This teenage girl from New Zealand was tested positive for toxic shock due to the infection caused by bacteria from tampons in 2017. Grace Morgan is a 16-year-old young lady based in New Zealand. She shared the harrowing experience she had last year after she was tested positive for toxic shock and went through hard time riddled with the syndrome, a severe disorder that can lead to the death of the sufferer if not treated properly.

Toxic shock usually originates from contaminated tampons that have been infected with bacteria. When a woman uses such tampons, the bacteria will slip into her body through her private parts, unleashing dangerous toxins to destroy vital parts of the body.

Whangarei is a city founded on the northern Island of New Zealand, and that is where her home is situated. In an interview with a journalist, Grace wanted to create enough publicity through her story, as she talked about the symptoms in full details. She wants other women to know about this disease in order to protect themselves against it. If symptoms begin to manifest, go and see your doctor as soon as possible for quick tests, says Grace, who is very much ready to go to any length in pushing forth her campaign because her sickness with toxic shock nearly took her life.

Grace Morgan Talks About First Symptoms

She recalled that the symptoms began to surface when she started observing some strange signs last year July when she was working. Her body began to ache seriously, and the pain spread to every part of her body.

Along the line, the pain turned to breakouts of rash in the middle of the night, originating from her tummy to her chest region, thighs, and neck, accompanied by an intense temperature that rose overnight, stooling and vomiting.

The following day, she took a trip to a physician. The doctor who attended her was worried about her intense rate of heartbeat and low pressure of the blood (LBP). The low pressure was so faint that even the diagnostic machine couldn’t recognize it. She was given some drugs, but when the improvements were slow, her case was transferred to the hospital with immediate effect.

Syndrome Of Toxic Shock

Grace got the shock of her life when she was tested for the syndrome of toxic shock. Few days into her infection, she was taken to the intensive care unit because all the vital organs of her body such as kidney, heart, and liver were beginning to collapse. Fortunately, with the right medication and the care of doctors and nurses, Grace made a recovery, but she knew how close she was to losing her life.

Some doctors suspected that she must have had her tampons on for longer than necessary but the teenage girl insisted that she knew about the unhealthy effects of wearing tampons for so long, so she said didn’t do so. However, the doctors made her understand that it doesn’t even matter how long she keeps her tampons inside, but the use of tampons on their own is equally dangerous.

Use Of Tampons Is Risky

On the other hand, the health involved risk is minimal; according to a comprehensive post published on the official website of NHS. NHS wrote that discontinuation of tampons is immaterial and not compulsory because it has nothing to do with the small risks. Regardless, Grace has evidence to show that the habit of knowing one’s body and its workings is very vital, and giving prompt attention to your body when symptoms begin to manifest is the best way to combat TSS.

NHS listed the symptoms of toxic shock syndrome and how to identify the strange signs. They are:

1. The temperature will be high with 40C (105.3F) or even worse.

2. Fever.

3. Signs of the flu such as a sore throat, coughing, headache, cold or chills and aching muscles.

4. The sick feeling.

5. Stooling (Diarrhoea).

6. A sunburn-like rash which will spread all over the body rapidly.

7. Discoloration of the whitish parts of the head such as the lips, the tongue, and the eyes. In many cases, the white will become a deep red.

8. Losing consciousness and feeling of dizziness.

9. Breathing will be labored.

10. The patient will be in a state of confusion.

11. Drowsy symptoms.