A woman shared her harrowing experience after unintentionally leaving a tampon in place for a month.
Savannah Miller, known from season 7 of Netflix’s The Circle, recounted her ordeal when she overlooked a tampon inside her for several weeks.
The now 24-year-old described the situation as “actually traumatizing,” expressing gratitude for escaping the life-threatening bacterial infection she could have suffered.
At the age of 22, while she was a college student, she decided to go to a bar with her friends after her period ended.
Finding herself between having too much blood for just underwear but not enough to skip a tampon, she opted to use one.
Unexpectedly, the tampon disappeared by the next day.
“I forgot I put it in, and because there was no blood and the string had disappeared, I didn’t see it,” she mentioned to The Post.
Days later, she began to feel ill, experienced itchiness, and detected a foul odor, which she attributed to an “old period” smell, resulting in her changing tampons frequently.
“It smelled like a rat crawled inside of me while I was sleeping and died,” she said.
Seeking answers, she visited her college’s health clinic multiple times, but STD tests and internal exams did not reveal the issue.
“They thought it was just BV [bacterial vaginosis], but I knew there was no way people walked around with BV smelling like this,” she explained.
It wasn’t until her third medical consultation that the idea of a tampon being stuck in her vaginal canal was considered.
The discovery of cotton particles in her urine sample led her doctor to question this possibility.
“I didn’t think so, but I was like, possibly?!” she remarked. “But I was desperate to make the smell go away.”
Soon after, they located the misplaced tampon, which was positioned so deeply that she couldn’t have seen it herself.
“The doctor had to fish it out from my cervix,” she stated.
Fortunately, she avoided developing toxic shock syndrome and was prescribed antibiotics as a precaution in case she was asymptomatic.
Toxic shock syndrome (TSS) arises when bacteria release toxins that enter the bloodstream, potentially leading to organ failure and death without prompt treatment.
According to the Mayo Clinic: “Toxic shock syndrome is a rare complication of certain types of bacterial infections. It can be fatal. Staphylococcus aureus bacteria, also called staph bacteria, often cause toxic shock syndrome. But toxins produced by group A streptococcus bacteria, also called strep bacteria, also can cause the condition.
“Toxic shock syndrome can affect anyone. Risk factors for toxic shock syndrome include skin wounds, surgery, and the use of tampons and other devices, such as menstrual cups and birth control sponges or diaphragms.”
Symptoms of toxic shock syndrome include:
· High fever.
· Low blood pressure.
· Vomiting or diarrhea.
· Rash that looks like a sunburn, most often on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet.
· Confusion.
· Muscle aches.
· Redness of the eyes, mouth and throat.
· Seizures.
· Headaches.
If you suspect you are experiencing this condition, it is crucial to seek medical attention immediately.