Emily Pankhurst

I am currently studying my final year in criminology at University of Kent in England. Between December 2015 and January 2016, I was going through an extremely stressful time of trying to complete deadlines for essays and everything got on top of me. I started complaining of tiredness/fatigue, high temperature and constant headaches, which I believed was stress related. However, down below I noticed abnormal discharge appear straight after regular my period ended. I kept an eye on it for a week and it consistently appeared in my knickers. It was very embarrassing and I thought I may have a bacterial infection that could be dealt with through a diagnosis at my doctors.

I booked a routine appointment at my local doctor’s and explained my symptoms above and they suggested a swab sample to be taken down-below. Unfortunately, I was advised to do the swab myself and give the nurse my sample, therefore a thorough examination wasn’t carried out. I was told that if there was a problem, I would be contacted within three days, and if I didn’t hear anything that would be good news.

I spoke to my Mum the next day and she suggested that I gave myself my own examination whilst I was showering to make sure I hadn’t left a Tampax inserted from my period. I went ahead and showered and to my shock, she was right. I found a nasty, smelly, foul tampon that had gotten so far up I couldn’t feel a thing! I told my Mum immediately and she suggested that I call the emergency doctors straight away. I explained my symptoms and they suggested my Mum keeps an eye on me to see if I deteriorate at all.

Thirty minutes go by and I complain to my Mum that I felt cold, confused, and my head was pounding. She rung the doctors back straight away and explained that I was deteriorating fast, non-responsive and unable to keep my eyes open. The doctors dispatched the ambulance immediately. They arrived less than 10 minutes later. I got checked over and had a drip inserted into my vein. I don’t remember very much, very confused and cold. I was taken into the ambulance where my blood pressure continued to drop, they decided that my symptoms were major signs of sepsis and I was to be sent straight to A&E to be seen immediately.

The doctors and nurses rushed to my bed side, I was sent straight to x-ray to determine whether the infection had spread to my vital organs. Luckily it hadn’t. I had an internal examination, which I hadn’t received before and they found major infection. My body had experienced toxic shock syndrome through battling with sepsis. (Sepsis and Toxic Shock Syndrome)

I was kept in ICU for a few days, where I was constantly monitored for blood pressure, kept on a drip for antibiotics to go straight into my bloodstream. I remember being very confused, weak and in pain. They gave me ora-morphine when I felt pain I had never experienced before.

Overall, I was in hospital for a week. I was very lucky that my mum saw my symptoms as abnormal and sent me to the hospital, as the doctors said that if I went to bed that night, I wouldn’t have woken up the next day. The sepsis would have spread all across my body and shut down my vital organs.

We worked out that I left my Tampax in for a minimum of 9 days without realising. You’re not supposed to keep your tampon in for longer than 8 hours before infection can spread internally. I was pre-occupied with my studies. I ignored my body telling me i was unwell and ruled it down to stress.

Recovery at home is stressful, the infection caused weakness in my legs and I was unable to walk properly. Crutches were given to me to help strengthen my legs and get walking again. It is extremely emotional, tiring and frustrating because your mind wants to get up and do something but your body tells you to sleep. The most basic of tasks is very confusing and stressful.

I will never ever wear a Tampax again. Through research I have found that sepsis is not so common in cases such as mine, however girls my age are not aware of the dangers of using tampons. It is so important to keep an eye on your health, especially during stressful life experiences. I hope my story can help others like myself to take care of your health and not take your life for granted, cause you never know what might be around the corner!