These are the symptoms of Toxic Shock Syndrome:
A sudden high fever
Low blood pressure (hypotension)
Vomiting or diarrhea
A rash resembling a sunburn, particularly on your palms and soles — which, after a week or so, generally leads to peeling of the skin on your hands and feet
Confusion
Muscle aches
Redness of your eyes, mouth and throat
Seizures
Headache
It was a big deal in the eighties because of a specific brand called Rely, which is no longer on the market. The brand was marketed as superabsorbent and this particular product was known to break apart while still inside; the remaining material and blood led to toxic shock.
I've always had a heavy flow, even while sleeping at night and many times I would wake to find that I had made a mess on myself and/or the sheets when I tried to wear a pad. So I have always slept with a tampon in. I just make sure that I put in a new one right before bed and take it out first thing in the morning. (Tampax.com says not to wear a tampon at night if you sleep more than eight hours.)
TSS still occurs in about 17 out of every 100,000 menstruating girls and women each year; more than half of these cases are related to tampons. Between five and 10% of patients with TSS die.
TSS can affect anyone who has any type of staph infection, including pneumonia, abscess, skin or wound infection, a blood infection called septicemia, or a bone infection called osteomyelitis.
The second type of related infection, streptococcal toxic shock syndrome, or STSS, is caused by streptococcus bacteria. Most often STSS appears after streptococcus bacteria have invaded areas of injured skin, such as cuts and scrapes, surgical wounds, and even chickenpox blisters. It almost never follows a simple streptococcus throat infection (strep throat).