People have various reasons for wanting to numb their skin. Some of them are to reduce pain after an injury or as preparation for an invasive procedure at a doctor's office. Fortunately, there are many options to choose from so you can use the method that best suits your situation.
Step
Method 1 of 2: Reducing Pain
Step 1. Use an ice pack (frozen gel in a leak-proof container)
When the skin is given a cold compress, the blood vessels will narrow. This reduces blood flow to the area and can relieve swelling, irritation, and muscle spasms. This method is perfect for minor bruises and cuts.
- If you don't have an ice pack, just use a bag of ice cubes or frozen vegetables.
- Always wrap the ice pack in a towel and never place it directly on the skin. This is useful for preventing frostbite or frostbite (freezing of parts of the body due to exposure to excessive cold temperatures).
- Put the ice pack on for 20 minutes, then remove it from the skin and let your skin warm again. Ten minutes later you can reattach the ice pack if needed.
Step 2. Use a topical anesthetic cream to numb a small area of skin
This cream can be purchased without a prescription and can relieve sunburn (burns due to prolonged exposure to the sun), insect bites, minor burns, animal stings, and minor abrasions. Always consult your doctor if you are pregnant, nursing, caring for young children or the elderly, or are taking medications, herbs or supplements that may interact with this cream. Read and follow the instructions on the packaging.
- These products can usually be purchased at pharmacies in the form of sprays, creams, ointments, patches, and wound plasters.
- This cream may contain: benzocaine, benzocaine and methhol, dibucaine, butamben, pramoxine, lidocaine, tetracaine, pramoxine and methhol, or tetracaine and methhol. If you are in doubt about the dosage or how many times it should be applied, consult your doctor. The doctor will give instructions for use based on your condition and medical history.
- Check the expiration date. Do not use drugs that have expired.
- Stop using this drug and consult a doctor if there is no positive development after one week, the problem area is infected, a rash appears, or a burning or stinging feeling begins. If you overuse it, you will experience overdose symptoms such as blurred vision, confusion, dizziness, seizures, feeling too hot, too cold, or numb, sweating, headache, ringing in the ears, slow or irregular heartbeat, difficulty breathing, and drowsiness. Immediately go to the doctor or call emergency services if you experience these symptoms.
Step 3. Take painkillers
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs can relieve pain due to arthritis, fever, toothache, muscle aches, gout, headaches, backaches, and cramps during menstruation. You can buy these medicines without a prescription at pharmacies or drug stores. Many report that this drug can relieve pain within a few hours. Do not use this medication for more than a few days without consulting your doctor. Always consult your doctor before taking this medicine if you are pregnant, nursing, nursing a child, or taking other medicines, herbs or supplements.
- Commonly used painkillers include: Aspirin (Anacin, Excedrin, Bayer), ketoprofen (Orudis KT), ibuprofen (Motrin, Nuprin, Advil), and naproxen sodium (Aleve). Children and adolescents should not take aspirin because this drug has been linked to Reye's syndrome.
- Consult your doctor first if you have high blood pressure, kidney disease, diabetes, liver disease, allergies to this drug, ulcers, bleeding problems, high alcohol intake, asthma, heart problems, or are taking other medications that may interact with these drugs such as warfarin, lithium, arthritis drugs, heart medications, vitamins, and so on.
- Common side effects include frequent farting, bloating, heatburn (a burning sensation when stomach contents move up into the esophagus), vomiting, stomach discomfort, diarrhea, and constipation. Call your doctor immediately if you experience these or other side effects.
Method 2 of 2: Preventing Pain in the Future
Step 1. Talk to your doctor about cold sprays
Ethyl chloride (Cryogesic) can be sprayed onto the skin right before undergoing a painful procedure. The liquid will be sprayed on the skin, which will cause a cooling feeling when the liquid evaporates. The skin will become warm in a few minutes. This spray is effective as a pain reliever only as long as your skin turns warm.
- This can be done directly on children undergoing medical treatment that involves the use of needles. It is a good substitute for other topical anesthetics if the child is allergic to the topical anesthetic.
- Do not spray this medicine more than the amount recommended by the doctor. This can result in frostbite.
- Always read and follow the instructions on the packaging. Consult your doctor before using it on young children or if you are pregnant or breastfeeding.
- Do not spray this medicine into your eyes, mouth, nose and open wounds.
Step 2. Talk to your doctor about topical creams
If your doctor tells you that you need to get pain relief for a medical procedure you are about to perform, you may be given anesthesia shortly before the procedure. Your doctor may ask you to cover the medication with a bandage while the medication is absorbed into the skin. Do not apply this cream to the nose, mouth, eyes, ears, genitals, or broken skin. Two types of cream that are often used are:
- Tetracaine (Ametop Gel). This gel is applied to the skin about 30 to 45 minutes before undergoing a procedure that requires your skin to numb. You can wash off the gel right before the procedure. Your skin will be numb for six hours. The skin that is smeared with this gel may turn red.
- Lidocaine and prilocaine (EMLA cream). This cream can be applied to the skin one hour before the procedure and cleaned right before the procedure. This cream will be effective for up to two hours. As a side effect, your skin will look white.
Step 3. Talk to your doctor about getting another type of anesthesia
If the doctor considers that local and topical anesthetics are not sufficient, the doctor may suggest numbing larger areas of the body. This is usually done for procedures performed under the skin, cesarean section, or surgery. Some of the possibilities that can be applied include:
- Regional anesthesia. This anesthetic doesn't put you to sleep, but the area it numbs is wider than a local anesthetic. Maybe you'll do it with a local injection. When a woman gets epidural anesthesia during childbirth, it is a regional anesthetic that numbs her lower body.
- General anesthesia. It is performed in many surgical procedures. You can get this anesthetic by injection into a vein (intravenously) or inhale it as a gas. Side effects that can occur include: nausea, vomiting, dry or sore throat, chills, or fatigue.
