Mum's grim find after realising ‘UTI pain' was tampon lost for one year
A woman who accidentally left a tampon in for over a year was left fighting for her life in hospital after contracting toxic shock syndrome.
Anna Osborn, 30, who lives in Columbus, Indiana, US, began feeling unwell in October 2023 but was constantly told by doctors that her symptoms resulted from recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs).
The mum-of-two was dealing with severe pelvic pain and visited her GP, who prescribed antibiotics, assuming it was an infection, according to Kennedy News.
However, her health failed to improve, and she remained constantly sick and in agonising pain, despite back-to-back doses of antibiotics over the course of months.
She suffered from constant fevers and extreme fatigue, yet doctors continued to prescribe her more antibiotics.
'Every time I finished an antibiotic dose, I immediately started getting sick again. I knew my body was fighting something,' Ms Osborn said.
'Doctors just couldn't figure it out.
'I was told I must just have a low pain tolerance or I'm being overdramatic. I was just brushed off by a ton of doctors. It felt like my organs were shutting down. There was no other way to describe it.'
She started to think about what could be causing the debilitating pain and considered the possibility that her intra-uterine device (IUD), used for contraception, could have become dislodged.
Then, after undergoing a vaginal exam in February 2024 to check for complications with her IUD, doctors finally made a shocking discovery.
It was the first time a doctor had performed a vaginal exam on Ms Osborn, and what they found left them both 'traumatised'.
At first, the doctor saw a small piece of something 'she hadn't seen before' and thought it could be endometriosis.
Then, after pulling on it, Ms Osborn heard her say, 'Oh God, I think it's a tampon'.
She then pulled the entire thing out, leaving both women completely lost for words.
Ms Osborn wasn't sure how long the tampon had been inside her but worked out that she hadn't used one since 2023, shortly after getting her IUD inserted.
'I didn't notice it at all (during sex). The body tissue had grown over it. I didn't feel anything. I even had a smear in the year before, and nothing was mentioned,' she explained.
She was immediately treated for toxic shock syndrome (TSS), a potentially life-threatening illness that can occur when a tampon is left in for more than eight hours, leading to a bacterial infection.
TSS often results from toxins produced by Staphylococcus aureus (staph) bacteria, but it may also arise from toxins produced by group A streptococcus (strep) bacteria, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Symptoms can include fevers, low blood pressure, vomiting, muscle aches, headaches, and even seizures.
Despite heightened awareness of TSS, it is not as common as one might think.
In the US, the average annual incidence is around 0.3 to 0.5 per million people, while in the UK, it's 0.7 per million.
Exact rates of TSS are not known in Australia, as it is not a 'notifiable' disease, meaning the health department does not have to be informed each time a case occurs – however, it is likely to be similar to those in the US and UK.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the US, up to three out of 10 people with TSS from streptococcus bacteria may die from the infection.
Non-streptococcal TSS has a lower mortality rate, typically less than three per cent.
Fortunately, Ms Osborn fully recovered.
However, she believes she might have died if she had not 'pushed' her case with doctors.
She is now encouraging all women to advocate for their health if they believe something is wrong.
'I didn't even know toxic shock syndrome was real and actually happened to people,' she said.
'I say to other people, just follow your gut. If you feel like something is wrong, then keep pushing.'
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