Woman, 31, Was Suffering During Sex. Then, a Nurse Found a Tampon That Had Been Lost in Her Body for Weeks

“When it came out, it was pure black. It really hurt,” recalled Hollie Smith after the tampon was removed from her

NEED TO KNOW

• A 31-year-old woman in Essex, England experienced unusual symptoms such as discharge and pain during sex
• A nurse later discovered the woman had a tampon lodged inside her for four to six weeks
• Medical experts said the woman had begun showing the initial stages of toxic shock syndrome (TSS), a rare and life-threatening condition often linked to tampon use

A woman in England began experiencing pain during sex as well as other unusual symptoms — and it turns out it was due to a tampon that had been lost in her body for weeks.

Hollie Smith, 31, of Essex, said she first noticed something seemed off when she experienced a brown discharge while on vacation with her family in Turkey in August 2025.

"I didn't know what it was, but it was starting to worry me,” she said while speaking to Kennedy News. "I'd had it a couple weeks before the holiday, too. I was having it most days.”

She said she and her partner had also begun noticing a copper-like odor during intercourse around this time, but she attributed the changes to her contraceptive implant. 

Smith said that her symptoms started escalating, and she soon began experiencing bleeding and pain during intercourse.

"I'd started getting hot sweats too and was extremely tired,” she added.

Smith went to the doctor for a checkup, and the nurse made an unexpected discovery.

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"As I got on the bed and she went to do the swabs, she said, 'I think you've got a tampon stuck in you.' I burst out crying. I've always been careful of tampons,” Smith said.

She said that the nurse estimated that the tampon had been inside her for four to six weeks, and that she was beginning to show signs of toxic shock syndrome (TSS), which is a rare and potentially fatal bacterial infection often linked to tampon use. 

Smith said that neither she nor her partner had felt the tampon inside her in all those weeks. "I didn't feel anything inside me, which was really strange. I asked my partner if he felt it and he said no,” she added.

"When it came out, it was pure black. It really hurt; it was lodged to my inside,” Smith recalled.

Smith now believes she may have inserted the tampon after drinking alcohol, which she said she doesn’t often do, and then forgot about it.

"I can't remember using it, so I must've put it in when I was a bit tipsy,” she said.

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Smith said she considers herself fortunate that the nurse discovered the tampon when she did.

I reckon I had another week before I was in full-blown toxic shock. I feel so lucky, it petrified me,” she told the outlet.

“I haven't used a tampon since,” she continued, adding that she no longer keeps them in her home.

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