Toxic Tampon Sydrome
Most ER visits for "retained tampons" are no big deal really. Half the time there isn't even a tampon in there at all, and most of the rest are easily removed and really not as gross as one would expect.
Except this one.
As soon as I walked into the room, I knew this was the real deal. The whole room smelled like a dead rat that had been stuffed in an old gym shoe and allowed to bake on the driveway in the summer sun. It made my eyes water, and she hadn't even gotten undressed yet.
You really feel like you've done someone some good when you pull something like that out of them.
Except this one.
As soon as I walked into the room, I knew this was the real deal. The whole room smelled like a dead rat that had been stuffed in an old gym shoe and allowed to bake on the driveway in the summer sun. It made my eyes water, and she hadn't even gotten undressed yet.
You really feel like you've done someone some good when you pull something like that out of them.
Labels: patients, pelvic exams
posted by scalpel at 9:16 AM
29 Comments:
YUCH!
Nothing like a pt with a rotten crotch to make me gag.
Personally, if I thought I had a missing tampon, the ER would be a last resort. I'd go exploring and remove it myself.
As a female, I really do wonder about women who forget to take out tampons or who don't change them regularly. That's just gross and I feel bad for you for having to be the retreiver!
I agree with the first poster. Logistics aside regarding how they actually go missing, I think I would die from embarrasment if I had to walk into the ER and state my chief complaint as "I lost my tampon."
Yeah.
They go missing if you accidentally insert a fresh tampon without removing the old one (call it distraction, early senility, or whatever), and the old tampon gets squished up against your cervix (this can happen if you're bleeding heavily). I accidentally did that once when I was much younger, but discovered it before it got to the disgusting stage (within a day) and fished it out myself. No way would I go to the ER and have someone else do that for me. Yuck. Death by mortification.
Thank G-d for menopause.
it's not that uncommon if your bleeding heavily to have it squish and another one goes in because you don't find the string of the first one. i'm just glad it was only 4 hours before i realized it. early senility and being stressed over exams is what my reasoning is, was so stressed i wasn't remembering to eat or even drink water. thankfully i found it when i was next in the bathroom and got it out of there right away. i'd rather look and try to retrieve it myself then go to the ER and pay to get it taken out.
I pee in the middle of the night, so sometimes I take it out without knowing, and then the next morning I'm wondering if I took it out or not, and it really scares me! And I'm not that old! 29!
I've actually had to make my husband look for it before, lol- and nothing was there. But I always worry.
Maybe y'all should do a sponge count like they do in the OR.
I don't typically use tampons, but damn, y'all! There's simply no way I could forget I had one in--I can feel them. I guess anyone can forget once (but geez, how do you let it go until you smell that bad?), but I worry about sexually-mature, presumably sexually-active women who are that absentminded. Um, be sure you don't forget the baby, OK? Tie a pacifier around your wrist or something.
OMFG. I have to go and get a new computer now because this one has been ruined by my projectile vomiting.
Posts like this just make me think that some women are afraid to touch their own hoohoos. There aren't many places for a tampon to hide in there. Come on. We're only talking about 3-6" here. Either that or I just have a really small kooch and don't know it. But seriously. This is not Where's Waldo.
Maybe this woman WAS too embarrassed to go in, which could be how it got to the disgusting point it did.
Wendy.. Who wouldn't be afraid to go in to the ER to have a tampon removed?
But the question remains.. Why is a woman afraid to explore her nether region and take it out herself? It isn't like there is a vast expanse she might get lost in. The risks are very small.. She won't accidentally pull out her cervix. She won't get sucked into a vortex.
For goodness sake all she needed to do was trim her nails, wash her hands and get it done.
First Anon. i agree..i would definately go "exploring" on my own and the ED would be my v e r y l a s t resort.
ewwww! that's just nasty ! with a capital N !! if ya put it in there,I am sure ya can take it out, if you don't remember if you had one in there already, than you should just stick to "always" with wings!!!!LOL,,, Stacy.
lost tampons in patients....the latest never event....glove up guysthe hunt is on
Scalpel-man, you might want to put a 'puke alert' on these kind of posts. I literally threw up in my mouth a little bit with this one. Congratulations, it's only the second time that's happened; the first was when I was in close proximity to a patient with a GI bleed for the first time. For some reason, your description of the wandering tampon reminded me of the smell of melena.
Blech.
Wow, that's totally disgusting! I can't imagine forgetting it for so long it emanates a stench across a room. I may have a terrible memory for some things, but my God, that's just gross! And you'd never see me in the ER with such a problem, either; if I realized it had gone missing, I'd figure out some (non-injurious) way to fish it out myself! Yeccch!
And, LOL at your "sponge count" suggestion as a wannabe surgeon!
Why is a woman afraid to explore her nether region and take it out herself?
Have you been in the feminine hygiene aisle lately? There's seriously an entire industry devoted to convincing us women that our nether regions are inherently dirty, nasty places. (Witness: Feminine Deoderant Spray, various douches.) It's not a great leap for someone to refuse to stick her hand up there--and really, the blood gives it a whole other dimension of gross.
That, and this is Texas we're talking about. We're like the sexual repression capital of the world. There's a good chance that fishing for your tampon cuts too close to masturbation.
Can I just point out that as I was reading the end of your post, I scrolled down and the first picture I saw was ..... bacon cheese roll.
Now, I'm sure that nasty tampon looked nothing like bacon cheese roll. Nevertheless. I will not be making any bacon cheese roll soon.
"this is Texas we're talking about. We're like the sexual repression capital of the world. There's a good chance that fishing for your tampon cuts too close to masturbation."
That's funny sabra. Even if I were a texan I'd still much rather take a chance on coming close to masturbating than go to the ER. LOL
As for all those products in the feminine hygiene isle, I cannot imagine spotting a feminine product strategically displayed near the tampons in the supermarket and thinking "Gee, maybe I haven't noticed but I'll bet my bish is getting stinky. I think I'll get me some of that spray."
[Texas is] like the sexual repression capital of the world. [...]
Oh, _please_. Texas may be big, but in this, it plays in the minor league, at best. In southern Burgenland, a rural region in Austria, girls were until very recently taught that the female genitalia are called "die Schande" -- the shame, the disgrace.
I am sure this is an excellent way to develop a healthy attitude towards one's sexuality ....
Cheers,
Felix.
"....glove up guys, the hunt is on...". Hee, hee.
anonymous#4,
i'm not in anyway afraid of mine, the string just got stuck further back. i'm sure a lot of women have to search for the tampon string and if i don't find it then i tend to assume i don't have one in. i'm just busy trying to get through college with some sanity still intact.
sabra,
agreed they try and make us really ashamed and always seem to include fragance in anything that will be bought by the female persuasion. it's stupid how hard it is to find anything that has no scent, which sucks if you have allergies or sensitive skin. all the stupid stuff they shame women into buying only makes them sick.
Personally, I've opted to ride the Cotton Pony ever since I was 1st diagnosed with endometriosis during my infertile days.
But... I also found out that if you forget you are wearing a tampon and decide to have sex...that you (not you Scalpel-obviously you don't where tampons ;)will lose said tampon into the dark recesses of the bajingo.
I also found out that if you squat (not you Scalpel ;), you shorten the distance and can more easily find the MIA tampon.
I gotta say... I never lost a Cotton Pony!
Oh and regarding the feminine hygiene scents... NOT necessary! All women require is bathing their Bajingoland with soap or whatever. Your natural CLEAN scents are not offensive and why remove your pheromones? I'm just sayin. :)
P.S. And then you (not you Scalpel ;)can top with just a hint of Bajingoland glitter...preferably turqoise. ;)
"I also found out that if you forget you are wearing a tampon and decide to have sex...that you will lose said tampon into the dark recesses of the bajingo."
That explains it I think. The ones I remove are usually way back there and squished sideways.
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Oh..and I didn't use the tampon for my period... I used it for birth control.
I'm KIDDING!!! ;)
Sorry-couldn't resist!
I didn't have my period though and is why I forgot I had a tampon.
I just prepare like a girl scout.
Wow............. Thank god I have a very opened minded female partner (lesbian) who if I said I got a tampon stuck would very happily don the lube and go "fishing" without even a squirm about blood... Gotta love butch partners...
But seriously. It can happen. Between the kiddo, two dogs, a new house, and god knows what else all at one time one month, it happened to me!
Another problem with tampons is the amount of WASTE they create in the environment -- since they are used once, then tossed. You can avoid this problem by using a REUSABLE menstrual product, like The Keeper reusable menstrual cup, or GladRags reusable menstrual pads.
Keeper.com has recently posted a new Comparison Photo Page, which actually SHOWS IN PICTURES the amount of waste caused by tampon use in one month, one year, ten years, and forty years. (We based our photos on 18 tampons used per month, and calculated that most women menstruate for approximately 40 years.)
Please take a look at these photos: http://www.keeper.com/photographs.html . I think you’ll be shocked to see how much waste is created by using tampons. And I think you'll agree with me that these 4 photos are worth AT LEAST A THOUSAND WORDS!
I hope you and your site visitors will enjoy looking at these photos. (Or maybe “enjoy” isn’t the right word! The photos are really horrifying in the amount of waste they show.)
PS: We are in the process of putting together the figures for menstrual pad use.
Thanks.
Julia Schopick
The Keeper, Inc.
www.Keeper.com
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