In this case, blood flow to the skin increases as blood vessels dilate and fluid leaks into surrounding tissues, causing a sunburn-like rash.

Doctors immediately went to work, administering five antibiotics, blood pressure medications and intravenous fluid infusions.

Kelci was told she could no longer use tampons because she likely has an increased sensitivity to the toxins produced by Staphylococcus aureus. And even if a person doesn’t have symptoms, the bacteria can linger in the skin and mucous membranes, increasing the risk of recurrence when a tampon is used again.

According to her mother, Ashley, doctors expect Kelci to make a full recovery.

The nurses and doctors were “wonderful,” Anthony said, adding that they were with Kelci constantly from early Saturday morning until 4:30 a.m. Sunday.

She said: “We originally thought she would be here until at least the 20th. Today we are trying oral medications to make sure she tolerates them. If she does and her infection and heart rate continue to go down… WE CAN GO HOME!!!!”