Menstrual cups, cervical caps, sponges, or diaphragms (anything inserted into your vagina) may also increase your risk for TSS if they are left in place for too long (usually 24 hours). But, you could be at risk for TSS if you use more absorbent tampons than you need for your bleeding or if you do not change your tampon often enough (at least every four to eight hours). Today, most cases of TSS are not caused by using tampons. A certain brand of super absorbency tampons was said to be the cause. Toxic shock syndrome (TSS) is a rare but sometimes deadly condition caused by bacteria that make toxins or poisons. Talk to your doctor or nurse if you have menstrual cycles that are longer than 38 days or shorter than 24 days, or if you are worried about your menstrual cycle. They also might be shorter or last longer than usual, or be lighter or heavier than normal. Your menstrual periods might stop for a month or a few months and then start again.
If longer or irregular cycles last beyond that, see your doctor or nurse to rule out a health problem, such as polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Girls usually get more regular cycles within three years of starting their periods.
4Īt different times in a woman’s life, ovulation may or may not happen: A man’s sperm can live for 3 to 5 days in a woman’s reproductive organs, but a woman’s egg lives for just 12 to 24 hours after ovulation.Įach woman’s cycle length may be different, and the time between ovulation and when the next period starts can be anywhere from one week (7 days) to more than 2 weeks (19 days). A woman is most likely to get pregnant if she has sex without birth control in the three days before and up to the day of ovulation (since the sperm are already in place and ready to fertilize the egg as soon as it is released). Ovulation is when the ovary releases an egg so it can be fertilized by a sperm in order to make a baby.