Playing football could cause toxic shock syndrome

Blisters from new football boots can do more than slow down budding soccer stars – they have the potential to kill. A team of doctors reported two cases of toxic shock in young footballers, caused by infected blister from new boots. Both players, a girl aged 13 and 11 years old boy, were treated in hospital and survived. But toxic shock syndrome (TSS) is known to have a five percent fatality rate in children. TSS is an extreme life threatening reaction to bacterial infection, causing fever and organ failure. It is mainly associated with an outbreak of cases in 1980 involving young women who used a particular type of tampon, now withdrawn from the market. In children, TSS is rare and mostly occurs as a complication of skin burns. The two cases linked to football boots were reported in the British Medical Journal recently by Dr Mark Taylor. Both children suffered friction blisters over both heels after playing a competitive game of football in new boots. She was admitted to hospital with a rash that covered her body, diarrhea, abdominal pain, and abnormally low blood pressure. After four days she was transferred to a specialist unit as her kidneys began to fail.