NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather forecasts

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
    • The Great NZ Road Trip
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
    • Cooking the Books
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • What the Actual
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Lifestyle

'Toxic' tampon model Lauren Wasser says she will inevitably lose other leg

Washington Post
20 Dec, 2017 03:45 AM8 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Lauren Wasser lost her leg after a fatal bout of Toxic Shock Syndrome. Photo / via Instagram

Lauren Wasser lost her leg after a fatal bout of Toxic Shock Syndrome. Photo / via Instagram

Lauren Wasser woke up in a hospital bed 35kg heavier than she was supposed to be - filled with fluids to try to flush the toxins from her body.

She struggled to move, and her feet felt like they were being lit with a lighter again and again. But the model did not know how dire her situation was - until she overheard a nurse discussing the surgery that would upend her life: Wasser, just 24 years old at the time, would need a below-the-knee amputation on her right leg.

"I just lost it," she recalled in a telephone interview with the Washington Post. "I screamed and cried. I'm an athlete - my legs were everything. I had no idea what my life would be like without them."

Wasser was developed toxic shock syndrome from using a tampon in 2012. The rare but potentially fatal condition is typically caused by toxins from the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus, or staph.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"Toxic shock syndrome has been associated primarily with the use of superabsorbent tampons," according to the Mayo Clinic. It "can progress rapidly", and the clinic advises: "Call your doctor immediately if you have signs or symptoms of toxic shock syndrome. This is especially important if you've recently used tampons or if you have a skin or wound infection."

Wasser lost part of her right leg and the toes on her left foot in 2012, but her misery hardly ended there.

"I'm in excruciating pain every day," she said this week.

In the coming months, Wasser expects she's "inevitably" going to have her other leg amputated as well. Wasser requires weekly treatments to manage the damage to her left foot.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Lately, Wasser has been warning women about potential risks associated with tampons and calling for more transparency about feminine hygiene products.

"I think this is my purpose and I wouldn't change it for the world," she said.

She has given a TED Talk and posted numerous photos on Instagram, showing her modelling while wearing a prosthetic leg.

She has also been promoting legislation aiming to push the National Institutes of Health to help determine whether certain elements of feminine hygiene products are safe.

Discover more

Lifestyle

Model's horror after losing leg to 'toxic' tampon

17 Dec 07:20 PM
Lifestyle

These were the worst beauty trends of 2017

28 Dec 07:20 PM

Deborah Kotz, a spokeswoman for the Food and Drug Administration, said the agency considers tampons that have been approved for marketing to be safe for women.

Kotz said that all tampons, which are class II (or intermediate risk) devices, must receive FDA clearance to be sold in the United States.

As part of the clearance process, Kotz said, tampon manufacturers are urged to provide a list of components, such as chemicals, additives and finishing agents used, and a risk analysis on vaginal injury, tissue reactions and infections.

"Manufacturers are also advised to do microbiology testing to demonstrate that the tampon does not enhance the growth of certain bacteria or other organisms, including the bacteria known to cause toxic shock syndrome, and demonstrate that tampons meet their claimed absorbency level."

View this post on Instagram

This may be a heavy post for some but today is #menstrualhygieneday so I must keep doing my part to raise awareness about Toxic Shock Syndrome. #menstruationmatters #itsnotrareitsreal #mhday ##robindanielsonact // link in bio for more stories like mine and information.

A post shared by Lauren Wasser (@theimpossiblemuse) on May 28, 2016 at 11:15am PDT

Vice reported in 2015 that Wasser's family filed a lawsuit against the Kimberly-Clark Corp, which manufacturers and distributes Kotex tampons in the United States. The suit also named the grocery stores where Wasser used to buy the products. They were "negligently, wantonly, recklessly, tortuously, and unlawfully responsible in some manner", the suit argued.

When asked about the lawsuit this week, Wasser said she couldn't comment. Kimberly-Clark only said that "the matter has been resolved".

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Wasser, 29, shared her story in 2015 with Vice, and retold it for InStyle.

"My name is Lauren Wasser," she started, "and the life-changing journey I'm about to share will uncover the truth behind why I lost my right leg and the toes of my left foot - and why a tampon was the cause of it all."

Wasser, from Los Angeles, does not remember much about the moments after she fell ill that Wednesday in October 2012 - she does not remember her fever reaching 107 degrees, or the massive heart attack she suffered, or the days she spent in a medically induced coma after the police called to check on her found Wasser on her bedroom floor, facedown.

She does not remember being rushed to an emergency room still wearing the last tampon that she would ever put in, or testing positive for signs of toxic shock syndrome.

She does not remember being placed on life support, either.

But, Wasser said, she does remember the agony she felt before and for a long time after she lost her leg because of complications from her illness.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

In a video interview with StyleLikeU, Wasser recalled the moment she said her surgical team wrote "yes" on one leg and "no" on the other.

"Like 'yes,' this is the one that's going and 'no,' this is the one that we're keeping," she said through tears. "And to see that visually on your leg, and then my mom kissing my leg and knowing that's the last time, it was crazy."

Because her body did not respond well during the surgery, she said, doctors could not give her pain medication for 24 hours after the procedure.

"Immediately I woke up from the amputation and I felt every single thing that happened for 24 hours," she said. "Screaming my head off. Throwing s***. I mean, it was f*****g hell. I was miserable. I hated everyone. I hated everything. I hated myself."

She said she no longer wanted to live.

A potentially fatal complication

Wasser wrote that she wants to be an advocate for other women:

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"The letters TSS that I once read in the fine print buried on the bottom of tampon boxes soon came to define me. TSS - Toxic Shock Syndrome: a potentially fatal complication of certain types of bacterial infections. The vagina is the most absorbent part of a woman's body, and you place a tampon in that place that can bring with it chemicals, toxins. They say that it's rare, and for the longest time I felt alone being a victim of TSS. It not only left physical wounds but mental ones. I battled PTSD and fell into a dark depression after what happened. I melted into my bed, and life just sort of stopped.

"It wasn't until my girlfriend, photographer Jennifer Rovero, took hundreds of pictures of me as I recovered from my amputations that things started to change. The process was a sort of therapy for me, which Jennifer coined as 'photo therapy'. I grew to see the beauty and strength in myself and my journey through the lens of her camera. While we were shooting, we often asked young girls if they have ever heard of TSS or if they believed that it's real. The majority of them said no."

In the coming months, she added: "I'm inevitably going to have my other leg amputated."

"I'm in excruciating pain every day," she told the Post, explaining that once her left leg is amputated, she believes she will be able to run again - pain-free.

"It is what it is," she said, adding that there needs to be more education about TSS. She said she hopes her hope it that other women will "be more aware of what they're putting side their bodies".

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Lifestyle

Premium
Lifestyle

The surprising health benefits of becoming Pope

17 May 06:00 AM
Lifestyle

Quick and tasty Kung Pao chicken recipe for busy weeknights

17 May 04:00 AM
Royals

King Charles says he’s ‘on the better side’ of cancer

16 May 11:06 PM

Sponsored: How much is too much?

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Lifestyle

Premium
The surprising health benefits of becoming Pope

The surprising health benefits of becoming Pope

17 May 06:00 AM

New York Times: Such a demanding job can be good for the brain and body.

Quick and tasty Kung Pao chicken recipe for busy weeknights

Quick and tasty Kung Pao chicken recipe for busy weeknights

17 May 04:00 AM
King Charles says he’s ‘on the better side’ of cancer

King Charles says he’s ‘on the better side’ of cancer

16 May 11:06 PM
Centenarian celebrates 103rd birthday with family and friends

Centenarian celebrates 103rd birthday with family and friends

16 May 10:00 PM
Sponsored: Cosy up to colour all year
sponsored

Sponsored: Cosy up to colour all year

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • What the Actual
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven CarGuide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP