Prevention

Prevention is often difficult, because few clear causes have been found for any of these diseases. A few general guidelines are suggested.

• Do not try to avoid every medicine thought to be associated with any of these disorders. Serious medication allergies are extremely rare. Simply avoid taking medications to which you have a known allergy. Always alert your doctor to potential medication allergies you may have.

• Many of the infections thought to cause these disorders are almost impossible to avoid and are virtually always harmless infections.

• Avoiding tampons can help prevent TSS. The super-absorbant tampons introduced to the market in the 1970s are no longer available in the US, and tampons now in the marketplace are considered safe. When using any tampons, however, change them frequently.