FDA Alert: Don't Numb Yourself to Death

First came the recent news that beauty products made with lavender or tea tree oil could feminize boys and leave them with big breasts. Now, the Food & Drug Administration is warning that numbing creams could kill you:

A 22-year-oldwoman and a 25-year-old woman who applied numbing creams after laserhair removal on their legs later died, the agency said

After theprocedure, "these women then wrapped their legs in plastic wrap, asthey were instructed, to increase the creams' numbing effect. Bothwomen had seizures, fell into comas, and subsequently died from thetoxic effects of the anesthetic drugs," the FDA said.

It's not clear from the story how the creams can kill. I wonder if they seep into the body somehow? (There's probably no connection, but that's how underground "pumping parties" can kill people when they get silicone injections.)

Overuse of skin numbing creams can cause death, FDA says [CNN]