Tampon sickness or toxic shock syndrome (TSS) is a very rare complication that may arise in certain bacterial infections. Most people get the illness in association with a skin infection, for example, an infection of a wound after an operation. It’s also good to be aware that most cases of TSS have nothing to do with menstruation or the use of tampons. To the best of our knowledge, there has only been a single case of TSS in the world associated with a menstrual cup, despite there being millions of menstrual cup users. Always think about hand hygiene and, to be on the safe side, do not use the menstrual cup if you have any sores in your vagina.