OTC dangers

Just because a drug is sold over the counter doesn't mean it's perfectly safe. Unfortunately not everyone knows that and the results can be tragic. The USA Today has an unfortunate example of the death of a 17-year-old  runner from  using too much muscle cream.

"Chronic use is more dangerous than one-time use," Edward Arsura, chairman of medicine at Richmond University Medical Center, told the Staten Island Advance on Friday. "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."