Warnings about Birch and Wintergreen Essential oils.
Wintergreen and Sweet Birch have been used for years as pain relief for general aches and pains and in particular, arthritis and rheumatism. Safety conscious people in the Aromatherapy Community have been warning people about the dangers of using these oils and have been ignored. Below find two notes about this particular article from two prominent and outspoken individuals who have for several years been speaking out against the use of Wintergreen and Birch Essential oils.
From Butch Owen of Appalachian Valley Essential Oil Company:
"I've been writing on this for 7-8 years now but many don't
want to
hear the message because Wintergreen and Sweet Birch (Methyl
salicylate) and all of the commercial preparations DO WORK .. but even
when death does NOT occur .. there is often permanent liver damage
from routine usage of arthritis and rheumatism over the counter
medications. Even the meds have a warning on them to not use for more
than 5 or 7 days or so and if problems persist one should contact
their doctor. Problem is .. Methyl salicylate DOES WORK and folks who
use those preparations use them for Chronic problems .. so they are
NOT going to stop when they are getting relief .. BigPharm knows this
but the law protects those greedy b*stards if they put that useless
warning on the package."
From Martin Watt of Aromamedical.com
Here's something I have been posting on
groups for years.
Wintergreen is not a genuine essential oil. Methyl salicylate is not
present in the living tissues of the plants from which it is
extracted, but instead is the result of enzymatic hydrolysis occurring
during the processing of the plant materials. Therefore, it should be
considered as being 'naturally derived' in the same manner as are the
chemicals extracted from coal or crude oil. Any suppliers who claim
their oil is "natural" are stretching the meaning of the term way
beyond what most people accept.
Wintergreen and birch even if genuine (most are not) consists mainly
of the chemical methyl salicylate.
Methyl salicylate can be useful for pain relief from rheumatic and
arthritic conditions as once absorbed it is changed by the body into
salicylic acid. However, its use does require a good deal of care and
expertise, which the average aromatherapist is NOT TRAINED FOR.
Neither are most makers of cottage industry cosmetics. It should
never be applied all over the body in general massage, but should be
reserved for treating painful areas.
Methyl salicylate is believed to be readily absorbed through human
skin and can result in dangerously high blood levels of salicylic
acid. There is some indication that this can result in fetal
abnormalities, reduced survival rates and reduced growth rates. Due
to this it should never be used on women of child-bearing age, and
therapist's need to be most cautious about not absorbing too much
themselves.
Parts of birch trees have been used in traditional medicine for
hundreds of years, but the extracted oil/chemical is a relatively
modern development.
The sale of Wintergreen (methyl salicylate) in the USA is common, yet
it is also commonly sold in illegally labeled containers, or in
larger volumes than the law dictates. In 2006 the Office of Consumer
Protection started to enforce the law on a few suppliers, but many
continue to sell these materials without proper warnings. Several
manufacturers of anti arthritic type creams do not give proper
warnings on the extreme dangers of misusing the synthetic chemical
methyl salicylate.
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NEW YORK (AP) -- A medical examiner blamed a 17-year-old track
star's
death on the use of too much muscle cream, the kind used to soothe
aching legs after exercise.
Arielle Newman, a cross-country runner at Notre Dame Academy on Staten
Island, died after her body absorbed high levels of methyl salicylate,
an anti-inflammatory found in sports creams such as Bengay and Icy
Hot, the New York City medical examiner said Friday.
The medical examiner's spokeswoman, Ellen Borakove, said the teen used
"topical medication to excess." She said it was the first time that
her office had reported a death from using a sports cream.
Newman, who garnered numerous track awards, died April 13. She had
gone to a party the night before, then returned home and spent hours
talking with her mother.
Methyl salicylate poisoning is unusual, and deaths from high levels of
the chemical are rare.
"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."
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press . All rights reserved.