‘When it came out, it was pure black’, the mum of three shares. ‘It really hurt, it was lodged to my inside’.

In September 2025, 31-year-old Hollie Smith found herself lying on a doctor’s bed, ‘petrified’ of what might happen next.

Having suffered with brown discharge and extreme pain and bleeding during sex for weeks, Hollie initially thought that there must be an issue with her contraceptive implant.

But, as it turns outs, the situation was much more dire.

‘As soon I got on the bed and she went to do the swabs,’ Hollie, who lives in Colchester, Essex, explains, ‘the nurse said “I think you’ve got a tampon stuck in you”. I burst out crying’.

The nurse informed Hollie that she thought the tampon had likely been inside her for about four to six weeks, and that she was starting to show the signs and symptoms of toxic shock syndrome (TSS).

She estimated Hollie had just another week before the TSS became deadly – a terrifying fate for having made such a simple mistake.

What are the symptoms of toxic shock syndrome?

According to the NHS, toxic shock syndrome (TSS) is defined as a ‘rare but life-threatening condition caused by an infection’.

Typically associated with the use of either a tampon or menstrual cup, or from an infected wound. Symptoms develop quickly and you need urgent treatment.

Dr Giuseppe Aragona, GP and medical adviser for Prescription Doctor, tells Metro: ‘The earliest symptoms of toxic shock syndrome can initially be quite vague and may resemble the onset of a severe flu-like illness, which can occasionally make early recognition more difficult for both patients and clinicians, particularly in the very first hours of the condition.

‘Many individuals will describe a sudden onset of feeling acutely unwell, often accompanied by a high fever, significant fatigue, headache, and generalised muscle aches, and this tends to develop rather abruptly rather than gradually over several days’.

Dr Giuseppe also notes that gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, or diarrhoea is typical in the early stages. This will ultimately then be followed by dizziness or feeling faint, which can occur as blood pressure begins to drop due to the body’s response to toxins released by certain strains of bacteria.

In some cases, a widespread red rash that resembles sunburn may develop, although Dr Giuseppe adds that this may not always appear immediately.

For Hollie, the most noticable symptoms included brown discharge, pain during intercourse, hot sweats, and extreme fatigue.

‘Every time I had intercourse, I would bleed quite a lot and it would really hurt and I couldn’t continue. I just couldn’t have sex. It was then that I thought “I need to go to the doctors”.’

‘I must have put it in when I was tipsy’

Hollie was totally unaware that she had a tampon lodged in her vagina, noting ‘I didn’t feel anything inside me, which was really strange’.

However, she did note that her partner had mentioned she had a new ‘coppery metal smell’ downstairs which wasn’t typical.

Following this, Hollie shared that she tried having a search with her fingers to see if she could locate anything untoward, but stated that neither herself nor her partner could feel anything.

Turns out, the nurse ultimately informed Hollie that the old tampon had been ‘pressed into the side’, explaining why it wasn’t possible to feel.

The mum-of-three still can’t ‘remember using it’, saying: ‘The only thing I can imagine is when I’ve been drinking one evening, which I don’t do often, I put a tampon in and forgot all about it’.

Having been inside her for around six weeks, the nurse revealed the symptoms Hollie been experiencing were likely the early signs of toxic shock syndrome. She was put on a two-week course of antibiotics to ensure any infection that had started would go.

Now, the mum-of-three has vowed never to use a tampon again: ‘I reckon I had another week before I was in full blown toxic shock. I feel so lucky, it petrified me. I haven’t used a tampon since.

‘I’m put off them now, I’ve got rid of them all out the house’.

While Hollie’s story is awful, Dr Giuseppe emphasises that toxic shock syndrome is ‘extremely rare’.

Particularly in the UK, where awareness and product safety standards are well established, and the vast majority of people who use tampons will never experience this condition.

The GP adds: ‘Current estimates suggest that only a very small number of cases occur each year across the entire population, and importantly toxic shock syndrome is not exclusively related to tampon use, as it can also occur in association with skin infections, surgical wounds, burns, or other bacterial infections. Because it is so uncommon, the overall risk to any individual tampon user remains very low.’