What to Know About Numbing Cream—PART 1

Numbing cream is a topical anesthetic or local anesthetic that is “used to numb the surface of a body part” to reduce or dull the sensation of pain.

The cream is widely used for the processes causing pain or discomfort, including tattooing, piercing, waxing, laser treatment and surgical incisions. In simple words, it dulls the skin so that you feel less or no pain during these processes.

It is obvious that you want to buy a numbing cream for a painless tattooing, piercing or surgical incisions. However, being a savvy buyer, it is important to ponder over the things like…

• How a numbing cream works?
• What are the best numbing cream types?
• What are the side effects and precautions?
• How to use a numbing cream?

Here we have come up with everything you should know about a numbing cream.

How Does a Numbing Cream Work?

Numbing cream includes a combination of substances that cause numbness in the skin. They work by blocking the nerve endings (pain receptors), which are responsible for sending pain signals to the brain. One of those substances is lidocaine, which is a local anesthetic with analgesic, sedative, and cardiac depressant properties. This is how pain is minimized by a numbing cream.

Where the Cream is applied to?

From tattooing, piercing, waxing, laser treatments to surgical incisions, numbing cream can be used in a range of processes causing pain and discomfort.

Apart from using on the skin, topical anesthetic as eye drop is used to numb the surface of eye perform treatment or remove the foreign objects from the uppermost layer of the cornea or conjunctiva. In dentistry, numbing cream is used to dull the oral tissues before operating over the soft tissues in the oral region. In some cases, topical anesthetics are used to control premature ejaculation when applied to the glans of the penis.

What are the Types of Topical Anesthetic?

Topical anesthetics are generally categorized into the types like lidocaine, butamben, benzocaine, dibucaine, pramoxine, proparacaine, proxymetacaine, tetracaine (also named amethocaine), and oxybuprocaine.

Two of the commonly used forms of topical anesthetic are lidocaine and benzocaine. Lidocaine is the most effective numbing agent and can keep the skin numb for a couple of hours. Due to its strong numbing efficiency, it is recommended for intense skin processes like tattooing, piercing, laser treatment and surgical incisions. However, it is not recommended for mucus membranes like lips, gums and rectum. For this purpose, benzocaine is used due to its mild numbing effect.

How Long Does Numbing Cream Keep the Skin Numb?

Well, it is determined by the type and amount of a numbing cream. If the application time is 30 minutes, the numbing effect will be for nearly 1 hour. If you wear the product for 1 hour, your skin will remain numb for nearly 2 hours.

What are the Side Effects of a Numbing Cream?

Numbing cream is safe to use as long as it is being applied according to the instructions. The wrong or improper use can lead to side effects like burning, stinging, sensitivity and dizziness as the cream penetrates the skin at a deeper layer.
According to the FDA—“When applied to the skin surface, they can be absorbed into the blood stream and, if used improperly, may cause life-threatening side effects, such as irregular heartbeat, seizures, breathing difficulties, coma, or even death.”

FDA claims to receive “reports of adverse events and deaths of two women who used topical anesthetics before laser hair removal.”

To prevent such side effects, the cream should be used according to the instructions given on the pack.

WE WILL COME UP WITH THE SECOND INSTALLMENT VERY SOON!!!

To be continued…