The pain threshold is the personal limit of each person, having crossed that, we feel pain. It is very low, medium, high and above average. This means that the same level of irritation can cause completely different sensations in people with high and low pain thresholds. As a result, an elementary prick with a needle for some seems to be an imperceptible bite of a mosquito, and for others - an extremely painful and terrible action. Because of this, various procedures, mainly of a cosmetic nature, require the use of pain medications.
One of them is Emla cream. Instructions for use of this tool speaks of its excellent freezing qualities, which allows you to get rid of unwanted pain. Read more about the cream, its properties, analogues and other nuances below.
What is this remedy?
“Emla” is a small tube of a homogeneous white cream intended for external use. Available in durable aluminum tubes of 5 and 30 g each. The container has a plastic threaded lid and is protected by a reliable cardboard box, inside of which is Emla cream itself, instructions for use, and often an occlusive dressing.
What is the cream used for?
According to the instructions, the cream is used as surface anesthesia for vaccinations and other injections, minor surgery, and vascular catheterization. It is also used during various cosmetic procedures, for example, during hair removal, biorevitalization, peeling, mesotherapy, botulinum therapy, while performing permanent makeup and tattoo, facial contouring.
In addition, Emla cream is prescribed for trophic ulcers of the lower extremities and varicose veins, as well as to anesthetize the mucous membranes of the genitals before performing any kind of painful manipulations. Some enterprising ladies use this tool for self-cleaning face and while getting rid of acne and purulent acne.
The principle of the analgesic
Cream-anesthetic Emla prevents the generation of pain impulses along the nerve endings. As a result, a reaction that irritates nerve fibers does not occur. The maximum effect can be achieved if you apply the cream to the intended treatment area and leave for one hour. The total duration of the freezing action is not more than half an hour. It is especially necessary to be very careful when choosing cheap Emla analogues. We will talk more about them later.
What is part of the anesthetic?
The cream contains such active substances as lidocaine and prilocaine. As auxiliary components, as a rule, the following are used:
- macrogol glyceryl hydroxystearate;
- purified water;
- carbomer or carboxypolymethylene;
- sodium hydroxide.
All these substances are included in Emla cream. Its composition, as you see, does not contain anything dangerous and unhealthy.
Who can use the cream?
If you believe the instructions for the drug, then it is suitable for both adults and children. Despite the fact that the product does not have any age restrictions, it must be used in accordance with the established dosage standards. It is also necessary to adhere to the rules of application, taking into account time.
How to apply and dose the product?
Before applying the drug, you must carefully study the instructions and find out how to use Emla cream in certain situations. For example, if you need to anesthetize a small injection site, you can use 1.5-2 g of cream for this purpose. This dosage will easily cover an area of ​​8-10 cm². To achieve a greater effect, it is recommended to cover the treated surface with an occlusive dressing for 1-2 hours.
If it is supposed to freeze a large surface area, the same amount of cream is applied and covered with a bandage for 3-4 hours. When lower extremities are anesthetized (with trophic ulcers and varicose veins), Emla is smeared with a thicker layer at a dosage of 1-2 g per 1 cm². In this case, you may need not just one, but several tubes of the product at once.
However, with such use, it is recommended to spend no more than 8-10 g of the drug at a time. In this case, dressings on treated areas are applied for 30 minutes. If necessary, the time allotted for anesthesia is extended to an hour. With regular use, Emla cream is used on average up to 10-15 times.
Dosage for women and men
If you use the product before applying injections of local anesthetics, the dosage will be only 1-2 g per 10 cm² of skin. It is noteworthy that in such cases the cream is applied in a thick layer, and the dressing is applied for 45-60 minutes (for the fair sex) or 10-15 minutes (for men). If representatives of both sexes have atopic dermatitis, the time for dressing or application should be reduced to 15-30 minutes.
If you use Emla cream (reviews during hair removal confirm the safety of the procedure) to remove unwanted vegetation in the bikini area, then it should be applied for 30-60 minutes. And it is necessary to do this before the epilation itself. At the same time, the time allotted for applying the bandage should not exceed an hour.
How to dose cream for anesthetizing children's skin?
When using anesthetic on baby skin, you should be very careful. For example, the daily allowance for babies up to three months is not more than 1 g per 10 cm². For children from 3 to 12 months, the daily norm is 2 g per 20 cm², and the application is also applied for an hour.
For children from one year to six years old, anesthetic cream (including Emla analogues) can use no more than 10 g of the substance per day. In this case, the duration of the application will depend on the size of the area of ​​anesthesia and will take from one to five hours. From 6 to 12 years, the daily dose can be increased to 20 g of the drug, and the time for applying the dressing is up to 1-5 hours.
How to store cream?
The drug is recommended to be stored at a temperature not exceeding 30 ° C. In this case, it is not necessary to put it in the refrigerator. The main condition is that the drug is away from children. The shelf life of the product is three years. After its expiration, Emlu should not be used.
Anesthetic cream "Emla": price
The cost of the cream depends, as a rule, on the pricing policy of the seller, manufacturer, point of sale, as well as the region of its sale. For example, the price of a package of a product of 25 mg + 25 mg (in a box is 5 pcs.) Can range from 1550 to 1900 rubles. The cost of one tube of a five-gram product also varies from 270 to 500 rubles. For a package weighing 30 g, you will have to pay 1300-1700 rubles.
Are there any analogues of the cream?
If for some reason you are not satisfied with the original drug, you can always use its analogues. Among them, for example, one can distinguish such a tool as “Kamistad” (gel). Its active ingredient is lidocaine, supplemented by the excellent properties of flowers of a pharmaceutical chamomile. The drug has an antimicrobial and anesthetic effect on the treated surface.
There are other analogues of Emla, for example, the antiseptic drug Dentinox. It also contains lidocaine, chamomile extract and polydocanol. It acts as an anti-inflammatory and analgesic, although it is used primarily in dentistry.
Another analog is the universal cream "Mesoderm" (Mesoderm). This tool is used mainly for anesthesia of the skin before using mesoscooters, performing injection procedures, and tattooing. It eliminates irritation and actively fights against possible redness.
Fans of various salon procedures are also aware of such Emla analogues as the Rinpoche Lidocaine anesthetic cream with a quick-acting effect. This wonderful South Korean product is used for mesotherapy, microlipoxation, mesodissolution, as well as during tattooing of the lips and eyebrows.
A great alternative to Emla Cream is the Goochie gel anesthetic. And although its freezing effect can be felt almost immediately after application, it is used exclusively as a means for secondary anesthesia. For example, if the doctor made an injection and another one is planned.
In addition to the above, the following analogues of Emla can be distinguished:
- anesthetic cream Before Depilar;
- Cream “Light Frost” (Light frost);
- SM Cream with lidocaine;
- Dr. Ointment Frost ("Dr. Frost");
- Anesten cream ("Anesten");
- TKTKH anesthetic gel;
- Anestet cooling gel (Anestet);
- Light Dep gel (“Light Dep”) and others.
If we talk about the price, then many of the analogues are much cheaper, and also have more economical packaging, for example, Anesthesin (Anaesthesinum), the cost of which is 120-200 rubles. Dentinox and Kamistad will cost you about 200-250 rubles. Despite this, it is worthwhile to understand that cheap analogues of Emla can often not meet expectations. They either do not give the corresponding analgesic effect, or are in a semi-finished form. For example, powder analogues must also be combined with several ingredients, bringing them to a cream state.
Does the cream have side effects?
Like most drugs, Emla can cause certain side effects. For example, at the place of use of the composition, redness, peeling and other allergic reactions may occur. Also, in some cases, swelling, pallor, burning or itching of the skin occurs.
What are the contraindications?
Emlu should not be used for people suffering from allergies, as well as those with hypersensitivity. You can not use the drug for pregnant women, premature babies and babies weighing less than 3 kg. And of course, the cream is not suitable for those who have an individual intolerance to any component of Emla.
What reviews can be heard about the cream?
Like any drug, Emla has a number of supporters and opponents. For example, some are completely satisfied with the action of the product. Others do not like the price and the fact of many hours of waiting for the freezing of the problem area. Still others are talking about the small size of the tube, which is missing for a long time. Fourth complain that the product does not completely freeze the skin, but only partially. Fifths for greater effect recommend the use of cling film. According to them, this will prevent the cream from spreading and anesthetize the entire surface of the skin.
In short, some people like the drug, while others don't. However, they both highlight both its positive and negative qualities, based on their own experience. But to buy it or not, of course, you decide!