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

analgesic An analgesic drug, also called simply an analgesic, antalgic, pain reliever, or painkiller, is any member of the group of drugs used for pain management. Analgesics are conceptually distinct from anesthetics, which temporarily reduce, and in s ...

heat rub for temporary relief from muscle and joint pain associated with

arthritis Arthritis is a general medical term used to describe a disorder that affects joints. Symptoms generally include joint pain and stiffness. Other symptoms may include redness, warmth, Joint effusion, swelling, and decreased range of motion of ...

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 c ...

s, simple backaches, overuse,

sprain A sprain is a soft tissue injury of the ligaments within a joint, often caused by a sudden movement abruptly forcing the joint to exceed its functional range of motion. Ligaments are tough, inelastic fibers made of collagen that connect two or ...

s and strains.

Overview

Bengay was developed in France by Dr.

Jules Bengué Jules is the French form of the Latin "Julius" (e.g. Jules César, the French name for Julius Caesar). In the anglosphere, it is also used for females although it is still a predominantly masculine name.One of the few notable examples of a femal ...

() and brought to

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

in 1898. The name Bengué was

Anglicized Anglicisation or anglicization is a form of cultural assimilation whereby something non-English becomes assimilated into or influenced by the culture of England. It can be sociocultural, in which a non-English place adopts the English language ...

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

Pfizer Pfizer Inc. ( ) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Pharmaceutical industry, pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation headquartered at The Spiral (New York City), The Spiral in Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 184 ...

Consumer Healthcare, which was acquired by

Johnson & Johnson Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is an American multinational pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical technologies corporation headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Its common stock is a c ...

. 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. It was founded in 1899 as ''The Technology Review'', and was re-launched without "''The''" in its name on April 23, 1998, under then pu ...

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

neuron A neuron (American English), neurone (British English), or nerve cell, is an membrane potential#Cell excitability, excitable cell (biology), cell that fires electric signals called action potentials across a neural network (biology), neural net ...

receptor

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, Capzasin and Icy Hot, variously contain

menthol Menthol is an organic compound, specifically a Monoterpene, monoterpenoid, that occurs naturally in the oils of several plants in the Mentha, mint family, such as Mentha arvensis, corn mint and peppermint. It is a white or clear waxy crystallin ...

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 (in which it ...

(oil of wintergreen), and

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

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 m ...

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; however it's an extreme rarity. In June 2007, a teenage athlete in New York 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%

. * ''Bengay: Muscle Pain/Ultra Strength'' – 30% methyl salicylate, 10% menthol, and 4%

camphor Camphor () is a waxy, colorless solid with a strong aroma. It is classified as a terpenoid and a cyclic ketone. It is found in the wood of the camphor laurel (''Cinnamomum camphora''), a large evergreen tree found in East Asia; and in the kapu ...

. * ''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 tex ...

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

References

External links

*
Product information

DailyMed DailyMed is a website operated by the United States National Library of Medicine, U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM) to publish up-to-date and accurate drug labels (also called a "package insert") to health care providers and the general publ ...

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. I ...

.
BenGay Topical

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. {{Authority control Ointments Drugs developed by Johnson & Johnson Products introduced in 1898