(StraightNews.org) – teenage pianist from Tennessee has had his hands and feet amputated after a diagnosis of toxic shock syndrome. Mathias Uribe from Sumer County became ill with what he thought was a common cold in June, but within weeks, he was rushed to the local Emergency Room when he began struggling to breathe. His lungs started to fail, and the 14-year-old was placed on a life-support machine, but lack of blood to his extremities caused gangrene, affecting both hands and feet.
Doctors diagnosed Mathias with toxic shock syndrome – an illness that occurs when toxins from infections enter the bloodstream. ICU Pediatrician Dr. Katie Boyle said the teenager’s case was extremely rare, and she and her colleagues had done all they could to save his limbs but to no avail.
Toxic shock syndrome (TSS) is described as an “exotoxin-mediated illness caused by bacterial infection, most commonly group A streptococcus or Staphylococcus aureus.” It is a serious condition that can be fatal; worryingly, it can result from any infection in any part of the body. It is also associated with menstruation.
According to the medical journal The Lancet, Menstrual Toxic Shock Syndrome, or mTSS, is a life-threatening disease that can result from tampon use. In the 1980s, around 800 illnesses and 20 deaths in the US were associated with mTSS, but tampon manufacturing has changed since then, and incidents no longer occur to such an extent.
This year, however, in early September, an Australian woman was hospitalized when she developed the condition after forgetting to remove a tampon. Kelsey Foster, from New South Wales, began experiencing pelvic pain, which she attributed to other health problems, including liver and gallbladder issues she was receiving treatment for. She later discovered the tampon and went to an emergency room, where she was admitted for mTSS treatment. Her doctor said she was lucky to be alive.
Since 1983, there have been just under 2,000 toxic shock syndrome cases in the United States.
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