KEY POINTS:
A teenage American track star died after excessive use of muscle relaxing cream, the New York medical examiner's office said last week.
Arielle Newman, a 17-year-old cross country runner from Notre Dame Academy on Staten Island suffered pains in her legs from her demanding training schedule.
She used large amounts of muscle cream for relief, which contained the ingredient methyl salicylate.
The medical examiner's office said the runner died from an accidental overdose of the substance, often found in products like Tiger Balm, BenGay and Icy Hot.
Authorities said that it was the first death of its kind recorded in the city.
Experts say that methyl salicylate, which is also known as oil of wintergreen, is a common poison, that in moderate cases causes sweating, vomiting, tinnitus and blurred vision.
But in severe cases like Newman's, the poisoning would have had a massive effect on the central nervous system, causing tremors and fits, before leading to coma and respiratory depression. Death, however, is considered incredibly rare, except in cases where children directly swallowed the substance, according to poisons experts.
Millions of runners and other athletes use liniment-type products like Tiger Balm, and since the teen's death, there have been calls for clearer warnings about the risks of using muscle relaxing creams and liniments.
- NZ HERALD STAFF
