As you all know, I’m the world’s biggest coward when it comes to injections.
On Friday morning I was watching the president of the Australian Medical Assoication being interviewed about contraceptive patches. She mentioned a whole range of other drugs which can now be delivered via patches, and one of them was a topical anaesthetic (apparently usually administered in this way to children when they are having vaccinations or venepuncture).
I remember many years ago, I used to buy a cream called EMLA which was most often used in hospitals to numb the site where a general anaesthetic was going to be given (it was hideously expensive), but it had to be on for a few hours before the procedure to work.
I’m wondering if anyone has any more information on these patches - I’ve been putting of a minor medical procedure for a couple of weeks because of my horror of injections, these patches could be my salvation.
There is a patch in the US called Duragesic, which delivers a time-controlled dose of a narcotic called fentanyl over a period of days. However, it does take some time to work, and it is generally used for patients in a lot of pain, such as cancer patients. I don’t think this is what you meant.
There are some anesthetic creams and sprays that are used topically prior to longer-acting anesthetic shots. My experience here is that they are used in dental work. A spray or gel is applied to the tissue before the dentist injects novocaine. There is also a topical form of the anesthetic lidocaine.
That said, I am not familiar with any local-anesthetic patches that would be used for something as short-term as what you describe, at least not in the US. Transdermal patches are generally used for drugs that are to be administered over a period of time, such as estrogen, fentanyl, and nicotine. Any drug administered to the skin takes time to work, and by the time any patch took effect, the injection would be over.
Your doctor is the best person to ask about this. The information I can get is for the US, where drug regs are different from those in Australia. Oh, IANAD, BTW.
Emla’s available in Australia and NZ still. Mr P faints at the very idea of injections so we’ve taken to buying this at relatively vast expense ;). We’ve had it in tubes and as a patch. What I don’t know is if it is prescription only or OTC in Australia but it definitely is still around. OK Mr P says it’s definitely OTC so there you go
Um, my tatooist also can spray something on that takes about thirty minutes to work, but will reduce the pain of tattooing in a sensitive area. Of course, being so tough and manly…
[Ms Krabaple] Ha![Ms K]
…I didn’t need it, but a friendly tatooist might inform you.
Or you could email me if you want her contact number; she’s in Darlinghurst and very friendly.
I can see you popping into her shopfront, getting a quick squirt and then rushing off to your doctors. "No, you have to inject me there, just below where it says “Mother”.
Redboss
Prima’s confirmed that it’s available here as a patch. I don’t care how much it costs (EMLA cream was $50 per tube 10 years ago). I want a truckload full of them and then I’ll get all my immunisations up to date, I’ll get this cyst excised off my face and I’ll donate blood!
