Most often, Lidocaine eye drops are used for pain relief during ophthalmic procedures and in preparation for surgical interventions. The drug helps to achieve short-term anesthesia, as well as being affordable, inexpensive and recommended for installation to almost all people who have vision problems.
Analgesic medication is used in many branches of medicine, one of which is ophthalmology.
The solution of "Lidocaine" is used to anesthetize the tissues of the visual organs in certain diseases and before surgical interventions.
Description
“Lidocaine” in the form of drops is a local anesthetic that is instilled before the operation, as well as after it. You need to know that the solution is also used as part of treatment courses or in any other cases when a person needs an anesthetic.
In ophthalmology, the drug is used in the form of a solution for instillation, which has a direct effect on nerve receptors in the tissues of the eye and does not provoke adverse reactions. But such a medication is not always well tolerated by patients.
And if discomfort and pain exceed the permissible threshold even with the expected analgesic effect - the drug is replaced with a new, more potent drug.
Pharmacological properties
Drops for eyes "Lidocaine" is instilled into the conjunctiva of the visual organ. Spreading to the cornea, its substances begin to affect the tissues, dramatically reduce the temperature, as well as tactile and pain sensitivity. With proper dosing, the complete elimination of sensitivity, which returns over time.
The drug begins to act in a period of time from one to three minutes after application and at a standard concentration of the active component of the drug acts no more than ten minutes.
Therefore, if a longer analgesic is necessary, the effect of Lidocaine is replaced with a stronger medication or used simultaneously with drugs that prolong the effect of the anesthetic.
Indications
According to the instructions for use, Lidocaine for the eyes is used before surgical interventions to reduce the sensitivity of nerve endings and after the following manipulations to neutralize pain in healing tissues.
Drops can also be used for injuries, but only after elimination from the eyeball of foreign objects and toxic components that provoked such damage.
With increased sensitivity of the organ of vision to instrumental methods of diagnosis, Lidocaine can be instilled 2% before visual examination of the anterior chamber of the eye, as well as scraping the cornea and determining intraocular pressure.
It must be remembered that in most cases, the medication is prescribed for use as pain intensifies as a result of thermal burns of the organs of vision. Drops can not be used for a long time for patients who consume sleeping pills. When combined with derivatives of barbituric acid, the effect of "Lidocaine" is suppressed.
Mode of application
It should be noted that the use of a drug for analgesia before surgery is carried out immediately before the procedure itself.
According to the instructions for use, "Lidocaine" in case of an eye injury in the visual organ is instilled one drop up to three times with an interval of one minute, to achieve the correct concentration of the drug in the tissues.
If the medication is used for trauma and burns of the organs of vision - a one-time instillation is sufficient. When prescribing "Lidocaine" in combination with other solutions, the procedure is carried out according to the scheme, which was compiled by a medical specialist.
During pregnancy
Women in position and while breastfeeding, as well as children, medication is not prohibited. But Lidocaine for the eyes must be used in accordance with the indicated dosage. And before instillation, you must make sure that there are no allergic reactions to the medicine.
Side Effects and Limitations
According to the instructions for use, "Lidocaine" is forbidden to use with increased sensitivity of the conjunctival membrane. You need to know that if this restriction is neglected, negative phenomena can occur in the form of irritation of thin transparent tissue that covers the eye outside and the back surface of the eyelids.
In addition, allergic reactions and relapse of corneal erosion are possible (typical for prolonged use of an anesthetic).
The drug is not always well tolerated by people. It can provoke undesirable negative effects in the form of the following symptoms:
- Conjunctival irritation.
- Allergic reactions.
- Burning.
- Rashes.
- Migraine (a neurological disease, the most frequent and characteristic symptom of which is episodic or regular severe and painful headache in one (rarely in both) half of the head).
- Itching
- Redness of a thin transparent tissue covering the visual organ from the outside and the posterior surface of the eyelids.
- Corneal epithelium (an allergic process in which changes occur only in the outer layer of the epithelium).
All these unpleasant symptoms are observed with prolonged therapy with the medicine.
Features
According to the instructions for use, the drug "Lidocaine" contains lidocaine hydrochloride, as well as benzalkonium chloride and sodium chloride. In drugstores, the drug is dispensed only by prescription from a medical specialist.
The solution does not have aroma and color. Drops can be stored for twenty-four months from the date of release.
An opened bottle should be used within one month. It is allowed to keep the drug at a temperature that does not exceed 15 ° C, in places protected from the sun and at normal levels of humidity.
One milliliter of the drug contains 20 milligrams of lidocaine hydrochloride. This is a 2% solution of eye drops. The drug is produced in bottles of five milliliters. It looks like a colorless liquid.
When it enters the mucous membranes, it begins to act after three minutes. The beneficial effect can last up to fifteen minutes. The half-life of the drug from the body is about four hours. If it is impossible to use the medicine in a vial, it is allowed to use Lidocaine in ampoules.
Analogues of Lidocaine
The following drugs have a similar analgesic effect:
- "Inocaine."
- Dikain.
- Leocaine.
- Tetracaine.
- Benoxy.
- Alkain.
You need to know that despite a similar spectrum of effects, the duration of a positive effect differs in medicines. And also in rare situations, negative effects develop due to the peculiarity of the properties of certain substances, so the doctor must approve the replacement of Lidocaine with a generic drug.
"Inocaine" is used before an ophthalmic surgery, as well as before removing foreign objects from the organs of vision. The active substance of the drug is benoxinate hydrochloride, which blocks the effect on nerve receptors.
Dikain lowers sensitive sodium channels. Unlike “Lidocaine,” the drug affects within twenty minutes after a single instillation.
"Leocaine" is used in dentistry, as well as urology and ophthalmology. In the latter situation, it can be used not only for analgesia before surgery, but also as an auxiliary pharmacological agent for severe pain in diseases of the organs of vision.
Tetracaine is required for local anesthesia. The drug has a blocking effect on nerve receptors, penetrating into cells through membranes.
"Benoxy" incorporates oxybuprocaine, which is considered a synthetic local anesthetic. The drug has a rapidly growing positive effect and a short-lived local anesthetic effect. The medicine blocks the nerve endings. After exposure ends, pupil sensitivity resumes. Only a medical specialist should bury the medicine.
"Alkain" has in its composition the active substance - proxymethacaine. The pharmacological effect occurs thirty seconds after application and lasts for fifteen minutes. It is used for anesthesia for a short diagnosis. For more complex interventions, the instillation is repeated after the same period of time. Immediately after the procedure, redness and burning may appear.
Cost
The price of the drug varies from 30 to 60 rubles. It all depends on the manufacturer and the pharmacy chain’s own margin.
In rare situations, the duration of action of "Lidocaine" for the eyes with a standard dosage is insufficient. At the same time, prolonging the therapeutic effect by independently increasing the dose can be fraught with the occurrence of adverse reactions and the appearance of signs of poisoning (dizziness, weakness). Therefore, together with Lidocaine, a small amount of Adrenaline is used, which prolongs the pharmacological effect of the former.
Reviews
As a rule, there are responses on the Lidocaine eye drops on the Web. They are mostly positive. Patients tell that the medication really effectively analgesics immediately after instillation.
But medical experts do not recommend using the drug on their own, without the permission of a doctor. The drug is dispensed from pharmacy points strictly by prescription.