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Sports-cream toxicity killed track athlete
By PETER N. SPENCER and TIM VASSILAKOS
Newhouse News Service
NEW YORK — 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 such as 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 her sudden death might have been connected to a party she attended the night before. "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 topical salicylate poisoning appear to be extremely rare. Borakove said this was the first case she has encountered in 20 years with the medical examiner's office. None of the doctors contacted 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.
Alice Newman said her daughter had been using a teammate's Ultra Strength BenGay and possibly other topical analgesics on her legs this year to help her recover between track meets.
"She told me her legs felt like cement," her mother said. "She was working so hard to turn her season around."
Even with repeated use, however, it is unclear how the extremely high levels of the substance remained in her body.
Dr. Kristen Roman of the medical examiner's office told Alice Newman the toxicology report revealed more than six times the safe amount of methyl salicylate in her daughter's blood.
Alice Newman said she took her daughter to several doctors after she complained of fatigue and shortness of breath in February and March. An asthma specialist prescribed an inhaler, and a dermatologist prescribed cream for a skin condition.
