Muscle Cream Chemical Proves Deadly

Think of your skin as a large sponge.... what you put on it is eventually absorbed into the bloodstream. Everything we put on our skin... make-up, perfume, sunscreen, tanning lotions and skincare products... are all absorbed through the skin and eventually end up in the bloodstream. In a sense "if you wouldn't put it in your mouth, you shouldn't put it on your skin." It may take years before we realize the health effects of these chemicals in our blood. But, in the case of a 17 year old track star, applying muscle cream turned deadly very quickly.

As reported by the Associated Press (Muscle Cream Caused NYC Teen's Death,6/07), 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 o April 13th, after her body absorbed high levels of methyl salicylate, an anti-inflammatory found in sports creams such as Bengay and Icy Hot.

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. "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."

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Disclaimer

Tanning & Natural Health News is a publication of Tan Plus /Essentials Of Life, Barclay Square, 350 Route 108, Somersworth, NH. This publication is designed for educational purposes only and is not intended to be presented as medical advice. Product statements made have not been evaluated by the Food & Drug Administration.

Copyright © 2007 • Ray Allard • All Rights Reserved