Maura Higgins opens up on her experience with toxic shock syndrome

A nightmare.

Maura Higgins has opened up about her near death experience when she suffered from toxic shock syndrome (TSS) after she got a tampon stuck for three months. While TSS is quite rare, it can be a life-threatening condition as it is caused by bacteria getting into the body and releasing harmful toxins. As she appeared on Shopping with Keith Lemon, the Longford native discussed her "very bad experience" with TSS as she aimed to raise awareness. She said: “I did have a very bad experience. I’m not a doctor, I don’t know much about that [TSS], but I know you are not meant to leave a tampon inside for more than, I think it’s nine hours, I think that’s the max.” “There was a tampon inside me for three months. When the doctor found it, it was stuck to my cervix. And I was so ill. I did not know what was going on. “There were people that have died from that happening. “Young girls might not have noticed, like you go on a night out, what if you got really drunk and forgot, like, these things actually do happen, and people don’t speak about it.” She continued: "I remember even being in school, I used to get my tampon out the bag, push it up my sleeve and then go to the toilet like that… thinking back, why was I doing that? “It’s nothing to be ashamed about, that’s why I think it’s an important topic isn’t it?” Yesterday Maura addressed the now viral pictures that emerged this week of her and Joey Essex at the Pride of Britain Awards getting very close. After attending the award show on Monday night, the two seemed to share an intimate moment together as they appeared to be kissing before leaving together in a taxi. After much speculation, the former Love Island star has taken it upon herself to address the rumours, writing on Instagram that that's just how she greets people. The Longford native shared a friends clip to her Story on Tuesday where she could be seen licking her friend's face, which her friend had captioned: "She's a licker." Reposting it to her own story, Maura said: "It's how I greet people".