Drug · FAERS side-effect profile with label screen

Menthol and Methyl Salicylate side effects: what 661 FDA adverse event reports show

Menthol And Methyl Salicylate · 16 reaction terms · 333 drug–reaction co-reports · data 2026-09-14

Drug class

Not stated in label

Label matched

Menthol (Biofreeze)

closest FDA label found for this product string; brand list suppressed because the label is a related product, not an exact match

Who reports

661 reports · 37% serious · 11 with death outcome · 69% female

openFDA FAERS counts, all years, deduplication not applied

Used for

Temporary relief from minor aches and pains of sore muscles and joints associated with: arthritis backache strains and sprains

FDA label, Indications and Usage

Boxed warning

None in the current label

How to read this page. FAERS is a spontaneous-reporting system: counts are not incidence rates and a signal is not proof of causation. Each reaction below is run through an automated screen — is the term in the FDA label (known), in the indications (the disease being treated), an administrative/coding term, or none of these (unlabeled)? That screen is mechanical text matching, not a causality assessment. The 30 hand-written Bradford Hill assessments are on the causality assessment page. Not medical advice.

Causality screen of the 11 strongest signals

Reporting / coding artifact 2No label text to screen 9

What the badges mean

Reporting / coding artifact An administrative, monitoring or exposure term (product issue, off-label use, 'test normal', overdose...). Not a biological reaction; a high PRR here reflects how reports are coded.
Not in label — unassessed Not found in the label text, not an artifact pattern. This is a genuine candidate for a formal causality assessment (Bradford Hill / WHO-UMC); it has NOT had one here.
No label text to screen No validated FDA label was retrievable for this product, so the screen could not run. Disproportionality only.

Strongest disproportionality signals

Flagged terms (PRR ≥ 2, χ² ≥ 4, n ≥ 10), ranked by PRR; infinite PRRs (no comparator reports) excluded. The EBGM column is a second, shrinkage-based estimate (MGPS) with its 5th percentile EB05 and the BCPNN IC025; a pair flagged by PRR alone is marked PRR-only and should be read as fragile. The strata column recomputes the PRR on serious reports only and flags pairs whose reports are unusually skewed by sex or come mostly from consumers rather than clinicians. 5 further terms are in the interactive explorer. Reaction links open the term's cross-drug page.

Show: hide coding/lab/outcome terms hide indication terms unlabeled only hide PRR-only

Reaction	Reports	PRR 95% CI · ROR · χ²/p	EBGM EB05 · IC025	Label screen	Serious-only & strata	Trial cross-check
Application site pain	40	57.6 42.7–77.9ROR 61.3 · χ² 2,169 / p <1e-300	56.1 EB05 43.0 · IC025 +4.6 3/3 methods agree	No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text	serious n=22 · 97% consumer	no trial data cached
Application site erythema	24	28.9 19.5–42.8ROR 30.0 · χ² 619 / p 5e-137	28.3 EB05 20.0 · IC025 +3.5 3/3 methods agree	No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text	serious n=16	no trial data cached
Scab	10	28.0 15.1–51.7ROR 28.4 · χ² 234 / p 5e-53	26.5 EB05 15.2 · IC025 +2.5 3/3 methods agree	No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text	serious n=8	no trial data cached
Infusion site pain	10	24.8 13.4–45.9ROR 25.2 · χ² 205 / p 7e-47	23.6 EB05 13.3 · IC025 +2.5 3/3 methods agree	No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text	serious n=3	no trial data cached
No adverse event	120	21.4 18.2–25.2ROR 26.0 · χ² 2,337 / p <1e-300	21.4 EB05 18.3 · IC025 +4.0 3/3 methods agree	Reporting / coding artifact	serious PRR 9.1 · 98% consumer	no trial data cached
Scar	11	20.3 11.3–36.5ROR 20.6 · χ² 183 / p 5e-42	19.3 EB05 10.8 · IC025 +2.4 3/3 methods agree	No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text	serious PRR 48.1	no trial data cached
Product administered at inappropriate site	11	19.2 10.7–34.5ROR 19.5 · χ² 172 / p 1e-39	18.1 EB05 10.0 · IC025 +2.4 3/3 methods agree	Reporting / coding artifact	–	no trial data cached
Blister	33	18.7 13.4–26.0ROR 19.6 · χ² 535 / p 1e-118	18.4 EB05 13.7 · IC025 +3.3 3/3 methods agree	No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text	serious PRR 41.9 · 93% consumer	no trial data cached
Burning sensation	27	12.2 8.4–17.7ROR 12.7 · χ² 267 / p 2e-60	11.6 EB05 8.1 · IC025 +2.7 3/3 methods agree	No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text	serious PRR 15.3 · 96% consumer	no trial data cached
Skin burning sensation	24	10.7 7.2–15.8ROR 11.1 · χ² 202 / p 4e-46	9.9 EB05 6.7 · IC025 +2.5 3/3 methods agree	No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text	serious PRR 47.8 · 100% consumer	no trial data cached
Drug effective for unapproved indication	6	6.5 2.9–14.4ROR 6.6 · χ² 23 / p 9e-7	4.6 EB05 2.3 · IC025 +0.8 3/3 methods agree	No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text	–	no trial data cached

Trial evidence (ClinicalTrials.gov)

Trial cross-check not yet run for this drug (ClinicalTrials.gov pull covers the 800 most-reported drugs first).

Most frequently reported reactions

By raw co-report count, regardless of disproportionality. Common terms here are often the illness itself or generic outcomes.

Reaction	Reports	PRR 95% CI · ROR · χ²/p	EBGM EB05 · IC025	Label screen	Serious-only & strata	Trial cross-check
No adverse event	120	21.4 18.2–25.2ROR 26.0 · χ² 2,337 / p <1e-300	21.4 EB05 18.3 · IC025 +4.0 3/3 methods agree	Reporting / coding artifact	serious PRR 9.1 · 98% consumer	no trial data cached
Application site pain	40	57.6 42.7–77.9ROR 61.3 · χ² 2,169 / p <1e-300	56.1 EB05 43.0 · IC025 +4.6 3/3 methods agree	No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text	serious n=22 · 97% consumer	no trial data cached
Blister	33	18.7 13.4–26.0ROR 19.6 · χ² 535 / p 1e-118	18.4 EB05 13.7 · IC025 +3.3 3/3 methods agree	No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text	serious PRR 41.9 · 93% consumer	no trial data cached
Burning sensation	27	12.2 8.4–17.7ROR 12.7 · χ² 267 / p 2e-60	11.6 EB05 8.1 · IC025 +2.7 3/3 methods agree	No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text	serious PRR 15.3 · 96% consumer	no trial data cached
Skin burning sensation	24	10.7 7.2–15.8ROR 11.1 · χ² 202 / p 4e-46	9.9 EB05 6.7 · IC025 +2.5 3/3 methods agree	No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text	serious PRR 47.8 · 100% consumer	no trial data cached
Application site erythema	24	28.9 19.5–42.8ROR 30.0 · χ² 619 / p 5e-137	28.3 EB05 20.0 · IC025 +3.5 3/3 methods agree	No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text	serious n=16	no trial data cached
Product administered at inappropriate site	11	19.2 10.7–34.5ROR 19.5 · χ² 172 / p 1e-39	18.1 EB05 10.0 · IC025 +2.4 3/3 methods agree	Reporting / coding artifact	–	no trial data cached
Scar	11	20.3 11.3–36.5ROR 20.6 · χ² 183 / p 5e-42	19.3 EB05 10.8 · IC025 +2.4 3/3 methods agree	No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text	serious PRR 48.1	no trial data cached
Infusion site pain	10	24.8 13.4–45.9ROR 25.2 · χ² 205 / p 7e-47	23.6 EB05 13.3 · IC025 +2.5 3/3 methods agree	No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text	serious n=3	no trial data cached
Scab	10	28.0 15.1–51.7ROR 28.4 · χ² 234 / p 5e-53	26.5 EB05 15.2 · IC025 +2.5 3/3 methods agree	No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text	serious n=8	no trial data cached
Drug effective for unapproved indication	6	6.5 2.9–14.4ROR 6.6 · χ² 23 / p 9e-7	4.6 EB05 2.3 · IC025 +0.8 3/3 methods agree	No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text	–	no trial data cached
Product adhesion issue	4	3.6 1.3–9.5ROR 3.6 · χ² 5 / p 0.012	2.8 EB05 1.2 · IC025 -0.3 PRR-only: not supported by EBGM or IC	Reporting / coding artifact	–	no trial data cached
Application site pruritus	4	5.6 2.1–14.8ROR 5.6 · χ² 11 / p 5e-4	3.7 EB05 1.6 · IC025 +0.1	No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text	serious n=3	no trial data cached
Application site irritation	3	7.6 2.5–23.6ROR 7.7 · χ² 11 / p 4e-4	4.2 EB05 1.6 · IC025 -0.1 PRR-only: not supported by EBGM or IC	No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text	serious n=3	no trial data cached
Drug administered at inappropriate site	3	8.9 2.9–27.5ROR 8.9 · χ² 14 / p 1e-4	4.6 EB05 1.7 · IC025 -0.0 PRR-only: not supported by EBGM or IC	No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text	serious n=1	no trial data cached

Unlabeled candidate signals

Every screened signal with n ≥ 20 was either labeled, an indication term, or an artifact pattern — no unlabeled candidate stood out in the top signals.

Want to assess one of these properly? The runbook describes the Bradford Hill / trial-evidence workflow used on the assessment page, and handoff_top1000_signals.csv lists the strongest unassessed pairs across all drugs.

Common questions

What are the most reported side effects of Menthol and Methyl Salicylate?

In FDA FAERS, the most frequently co-reported reaction terms for Menthol and Methyl Salicylate are application site pain, blister, burning sensation, skin burning sensation, application site erythema, scar. These are report counts, not rates: FAERS has no denominator, reporting is voluntary and uneven, and a term can be reported because of the illness being treated rather than the drug.

Does Menthol and Methyl Salicylate have an FDA boxed warning?

No. The FDA label retrieved for Menthol and Methyl Salicylate has no boxed warning; see the label's Warnings and Precautions for the recognised risks.

Do FAERS signals prove that Menthol and Methyl Salicylate causes these side effects?

No. A disproportionality signal (PRR, ROR) means a reaction is reported more often with this drug than with others in the database. That can reflect a real effect, but also the disease being treated, stimulated reporting after news or litigation, co-medications, or how reports are coded. Causality needs temporality, dose-response, biological plausibility, consistency across data sources and, ideally, trial or cohort evidence. This page screens each term against the FDA label and ClinicalTrials.gov results; it does not establish causation.

Sources & methods

FDA label via openFDA (set ID 00bb462a-27d0-6f74-e063-6394a90a90ec, effective 20260513; matched on openfda.generic_name.exact:"MENTHOL")
Bayesian shrinkage measures computed offline over all 1,317,300 cached pairs: BCPNN information component (IC, with Norén closed-form IC025) and MGPS empirical-Bayes geometric mean (EBGM, EB05) with a two-component gamma prior fitted by maximum marginal likelihood (α₁=0.57, β₁=0.02, α₂=1.42, β₂=0.70, w=0.17); unstratified
FAERS pair statistics from the OpenPV build of 2026-09-14 (openFDA count= aggregation, field patient.drug.openfda.generic_name.exact, 16 reaction terms, min 3 co-reports); PRR/ROR with 95% CI, chi-square with Yates correction
Serious-only and stratified counts (serious:1, patient.patientsex, primarysource.qualification) from openFDA count queries; serious-only PRR uses the drug serious report total and the term global serious total (N_serious=11,882,979); strata shown only when n ≥ 20
Seriousness and sex counts from openFDA count=serious, patient.patientsex, seriousnessdeath

Page generated 2026-10-08. Label and PubChem text are retrieved automatically and may lag the current label; always check the current prescribing information. OpenPV is a beta research tool of the Open Source Medicine Foundation.