Death by Bengay? Toxic Dose of Muscle Treatment Kills Staten Island Teen

Perhaps I was a bit more taken aback than many by the story of the Staten Island high school senior who died from accidental 'overuse' of commonly used muscle and joint topical treatments. My youngest daughter will be a high school senior this fall; she currently has under her belt five varsity letters in track and field during her own high school career. What took my breath away, at least momentarily, was that the medical examiner ruled her death due to the "accidental overuse of over-the-counter remedies routinely used by millions of Americans" for muscle soreness: Tiger Balm, Icy Hot, Bengay - all of which sit in our own medicine cabinet here at home.

Arielle Newman was a star track athlete at Notre Dame Academy who had expressed complaints of shortness of breath and fatigue six weeks before her death. Apparently, Newman was the victim of using too many products too many times. None of these products require a doctor's examination or prescription to obtain; anyone can walk into their local drug or grocery store to purchase them. Johnson & Johnson, the manufacturer of Bengay, stated their sympathy to Newman's family, in the same statement reminding the product's users about "the importance of reading the label on this and all over the counter medicines to ensure safe and proper use." (On Ultra Strength Bengay, a label advises consumers that they should apply the gel no more than three or four times each day, and to seek doctor's attention if their physical condition begins to worsen or symptoms should persist for more than seven days.) The problem here lies in those symptoms: a healthy teenaged girl, physically fit: shortness of breath and fatigue could be due to any number of circumstances. Pressure in school, pressure at the meets, which become increasingly more challenging as the track season wears on, the imminent closure of her senior year - these, and any number of other events, could have caused those same symptoms. Since products like Bengay and Icy Hot are liniments applied directly to the skin (as opposed to something in a tablet or liquid form), it's more difficult to exactly monitor how much of any of those products are used.

Medical examiner's office spokesperson Ellen Borakove stated that Newman was using not only the topical liniment but also applying the adhesive pads (Icy Hot) between track meets. (High school meets, especially toward the end of the season, can take place within only a few days' time.) "Multiple products used to great excess is how she ended up with high levels" of methyl salicylate, whose strong wintergreen scent is commonly associated with Bengay, Tiger Balm and other skin liniments. Runners will often up their use of these products as track meets become more competitive. Newman's very unfortunate and untimely death (she was to turn 18 two weeks prior to her demise) will have left a legacy for the young track star. Cross country and track athletes continue to discuss the incident, having raised considerably their bar of awareness of exactly what - and how - these products can and should be used. In my daughter's case, I remember a few instances when muscle pulls or tightening was only temporarily relieved by over the counter products such as these. The temptation to up the dosage was very real.

If anything good came out of this tragedy, it's our greatly heightened awareness of how dangerous over the counter products can be. Would be knowingly and willingly ingest antifreeze that we just picked up at the local auto or hardware store? Of course not - but one of its prime ingredients has been showing up in imported, fake tubes of "Colgate" found in discount stores throughout the northeast. The first tubes were discovered in the New York City area. Over this past week, the week of June 11, 2007, Burlington County safety officers located several dozen of the tubes, marked "Colgate" at county dollar stores in particular. While they are labeled 'Colgate', they do not bear the logo or marking of the true manufacturer, Colgate Palmolive. Also very visible are blatant misspellings on the Colgate boxes. (One box had the wording 'Made in South Aflica' on it.) Authorities have traced the source of these potentially deadly tubes of toothpaste to China, the source of numerous documented counterfeit products. (And you thought the biggest danger was purchasing a "Chanel" bag on Ebay from a seller located in China!)

Like everything else in life, we have to take responsibility for ourselves - and our families. If a product looks or appears questionable to you, read the label over very, very carefully. If something just doesn't seem right, don't buy it. And don't forget to question the source of the product: is it labeled as being manufacturered overseas? Is it located in a dirty, dusty 'dollar store' or 'clearance bin'? Does it have an expiration date on it? When in doubt, don't buy it.

Be your own watchdog when it comes to health and safety. Read the label on each and every product that you buy. Know exactly what you're buying and how it should be used. Knowledge, as we know, is power!