A model who lost her legs and nearly lost her life after using a tampon has shared about the risks of using tampons during menstruation.

Model Lauren Wasser has issued a warning to users of sanitary products during their period, after she nearly lost her life and lost both legs to Toxic Shock Syndrome (TSS) when she was 24 years old.

Lauren Wasser, from LA, despite changing her tampons regularly, still experienced a syndrome that causes the body to gradually shut down within a few hours.

Now, at the age of 36, Lauren challenges the misconception that TSS only occurs in people who use one tampon for more than 8 hours. She said that this syndrome can occur even in people who use tampons properly.

“No one is exempt — TSS can happen to anyone at any time,” she shared on the Life Uncut podcast.

Lauren said that many sanitary products on the market are “full of dioxin and chlorine-based agents,” and products marked as 100% cotton can still contain chemicals.

“One of the toxins enters your body, starts acting like severe flu symptoms, and begins shutting down vital functions — it’s extremely dangerous,” she said.

Lauren said she changed tampons regularly, every four hours. During a menstrual cycle in 2012, she began experiencing flu-like symptoms and a very high fever.

Her mother contacted authorities after not hearing from her daughter for several hours. A police officer came to check on her, found her unwell, but didn’t think she needed to go to the hospital at that time.

After being found unresponsive in her apartment a few hours later, Lauren was taken to the hospital. She was found to have suffered two cardiac events and was placed into a medically induced coma due to multiple organ complications.

Hospital staff advised Lauren’s parents to prepare for the worst, as they believed she had only a 1% chance of survival.

A doctor asked staff to check whether she was using a tampon, and after testing, she was diagnosed with TSS.

Toxic shock syndrome is a rare and serious bacterial condition. It is often misdiagnosed because the symptoms are similar to other common illnesses.

Although Lauren survived, the damage to her affected limbs was irreversible, and doctors were forced to surgically remove her leg.