What Is Toxic Shock Syndrome?

Video Transcript

"Hi, I'm Doctor Mieke Lane. I'm an ob-gyn with Cascadia Women's Clinic in Vancouver Washington. Today I'm going to be speaking with you about what is toxic shock syndrome. Toxic shock syndrome is a bacterial infection. The bacteria trigger the release of toxins withing your body. These toxins then go on to damage organs and causing various medical problems. Toxic shock syndrome first became a problem or a recognized entity in the late nineteen seventies. The general public became more aware of toxic in the nineteen eighties when different manufacturers began producing super absorbent tampons. Once they found that the super absorbent tampons were associated with toxic shock syndrome they stopped making those tampons. Other ways that we can acquire toxic shock syndrome besides the prolonged use of a tampon and that means leaving a tampon in for more than four hours at a time, is through the use of a diaphragm; if you leave that in longer than what your health care provider's recommended that you use that particular diaphragm. Other ways that we can acquire toxic shock syndrome include contaminated surgical wounds, contaminated abscess or a burn or a cut. And these can occur in any part of your body. Because this is true, men, women and children all equally can be affected. And if you suspect that you may have any signs or symptoms of toxic shock syndrome, you need to be talking to your health care provider."