Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023
Has there been a spike in toxic shock syndrome cases in Wisconsin?
According to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, Wisconsin has experienced five cases of toxic shock syndrome since July 2022 — the largest amount of cases reported in over a decade.
Toxic shock syndrome, or TSS, is a rare, serious illness resulting from certain types of bacterial infections. It can affect any individual and be caused by the use of tampons, surgery and skin wounds.
Four of Wisconsin's cases were linked to super-absorbent tampon usage in teenage females. In an average year, Wisconsin records one or zero TSS cases. There have been no reported deaths.
Symptoms include sudden fever, vomiting, diarrhea, dizziness, muscle aches, low blood pressure and shock with multi-organ dysfunction.
State Health Officer Paula Tran instructed, "It's important for those who use tampons to use the lowest absorbency, change their tampon every 4-6 hours, and avoid using tampons overnight."
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
- Wisconsin Department Of Health Services DHS Monitoring Increase in Toxic Shock Syndrome Cases
- Mayo Clinic Toxic shock syndrome
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Fact briefs are bite-sized, well-sourced explanations that offer clear "yes" or "no" answers to questions, confusions, and unsupported claims circulating online. They rely on publicly available data and documents, often from the original source. Fact briefs are written and published by Gigafact contributor publications.
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