A middle school girl was hospitalized after suffering a fatal reaction after swimming with a tampon inserted in the Ozark Highlands.
Kelsey Anthony of Pittsfield; IllinoisWhile driving home from a family trip, he began to feel nauseous but assumed it was motion sickness.
In reality, toxins were coursing through her bloodstream and attacking her tissues and organs. That was the early stages. Toxic shock syndrome.
Within hours, her blood pressure had dropped dangerously, her fever had risen to 103 degrees Fahrenheit, and she had developed a red rash. She had to be rushed to the pediatric intensive care unit to prevent her body from shutting down.
“She was in multiple organ failure. My daughter was dying. It was a parent’s worst nightmare,” said Ashley Anthony, Kelsey’s mother.
Kelsey assumed her nausea was simply car sickness and downplayed what would become the first symptoms of a deadly disease.
Doctors said after interviewing the family and retracing Kelsey’s footsteps they believe she contracted a bacterial infection from the lake water.
“My daughter contracted toxic shock syndrome not from tampon misuse, but from having a tampon in while swimming in a lake in the Ozark Mountains,” her mother said.
Toxic shock is most often caused by Staphylococcus aureus, but it can also be caused by the bacteria that cause strep throat.
These bacteria also thrive in warm freshwater environments such as lakes and rivers, and have been detected in the Ozark Plateau and the Great Lakes, including on the coasts around Lake Erie.
“The dirty water was absorbed through the string and the bacteria in the water caused a staph infection which led to toxic shock syndrome. She also became septic (which is why the power went out),” her mother continued in a heartfelt Facebook post.
If the bacteria enters the body, it can cause toxic shock, and leaving a tampon in for an extended period of time greatly increases the risk of this.
Tampons, especially highly absorbent ones, create a warm environment in which bacteria can thrive, and leaving a tampon in for more than eight hours gives bacteria more time to grow.
Swimming in contaminated water, as was the case for Kelsi, can also allow the stuff to enter the body through the vagina or cuts in the skin.
Inserting and removing tampons can cause cuts in the vaginal walls, allowing harmful bacteria to enter and inject toxins into the bloodstream.
Staphylococcus also lives on the skin and in the nasal passages of many healthy people, but does not cause any harm – it is part of a healthy natural balance of bacteria living on the skin.
However, once inside the body, S. aureus can penetrate the bloodstream and infect body tissues, leading to tissue death and possibly necessitating amputation of a limb.
When staphylococcus infects the body, the body mounts a strong immune response, causing inflammation in the body and worsening symptoms such as fever and muscle pain.
Toxic shock can be fatal as it breaks down the body at a ferocious rate and intensifies the immune system.
The sudden drop in blood pressure caused by shock can lead to inadequate blood flow to vital organs, such as the heart and kidneys, causing widespread damage.
TSS can also cause small clots to form in the bloodstream, further reducing blood flow to organs.
Additionally, a sudden drop in blood pressure can prevent the heart from pumping blood effectively, which can lead to cardiovascular failure.
TSS develops rapidly and causes fever, muscle pain, rash, flu-like symptoms, and organ damage.
Rapid diagnosis and treatment are crucial to prevent death from toxic shock, which can be fatal in 30 to 70 percent of cases.
Anthony posted about her daughter’s ordeal in the hopes of helping other girls and their mothers recognize the signs.
Their horrific experience began while they were enjoying a summer at the Lake of the Ozarks. Missouri, Arkansasand Oklahoma.
Her mother, Ashley, said Kelsey had organ failure and sepsis but doctors say she will make a full recovery.
![Anthony and her husband Tim [shown] She called her daughter's ordeal](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/07/17/21/87460591-13644219-Mrs_Anthony_and_her_husband_Tim_shown_called_her_daughter_s_orde-a-60_1721247647563.jpg)
Anthony and her husband Tim [shown] She called her daughter’s ordeal “a parent’s worst nightmare.”
Anthony says her daughter’s weakness was caused by tampon use, not by improper use, but by bacteria the tampon absorbed while Kelsey was at the lake.
The family spent three days there swimming and enjoying the outdoors.
On the drive home, Kelsey assumed her nausea was simply car sickness and downplayed what would become the first symptoms of a life-threatening illness.
Kelsey had been feeling unwell and had gone to stay with her mother while working as a surgical technician at Jacksonville Memorial Hospital. Early in the morning, she developed a high fever and took ibuprofen at home.
The next day, she woke up to go to the bathroom and immediately lost consciousness. Kelsey and her mother immediately went to an urgent care center, where doctors tested her for strep throat and COVID-19.
Both tests came back negative, but Kelsey’s blood pressure was dangerously low and her heart rate was abnormally high, so she was advised to go to the emergency department.
The emergency department at the Jacksonville hospital quickly got Kelsey into bed, but when her face began to turn red, they sent her to St. John’s Children’s Hospital in Springfield, Illinois.
Mrs Anthony said: “We arrived at St John’s Hospital and she was admitted to the general paediatric ward for around 30 minutes and then she was transferred straight away to the PICU unit.”
“At this point, her blood pressure was 79/44, her heart rate was 160, her temperature was 102 (on medication) and she looked sunburned. After a ton of tests, three IVs, an arterial line, a central venous line and one very long night, we found the cause of her illness.”
Doctors diagnosed it as toxic shock syndrome, after her skin turned red, caused by her body’s intense immune response to bacterial toxins.
When this happens, blood vessels dilate, increasing blood flow to the skin and causing fluid to leak into the surrounding tissues, resulting in a sunburn-like rash.
Doctors immediately began treating him, administering five different antibiotics, blood pressure medication and intravenous fluids.
Kelsey was told she could never use tampons again because she would likely have a lifelong increased sensitivity to toxins produced by Staphylococcus aureus, and even if she didn’t develop symptoms, the bacteria can remain on the skin and mucous membranes, increasing the chance of relapse if she were to use tampons again.
Her mother, Ashley, said doctors expect Kelsey to make a full recovery.
Anthony said the nurses and doctors were “amazing,” adding that they were with Kelsey from early Saturday morning until 4:30 a.m. on Sunday.
She said: “The original thought was that she would be here until at least the 20th. Today we are trying oral meds to see if she can tolerate them. If she can and her infection and heart levels are still trending downward…we can go home!!!!”
