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[tinyzombie]

Hi all,

I tried some of my local drugstore's generic pain relief cream (which I used for sore muscles), and that s*** hurts. The first time I tried it, I didn't notice any reddening of the skin, but just now, the places I put it are bright red and burning like, well, hell. The active ingredients are camphor (4%), menthol (10%), and methyl salicylate (30%).

Has anyone else ever experienced this? I suppose I could have sensitive skin, but I've never had a reaction like this to anything before. Might I be allergic to one of the active ingredients?

TZ, who doesn't appreciate the irony and is too burny to recall if she used the term correctly

[hegemony]

How often have you used this cream before?

[tinyzombie]

This is the third time. One of those was this morning - so maybe the span of only a few hours between applications was part of it?

TZ, much less burny now

[hegemony]

If I remember correctly, isn't the whole mechanism of some of these creams that they give you a burny feeling (which the ads call "heat") which distracts you from the internal achy feeling?  In which case, my guess is that putting the cream on twice in one day is too much of a good thing.  (And/or that you have a sensitivity.)  Did you retain the piece of paper with the umpteen side effects spelled out in tiny type?

[midtownlabgeek]

I'd guess it's the methyl salicylate, that's the ingredient that gives the "heat" - and 30% sounds fairly high. I had a student last fall who splashed a little of it on her arm (pure methyl salicylate, not pain cream) in lab and showed some sensitivity (skin irritation only, no systemic reaction). 

Apparently not all pain rubs contain MS.  You might check for one that doesn't have it.  Capsaicin products would also give the "warming" sensation.

[tinyzombie]

Thanks for the replies, both of you! I stupidly threw out the box, so I can't read the teeny print. I do hope burning was on there.

I've used a generic pain cream before, and now I'm interested to check the ingredients - I'll bet it didn't have MS in it.

TZ, better (and relieved) now

[dellaroux]

Look up the product's maker's website, you should be able to pull up all the relevant documentation on that as well; whatever goes in the box usually goes on the website as well these days.

[biomancer]

I'd guess it's the methyl salicylate, that's the ingredient that gives the "heat" - and 30% sounds fairly high. I had a student last fall who splashed a little of it on her arm (pure methyl salicylate, not pain cream) in lab and showed some sensitivity (skin irritation only, no systemic reaction). 

Apparently not all pain rubs contain MS.  You might check for one that doesn't have it.  Capsaicin products would also give the "warming" sensation.

Menthol in high concentrations can burn too.  I used to use the "icy-hot" type products a lot when I was younger, as it did help with the pulled and tight muscles I got from karate practice and swim practice.  I seem to recall that it burns like hell on freshly shaved skin or any scrapes, but that if the skin wasn't irritated to begin with, most of the time it went on just fine.

Also, did you put this on right after a shower?  If you put this on when your pores are still open from a hot shower or bath, it will sting more.  If you wait ten or fifteen minutes for your pores to close it shouldn't hurt as much.