Advice please - left tampon in

[Autumnchill]

So for background I'm 47 so periods have started getting a bit patchy. I came on for 3 days then off and 2 days later it started up again for 1 day and I think I must have put one in to get through the night just in case.

The past couple of weeks I've been leaking uncontrollably, just dribbles but enough that by the end of the day I have a 'female' smell and I've been quite conscious of it so much so that last week I got pantry liners in my weekly shop and resigned myself to losing bladder control plus my urine has been cloudy despite drinking nearly 2 litres a day.

I've been quite worried about it and last night after an exercise class in which I felt like I virtually peed my way through it I ended up on google and convinced myself I had all sorts. I'm booked in for a smear next week so decided I would leave it till then and pluck up the courage to talk about bladder control and facing up to it. As I was going to bed last night I leaked again so grabbed a tissue and wiped and it smelt without me even holding it to my nose (as you do!!).

Today was awful at work, I could smell me whilst driving home so when I got in I went straight to the toilet to clean up and felt something pushing so I felt for it and there it was, a 14 day old tampon. How the hell has it stayed up there that long?

So now I'm really worried, relieved that I know what it is but worried about possible infection as it smells like something died in me. I have no temperature, headache etc, feel fine in myself other than this smelly leak but should I be concerned? All the online articles refer to just leaving it a couple of hours too long, not 14 days! My wee is now slightly red like the end of a period and still cloudy.

Sorry if this is too much information! Anyone else experienced same and survived! At school we were always told about TSS and the fear of God put in us about it.

Not sure if I should seek medical advice or just be grateful I know what the problem is. Advice please

@Northernsoullover exactly the same thing happened to me
I’d never believe it could actually happen unless is had happened to me! Although I discovered it myself a good few days after my period had finished, kept smelling what seemed like... I won’t say, it might be quite off putting (as though this whole thread isn’t a queasy rollercoaster in itself!), anyway, lucky i discovered it as dh and I dtd later that night, that may have been an embarrassing sex story!
I wasn’t poorly or anything afterwards. If I had any strange symptoms I would have maybe got them checked out but our bodies are quite efficient given time so it’s possible I would have just waited it out!

The ‘trick’ with retained tampons to minimise the smell is to have a container of water to completely immerse the tampon immediately after removal.

@Elouera nothing from Dr and no side effects. Felt 'clean' within hours almost like nothing had happened!

I did this once op years ago. I went to GP with a smell issue and it was a piece of tampon that had been in there god knows how long. I was really embarrassed but GP removed it and that was it. You could visit GP see if you need antibiotics but I didn't.

Happened to me too but I was quite poorly, went to out of hours GP who admitted me for overnight iv antibiotics. Good luck!