Tampons
(IN PHOTO): A woman takes tampon boxes out of a supermarket shelf in Buenos Aires January 16, 2015. Argentines have been complaining for a while now about the country's product shortages. And, until recently, the government has managed to brush aside such complaints, which have centered around Argentina's import restrictions. Well until, that is, the country's 20.6 million women couldn't find their favorite tampons earlier this month, during the height of summer. Reuters

Los Angeles model Lauren Wasser has filed a lawsuit against the manufacturer of Kotex tampons, Kimberly-Clark Corporation, and Kroger, where she purchased the item for female hygiene. Wasser’s leg was amputated because she developed the toxic shock syndrome, or TSS, a complication of bacteria infections caused by wearing tampons for too long.

News.com.au reported on Friday that she filed the case to warn the public that TSS is potentially fatal. Besides losing her long leg, Wasser almost died from TSS. The 27-year-old, who was featured on the cover of Italian Vogue when she was 2, was hospitalised for TSS when she was 24.

According to Mayo Clinic, TSS is often caused by toxins produced by Staphylococcus aureus bacteria and group A streptococcus bacteria. TSS incidents in menstruating women has gone down significantly since tampon makers pulled out from supermarket shelves certain types of tampons off the market.

Prior to becoming sick, Wasser was known for her tall and well-shaped body that she kept fit by long bike rides in Santa Monica where she lived. Besides her modeling gigs, Wasser attend acting classes at day and LA parties at night.

In October 2012, Wasser felt sick. With a fever of 41C, the model had a massive heart attack, while her internal organs started to malfunction. It took an infectious disease expert to diagnose what was wrong with her when he sent the tampon that the patient was using to the lab for analysis. The test stated that the model had TSS.

Her leg developed gangrene that doctors tried to fight using oxygen therapy in a pressure chamber. However, the therapy didn’t work that Wasser’s right leg – one of the key physical assets of a model – had to be severed below the knee.

Wasser’s family pointed out that the label in Kotex tampons is confusing because it may be misunderstood that the product could be used for more than eight hours. The label reads: “Change your tampon every four to eight hours, including overnight.”

TSS hits not only women who are having their monthly periods. It could also affect men, children and post-menopausal females through skin wounds and surgery.

To contact the writer, email: vittoriohernandez@yahoo.com

RELATED STORIES