1

Too much Icy-Hot can kill (not a joke) (Read 3162 times)

jEfFgObLuE


I've got a fever...

    Very sad story of a 17-year old NY trackster who died when she overdosed on methyl salicylate, the active ingredient in Icy-Hot, Ben-Gay, Tiger Balm, and other locker room staples. Sad Here. and Here. When I ran track and XC, I pretty much always had some of this stuff on (probably explains my limited success with the ladies in HS). This goes to show that just because something is over the counter, and just because it's not injested doesn't mean it's without risk.

    On your deathbed, you won't wish that you'd spent more time at the office.  But you will wish that you'd spent more time running.  Because if you had, you wouldn't be on your deathbed.

      Saw this on the news last week, sad story. One of those things where I would normally say "should have read the directions %^&*&^%$$", but I couldn't in this case, who would have thunk it?

      When it’s all said and done, will you have said more than you’ve done?

      shyrunner07


        that shocked me too when i read it... Shocked
          I haven't seen if anybody knows how much of the stuff the girl was using. How much Icy-Hot do you have to apply before it reaches a toxic level? So tragic...
          shyrunner07


            I haven't seen if anybody knows how much of the stuff the girl was using. How much Icy-Hot do you have to apply before it reaches a toxic level? So tragic...
            Newman put the muscle cream on her legs and used adhesive pads containing the anti-inflammatory, plus an unspecified third product, said Ellen Borakove, a spokeswoman for the medical examiner. "There were multiple products, used to great excess, and that's how she ended up with high levels," Borakove said. The products were used and the chemical absorbed over time, rather than from a single instance of overuse, she said. i think i read somewhere too that she had it on about 40% of her body...?
            The products were used and the chemical absorbed over time, rather than from a single instance of overuse, she said.
            that kinda scares me...do the chemicals ever leave the body? eek. i wonder what else can go wrong with that stuff lingering in the blood stream- birth defects? cancer? obviously a way extreme worst case scenario, but if somone can die by using the product, then maybe it's not so far fetched.... sad.
            jEfFgObLuE


            I've got a fever...

              that kinda scares me...do the chemicals ever leave the body? eek. i wonder what else can go wrong with that stuff lingering in the blood stream- birth defects? cancer? obviously a way extreme worst case scenario, but if somone can die by using the product, then maybe it's not so far fetched....
              I imagine the chemicals can and do leave the body, but this poor girl was using way more than her body could safely process. Kinda like alcohol. Drink a little and the body can handle it/flush it out no problem; drink way too much and it can be fatal.

              On your deathbed, you won't wish that you'd spent more time at the office.  But you will wish that you'd spent more time running.  Because if you had, you wouldn't be on your deathbed.

              Trent


              Good Bad & The Monkey

                Again, the toxin in this case most likely was aspirin. Most of these preparations contain an aspirin derivative, and aspirin in high doses is toxic. In regular doses, it is therapeutic, and clears from the body.
                  if the compounds become stored in fat, exposure to the body becomes long-term and yeah, can result in birth defects and cancers and who knows what else (depends on the compound). but w/ methyl salicylate and similar compounds, my first concern is the liver. too much in the blood = too much in the liver, and if you toxify your liver you're pretty much effed. modified to add: methyl salicylate is aspirin, which i do think people should be more careful with in general-- but it's naturally derived from wintergreen oil, which a lot of people don't know. but this is why ben-gay and icy hot, etc smell very similarly-- they're hearkening back to the wintergreen thing. so, anything that contains natural wintergreen oil or flavor, use in moderation-- if it's not a synthetic flavor or scent, it will definitely contain methyl salicylate, and too much can, as this sad situation w/ this girl proves, harm and even kill you.