A high school girl was hospitalized with a fatal reaction after swimming in the Ozarks with a tampon in.
Kelci Anthony of Pittsfield, Illinois, began withdrawing from a family vacation in the car when she began to feel nauseated, which she dismissed as motion sickness.
In reality, toxins were coursing through her bloodstream, attacking tissues and organs in the early stages of toxic shock syndrome.
Within hours, her blood pressure dropped to dangerously low levels, her fever shot up to 103F, and she developed a red rash. She had to be rushed to the pediatric ICU to prevent her body from shutting down.
Ashley Anthony, Kelci’s mother, said: ‘She had multi-organ failure. Our girl was dying. Every parent’s worst nightmare.
Kelci assumed her nausea was just motion sickness and dismissed what would become the first symptom of a potentially fatal illness
After interviewing the family and following her tracks, doctors suspected that Kelci had contracted a bacterial infection from the lake water.
“She had developed toxic shock syndrome, not from misusing tampons, but from wearing one while swimming in the lake in the Ozarks,” her mother said.
The bacterium Staphylococcus aureus is the cause of most cases of toxic shock, but this shock can also be caused by the bacterium that causes strep throat.
These bacteria also grow in warm, fresh waters, such as lakes and rivers. They have been found in the Ozarks and the Great Lakes, including the beaches around Lake Erie.
“The dirty water had been absorbed by the rope and the bacteria in the water caused a staph infection, which led to Toxic Shock Syndrome. She had also become septic (which caused the closure),” her mother continued in a heartfelt Facebook post.
Bacteria entering the body can cause toxic shock. Leaving tampons in for too long greatly increases this risk.
Tampons, especially high absorbency tampons, create a warm, hospitable environment for bacteria to grow. When a tampon is left in for more than eight hours, bacteria have more time to multiply.
Swimming in contaminated water, as in Kelci’s case, can also lead to workers entering the body, through the vagina or through cuts on the skin.
Inserting and removing tampons can also cause cuts in the vaginal wall, allowing harmful bacteria to enter the bloodstream with toxins.
Staff also lives on the skin and in the nostrils of many healthy people without causing harm. It is part of a healthy natural balance of bacteria that live on the skin.
But once the S. aureus bacteria enter the body, it enters the bloodstream and infects body tissues. This can also lead to tissue death and limb amputation.
When staph bacteria infect the body, the body launches a massive immune response that increases inflammation in the body and worsens symptoms such as fever and muscle aches.
Toxic shock can be fatal because of the rapid speed at which it destroys the body and strengthens the immune system.
Severe drops in blood pressure due to shock can mean that not enough blood is flowing to vital organs, such as the heart and kidneys, which can cause major damage.
TSS can also cause small blood clots to form in the bloodstream, further restricting blood flow to the organs.
In addition, the heart may have difficulty pumping blood effectively due to the sharp drop in blood pressure, which can lead to cardiovascular collapse.
TSS develops rapidly and causes fever, muscle aches, rash, flu-like symptoms, and organ damage.
Rapid diagnosis and treatment are crucial to prevent death from toxic shock. In 30 to 70 percent of cases, this shock can be fatal.
Ms. Anthony posted about her daughter’s ordeal in the hopes of helping other young girls and their mothers watch for the signs.
Their terrifying experience began during a summer of fun at Lake of the Ozarks, a mountain range that stretches across Missouri, Arkansas and Oklahoma.
Her mother Ashley said Kelci had organ failure and sepsis, but doctors now say she will make a full recovery
Mrs Anthony and her husband Tim (pictured) called their daughter’s ordeal “every parent’s worst nightmare”.
Anthony says her daughter’s decline was a result of tampon use, not from misuse, but from the bacteria the tampon picked up while Kelci was on the lake.
The family spent three days there, swimming and enjoying the fresh air.
On the way home, Kelci assumed she was suffering from motion sickness and dismissed the first symptom of a potentially fatal illness.
Kelci was feeling unwell and went to stay with her mother while she was working as a surgical resident at Jacksonville Memorial Hospital. In the early hours of 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 passed out. Kelci and her mother went straight to an emergency room, where doctors tested for strep throat and COVID.
Although both tests were negative, Kelci’s blood pressure was dangerously low and her heart rate was abnormally high, so a trip to the emergency room was advised.
The emergency room at Jacksonville Hospital immediately put Kelci in a bed. But when she started to turn red, they sent her to St. Johns Children’s Hospital in Springfield, Illinois.
Mrs Anthony said: ‘We got to St Johns and they put her in the general paediatric unit but that only lasted for about 30 minutes. Then she was transferred very quickly to the intensive care unit (PICU).
“At that time her blood pressure was 79/44 and her heart rate was 160. Her temperature was 102 (medication) and she looked like she had a sunburn. After many tests, 3 IVs, 1 arterial line and 1 central line and an extremely long night… we figured out what was wrong with our girl.”
Her red skin, caused by her body’s violent immune response to the bacterial toxins, led doctors to believe she was suffering from toxic shock syndrome.
In this case, blood flow to the skin increases as blood vessels dilate and fluid leaks into the surrounding tissue, causing a rash that resembles a sunburn.
Doctors immediately went to work, administering five antibiotics, blood pressure medications and fluid infusions.
Kelci was told she could no longer use tampons because she now likely has a lifelong increased sensitivity to toxins produced by S. aureus. And even if someone doesn’t show symptoms, the bacteria can linger in the skin and mucous membranes, increasing the chance of recurrence if she uses a tampon again.
According to her mother Ashley, doctors expect Kelci to make a full recovery.
Mrs Anthony said the nurses and doctors were ‘amazing’, adding that they stayed with Kelci from Saturday morning until 4.30am on Sunday.
She said, “The original idea was for her to stay here until at least the 20th. Today we are trying oral medications to make sure she tolerates them. If she does and her infection and heart levels continue to drop… WE CAN COME HOME!!!!”