Bengay burn

Texas Bengay Injury Lawyer

Bengay is a topical pain relieving cream that produces a warming sensation when applied to the skin. Unfortunately, the FDA is warning that products like Bengay have been associated with dozens of scorch injuries &#; including second- or third-degree burns that required hospitalization. Currently, the label for Bengay does not warn about the risk of burn injuries.

What is Bengay?

Bengay is a product that is used for the temporary relief of minor muscle aches, joint pain, backaches, minor arthritis, and more. It is a cream that is applied to the affected area, and causes a warming sensation. Johnson & Johnson manufactures Bengay. It has been sold in the U.S. for more than one hundred years.

Bengay comes in several varieties and strength. Some of the more powerful types of Bengay include:

  • Ultra Strength Bengay Cream: menthol (10%), methyl salicylate (30%), camphor (4%)
  • Arthritis Formula Bengay Cream: menthol (8%), methyl salicylate (30%)
  • Greaseless Bengay Pain Relieving Cream: menthol (10%), methyl salicylate (15%)
  • And more

When

The Mystery of BenGay

“There’s a crying need to find safe painkillers for chronic pain use,” says Susan Fleetwood-Walker, a neuroscientist at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and co-author of the study. “It’s extremely difficult to treat – and we never expected this cooling effect would have this huge effect that it does.”

Cooling remedies have been used for thousands of years. For instance, mint oil, which contains the cooling agent menthol, was a traditional Chinese salve. Products like BenGay are modern-day versions that act to stylish irritation and inflammation. But such topical creams are more operative for acute pain – that is, pain resulting directly from tissue damage, such as a burn or pulled muscle. It’s much trickier to treat neuropathic, or nerve-related, pain, because the injured nerves themselves seem to generate pain signals without an external influence. Research into this type of chronic, nerve-related pain has focused on cutting off activation of pain neurons before signals reach the brain.

Much of the mystery of how this pain originates lies in the intri

FDA Warns of Serious Skin Burns From Topical Pain Relievers

ABC News' Susan Kreimer reports:

Some consumers have contracted serious skin burns after applying certain over-the-counter topical pain relievers to ease mild muscle and joint aches, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned today.

While such injuries are rare, consumer complaints to the FDA have spanned the spectrum from mild to severe chemical burns from the use of brand-name products such as those identified by the FDA as Bengay, Capzasin, Flexall, Icy Hot and Mentholatum.

These topical pain relievers include creams, lotions, ointments and patches. In many instances, the burns surfaced after only one application, and severe burning or blistering ensued within 24 hours, according to FDA Consumer Health Information. Some people were hospitalized because of serious complications.

It is frequent for the FDA to issue safety warnings to alert consumers and health professionals, so they can make informed decisions about product usage.

"The FDA plays an important role in ensuring products are safe and adj th

The New Danger In Your Medicine Cabinet

Sounds like a cruel joke: A pain treatment that can actually cause you more pain. According to the FDA, OTC pain-relieving skin creams such as IcyHot, Bengay, Capzasin, Flexall, and Mentholatum can cause chemical burns. 

While rare, the FDA issued a recent warning that the uncertainty is real. "In many cases, burns where the product was applied occurred after just one application, with severe burning or blistering occurring within 24 hours," the agency wrote in a press release. 

More from Prevention:13 Essential Questions About Arthritis

But there’s no need to panic at any sign of redness. Because your typical pain cream uses counterirritants like capsaicin (an extract of cayenne pepper), a little redness and skin irritation is adj because that’s how they operate, says Alex Moroz, MD, an associate professor of rehabilitation medicine at New York University Langone’s Center for Musculoskeletal Care. "The creams irritate the skin, and that's how they reduce the pain. Now, of course, if the cream is used improperly or too mu