Numbing gels may *seem* like a good idea but….
January 17, 2009 by Marijke Durning, RN
Filed under Diseases & Conditions
Hold off on using that numbing gel unless you really need it, say experts.
Numbing gels have become quite popular. They’re used to numb the skin before having an intravenous inserted, to numb areas of the skin before a more thorough anesthetic is injected, or even for procedures like mammographies.
The way to apply these gels is to put some of the gel on the area to be numbed and then cover the gel and area with a plastic wrap to seal the gel in. This wrap is to stay on for a while as the gel is absorbed. While this is ok (for most people) over small areas, the recommendations to do this for a mammogram is not such a good idea, says the FDA.
According to reports, two women who used this numbing gel, lidocaine, before laser hair removal died as a result. Use of lidocaine over such large body parts and sealing it in can cause the lidocaine to be absorbed into the blood stream, when it can cause serious problems such as irregular heart beats, seizures, difficulty breathing, coma, and death.
Recently, a study published in the journal Radiology recommended that women who fear pain or discomfort from mammograms use the gel on the breasts and then covering them with plastic. The FDA responded by issuing its second health advisory warning about the practice.
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Tags: pain blog, mammographies, numbing gel, lidocaine
Wow, thanks for that warning. I find mammograms very painful (at least I did until I cut out all caffeine for 3 days leading up to one and taking a Tylenol ahead of time). I’ve also had localized reactions to small amounts of injected lidocaine/xylocaine. And I suffer from several arrhythmias (all benign). So I suspect I’d be one of those women at high risk of complications if I’d tried this. Now I know to avoid that advice completely.
You know, it never occurred to me that people would do that and then it never occurred to me that it could be harmful.
Thanks for letting me know that something I’ve written makes a real difference!
Wow this is crazy news that people have in fact died from these creams, thanks for the interesting post.
I’ve heard of the numbing gels, but was never aware that it was recommended to cover the area with plastic wrap. I’ve never used a numbing gel, but that’s not to say I never would.
Scary, that two people have died from using the gel and plastic wrap on large areas. Thanks for making us all more aware of the things that can go wrong when medications are not used properly.
Miss Oxygen and Karen – thanks for weighing in. I’m glad that this post has piqued some interest.