Roamer's Zone

Toxic dose of BenGay killed track star (Atlanta Journal Constitution.com)
Active ingredient accumulated in teen's blood stream

A 17-year-old track star died in April from a rare toxic dose of sports cream, New York's medical examiner said Friday.

Toxicology tests revealed Arielle Newman's blood contained lethal amounts of methyl salicylate, the active ingredient in common muscle rubs like BenGay and Icy Hot, said Ellen Borakove, spokeswoman for the medical examiner's office. The teen accidentally used "topical medication to an excess," causing poisons to accumulate in her body over an undetermined amount of time, Borakove said.

The overdose likely led to a seizure.

Arielle, a senior at Notre Dame Academy on Staten Island who garnered numerous awards in her brief athletic career, was found dead at home April 3. An autopsy was inconclusive, and led to speculation that her sudden death might have been connected to a party she attended the night before.

Her family had been waiting more than two months for the medical examiner's office to reach a final conclusion.

"I am glad this shows (Arielle) didn't die of her own doing. But this is a tragedy that could have been avoided," said her mother, Alice Newman.

Deaths from the topical salicylate poisoning appear to be extremely rare. Borakove said this was the first case she has ever encountered in 20 years with the medical examiner's office. None of the doctors contacted by reporters for this article could recall any others. Research into medical journals revealed a few reports of salicylate toxicity when absorbed through the skin, but no deaths.

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I took these two shots from my window with my phone the other day and on the setting 'negative.' I thought it created a really neat effect. The screen appeared very swirly and distorted and the whole thing felt surreal.

I decided to decorate some envelopes tonight and burn out some of my artistic energy in the process. I want to paint a picture SO BAD, but we have been getting new carpet put in the house and its been a nightmare to do anything freely. So I settled for these until next week. I drew the figures and then glued them on to the envelopes later. I am going to use them when I send thank you notes and little 'hello' notes to my friends.

Envelope # 1
Envelope # 2