PSA: Ben Gay Kills.

[Analog]

NEW YORK (AP) -- A medical examiner blamed a 17-year-old track star's death on the use of too much muscle cream, the kind used to soothe aching legs after exercise.

Arielle Newman, a cross-country runner at Notre Dame Academy on Staten Island, died after her body absorbed high levels of methyl salicylate, an anti-inflammatory found in sports creams such as Bengay and Icy Hot, the New York City medical examiner said Friday.

The medical examiner's spokeswoman, Ellen Borakove, said the teen used "topical medication to excess." She said it was the first time that her office had reported a death from using a sports cream.

Newman, who garnered numerous track awards, died April 13. She had gone to a party the night before, then returned home and spent hours talking with her mother.

Methyl salicylate poisoning is unusual, and deaths from high levels of the chemical are rare.

"Chronic use is more dangerous than one-time use," Edward Arsura, chairman of medicine at Richmond University Medical Center, told the Staten Island Advance on Friday. "Exercise and heat can accentuate absorption."

Dr. Ronald Grelsamer, of Mount Sinai Medical Center, said Newman had a very abnormal amount of methyl salicylate in her body.

"She either lathered herself with it, or used way too much, or she used a normal amount and an abnormal percentage was absorbed into her body," he said.

Her mother, Alice Newman, said she still couldn't believe her daughter's death was caused by a sports cream.

"I am scrupulous about my children's health," she told the Advance. "I did not think an over-the-counter product could be unsafe."

 

[ch33zw1z]

"I am scrupulous about my children's health," she told the Advance. "I did not think an over-the-counter product could be unsafe."

Umm, hello? Ever hear of NSAIDs? Acetaminophen? Either one could kill you or give you serious side effects. It's amazing how blindly trusting and naive people are. I'll admit though, I never looked into sports cream ingredients.

 

[sniperruff]

"Newman, who garnered numerous track awards, died April 13. She had gone to a party the night before, then returned home and spent hours talking with her mother. "

I would guess that she had alcohol and the dehydration helped absorbed the ben gay.

 

[sniperruff]

.

 

[iamaelephant]

This is a sad story 🙁

Edit - I'm keenly awaiting the typical ATOT responses, "she got what she deserved"

 

[jackace]

Yeah thats very sad. I used tons of that stuff back in the football, baseball, and basketball days of HS. I never used tons at one time though usually only on a single muscle, but I used it often.

 

[ForumMaster]

interesting. but as they said, she used and excessive amount. too much of anything is bad. having too much vitamins can kill too. but you can still get over the counter vitamins without a problem. wonder what the final conclusion will be.

 

[Mucho]

Almost anything can kill you if you use it to excess even water.

 

[moshquerade]

it's weird she had no symptoms prior. usually with a poisoning like that it's a slow death.

 

[mattpegher]

People fail to realize that although the absorption of topical medicine is low at least with regards to systemic levels, when applied in excess, on large areas and continuously or freqently, systemic levels can be obtained. In this case the drug was a relative of aspirin, an over the counter drug which in excess can be very deadly

People need to realize that Over the counter medicine are safe only in recommended doses and only for patients without other problems. And on that note, herbal medicines have no safety data.

 

[alien42]

Originally posted by: ch33zw1z
"I am scrupulous about my children's health," she told the Advance. "I did not think an over-the-counter product could be unsafe."

Umm, hello? Ever hear of NSAIDs? Acetaminophen? Either one could kill you or give you serious side effects. It's amazing how blindly trusting and naive people are. I'll admit though, I never looked into sports cream ingredients.

that quote stuck out to me also. hello lady...you can do serious damage with many OTC medicines if you do not follow the instructions and take to much.

 

[FoBoT]

w0w, that sucks, she was a good runner

http://www.armorytrack.com/xc05/staten_island.htm

 

[Kadarin]

Originally posted by: moshquerade
it's weird she had no symptoms prior. usually with a poisoning like that it's a slow death.

I didn't read the article, but it's possible that she actually had symptoms, but dismissed them as symptoms of something else, like too much alcohol, dehydration, cold/flu, fatigue, etc.

 

[middlehead]

Note to self: Stop bathing in Icy Hot.

 

[Miramonti]

Anti-inflammatories can be rough...ask Sean Elliot or Alonzo Mourning (who required kidney transplants, believed to be caused by their regular use of anti-inflammatories.)

 

[mattpegher]

What most people dont realize is that Anti-inflamatories can be dangerous if you are dehydrated or have been drinking alcohol. I myself had one single dose of the anti-inflamatory, ketorolac (toradol), after a golf outing during which i had been drinking continuously for about 12 hours roughly 2 beers/ hour. Never really got too drunk but that put me over the edge and I went into Acute Renal Failure from Interstitial nephritis. Luckily I reversed with hydration but I got off easy.