Bengay, spelled Ben-Gay before 1995, is a topical

analgesic An analgesic drug, also called simply an analgesic (American English), analgaesic (British English), pain reliever, or painkiller, is any member of the group of drugs used to achieve relief from pain (that is, analgesia or pain management). It ...

heat rub Liniment (from la, linere, meaning "to anoint"), also called embrocation and heat rub, is a medicated topical preparation for application to the skin. Some liniments have viscosity similar to that of water; others are lotion or balm; still other ...

for temporary relief from muscle and joint pain associated with arthritis,

bruise A bruise, also known as a contusion, is a type of hematoma of tissue, the most common cause being capillaries damaged by trauma, causing localized bleeding that extravasates into the surrounding interstitial tissues. Most bruises occur close ...

s, simple

backache Back pain is pain felt in the back. It may be classified as neck pain (cervical), middle back pain (thoracic), lower back pain (lumbar) or coccydynia (tailbone or sacral pain) based on the segment affected. The lumbar area is the most common ...

s, overuse, sprains and strains.

Overview

Bengay was developed in France by Dr. Jules Bengué () and brought to America in 1898. The name Bengué was

Anglicized Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influenc ...

and commercialized to Ben-Gay (later Bengay). It was originally produced by

Pfizer Pfizer Inc. ( ) is an American multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation headquartered on 42nd Street in Manhattan, New York City. The company was established in 1849 in New York by two German entrepreneurs, Charles Pfizer ...

Consumer Healthcare, which was acquired by Johnson & Johnson. The product is advised to be used topically for adults and children 12 years of age and older, and no more than 3 to 4 times daily. The manufacturer recommends storing it between . According to a study published by

MIT Technology Review ''MIT Technology Review'' is a bimonthly magazine wholly owned by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and editorially independent of the university. It was founded in 1899 as ''The Technology Review'', and was re-launched without "The" in ...

, the exact mechanism of its efficacy is not known. However, evidence indicates that it activates a

neuron A neuron, neurone, or nerve cell is an electrically excitable cell that communicates with other cells via specialized connections called synapses. The neuron is the main component of nervous tissue in all animals except sponges and placozoa. N ...

named

TRPM8 Transient receptor potential cation channel subfamily M (melastatin) member 8 (TRPM8), also known as the cold and menthol receptor 1 (CMR1), is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''TRPM8'' gene. The TRPM8 channel is the primary molecular ...

, which appears to keep minor pain signals in the brain from communicating with the spine.

Hazards

Bengay and similar products, such as Flexall,

Mentholatum The Mentholatum Company, Inc. is a maker of non-prescription health care products founded in 1889 by Albert Alexander Hyde in the United States. It was bought out by Rohto Pharmaceutical Co., a Japanese health care company, in 1988. The Ment ...

Capzasin Capsaicin (8-methyl-''N''-vanillyl-6-nonenamide) ( or ) is an active component of chili peppers, which are plants belonging to the genus ''Capsicum''. It is a chemical Irritation, irritant for mammals, including humans, and produces a sensation ...

and

Icy Hot Icy commonly refers to conditions involving ice, a frozen state, usually referring to frozen water. Icy or Icey may also refer to: People * Icy Spicy Leoncie, an Icelandic-Indian musician Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ICY (band), a vocal ...

, variously contain menthol,

methyl salicylate Methyl salicylate (oil of wintergreen or wintergreen oil) is an organic compound with the formula C8H8O3. It is the methyl ester of salicylic acid. It is a colorless, viscous liquid with a sweet, fruity odor reminiscent of root beer, but often a ...

(oil of wintergreen), and

capsaicin Capsaicin (8-methyl-''N''-vanillyl-6-nonenamide) ( or ) is an active component of chili peppers, which are plants belonging to the genus ''Capsicum''. It is a chemical irritant for mammals, including humans, and produces a sensation of burnin ...

as active ingredients and have a potential to cause first-to-third-degree

chemical burn A chemical burn occurs when living tissue is exposed to a corrosive substance (such as a strong acid, base or oxidizer) or a cytotoxic agent (such as mustard gas, lewisite or arsine). Chemical burns follow standard burn classification and may c ...

s. Some people have been hospitalized after receiving such burns. Methyl salicylate can also be toxic when excessively large doses many multiples of the recommended amount are administered, a rarity. In October 2007 in the United States, a teenage athlete overdosed and died from overexposure to methyl salicylate, having "more than six times the safe amount of the ingredient in her body."

Active ingredients

Active ingredients vary by product version, including: * ''Bengay: Original'' – 18.3%

and 16% menthol. * ''Bengay: Muscle Pain/Ultra Strength'' – 30% methyl salicylate, 10% menthol, and 4% camphor. * ''Bengay: Ice Extra Strength'' – 10% menthol. * ''Bengay: Muscle Pain/No Odor'' – 15% triethanolamine salicylate. * ''Bengay: Arthritis Extra Strength'' – 30% methyl salicylate and 8% menthol.

Other uses

Bengay can be used to remove

chewing gum Chewing gum is a soft, cohesive substance designed to be chewed without being swallowed. Modern chewing gum is composed of gum base, sweeteners, softeners/ plasticizers, flavors, colors, and, typically, a hard or powdered polyol coating. Its t ...

from clothing, as the methyl salicylate serves to loosen and diffuse the gum base.

References

External links

*
Product information

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United States National Library of Medicine The United States National Library of Medicine (NLM), operated by the United States federal government, is the world's largest medical library. Located in Bethesda, Maryland, the NLM is an institute within the National Institutes of Health. Its ...

.
BenGay Topical

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. {{Authority control Ointments Johnson & Johnson brands Products introduced in 1898