Lauren Wasser’s Powerful Journey: How a Tampon Changed Her Life and Sparked a Global Warning

From Model to Survivor: The Day Everything Changed

Lauren Wasser, a rising model from California, was just 24 years old when her life changed forever. What started as a seemingly ordinary day in 2012 ended with a medical emergency no one could have predicted — and the root cause was something most women use every month: a tampon.

Lauren had been experiencing flu-like symptoms and was rushed to the hospital. But it wasn’t the flu. Doctors quickly diagnosed her with menstrual toxic shock syndrome (mTSS) — a rare, life-threatening condition triggered by bacterial toxins, most often linked to prolonged tampon use.