Do I Have TSS Quiz
How the Scales are Structured
Who Usually Takes This Test?
See How You Compare
Below is a preview of how scores are typically distributed across each scale.
Example Questions From the Test
- I have no relevant wound, or the area has no new pain, redness, heat, or swelling.
- There is mild, stable tenderness or redness that has not been increasing.
- Pain, warmth, redness, or swelling is clearly increasing around the area.
- There is severe pain, rapid swelling, blistering, dark discoloration, or fast-spreading redness.
- I have no new widespread muscle pain or unusual weakness.
- I have mild generalized aches but can manage normal basic activities.
- Aches or weakness are pronounced enough to limit walking or everyday tasks.
- Weakness is sudden or profound, I cannot stand safely, or severe muscle pain accompanies acute illness.
- I am fully alert, oriented, and thinking normally for me.
- I feel mildly foggy or tired but know where I am and can function safely.
- I am having unusual trouble concentrating, following conversation, or completing simple tasks.
- I am confused, disoriented, difficult to wake, or others say I am not acting like myself.
Do I Have TSS Quiz - Description and methodology of the test
People who are worried about a sudden, flu-like illness or a possible infection source can use the Do I Have TSS Quiz to organize experiences relevant to possible TSS. It is an online self-report tool that organizes signals relevant to possible TSS and displays action-oriented result bands. As a TSS self-assessment, its questions organize signals involving fever, circulation, mental clarity, hydration, skin changes, and wound or device concerns.
What This Assessment Explores
The questions examine possible TSS warning signs, including fever, rapid deterioration, faintness, confusion, dehydration, vomiting or diarrhea, rash or peeling, and wound or device concerns. They organize these experiences into action-oriented bands.
For someone taking the TSS quiz, the result groups experiences into three safety summaries for deciding what to do next.
The displayed result areas are:
- Neurologic, Digestive, and Organ Signals (0-15) reflects mental status, hydration, urine, gastrointestinal, muscle, headache, and neck signals; bands: No points recorded (0), Prompt review (1-2), Urgent action (3-15).
- Rapid Illness and Circulation Signals (0-15) reflects fever, deterioration, faintness, breathing, heartbeat, and circulation; bands: No points recorded (0), Prompt review (1-2), Urgent action (3-15).
- Skin, Wound, and Device-Related Signals (0-15) reflects rash, peeling, wound, and device concerns; bands: No points recorded (0), Prompt review (1-2), Urgent action (3-15).
Methodology and Evidence Base
Each item offers four ordered descriptions, moving from no relevant change through mild or stable symptoms to increasingly concerning or red-flag experiences. This format captures the respondent's current self-report; it does not measure blood pressure, laboratory findings, examination signs, or confirmed infection.
In practical terms, this questionnaire organizes TSS safety signals by symptom domain rather than producing one overall result. Its domain totals are unvalidated safety summaries or reflections, not diagnostic or severity measures, and the displayed bands are action prompts rather than validated clinical cutoffs. A red-flag response scored 3 overrides the domain total.
The questionnaire is conceptually consistent with Gottlieb et al. (2018), the CDC's 2011 case definition for non-streptococcal TSS, and Todd et al. (1978), whose report helped establish the syndrome's association with phage-group I staphylococci; it is not an adaptation of those sources.
Interpretation depends on current illness, memory, symptom awareness, and the respondent's ability to judge change; fever, weakness, vomiting, rash, and dizziness also occur in many other conditions. Rapidly worsening or severe symptoms call for direct medical assessment.
- Gottlieb M, Long B, Koyfman A. The Evaluation and Management of Toxic Shock Syndrome in the Emergency Department: A Review of the Literature. The Journal of Emergency Medicine. 2018;54(6):807-814. 10.1016/j.jemermed.2017.12.048
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Toxic Shock Syndrome (Other Than Streptococcal) (TSS) 2011 Case Definition. Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 2011.
- Todd J, Fishaut M, Kapral F, Welch T. Toxic-shock syndrome associated with phage-group-I Staphylococci. The Lancet. 1978;2(8100):1116-1118. 10.1016/S0140-6736(78)92274-2
Updated: