APPLICATION OF A EUTECTIC MIXTURE OF LIDOCAINE PRILOCAINE CREAM TO THE MOUSTACHE AREA PRIOR TO ELECTROLYSIS PROVIDES EFFECTIVE ANALGESIA

Electrolysis for removal of unwanted facial hair can be painful and un comfortable. Any therapy that reduces the pain of this procedure is li kely to increase the efficacy and acceptability of electrolysis and en courage more patients to return for subsequent treatments. We therefor e determined the effectiveness and practicality of applying a eutectic mixture of lidocaine/prilocaine cream to the moustache area (upper li p) prior to electrolysis. In a randomized, double-blind, single-center , crossover trial, 21 female patients applied lidocaine/prilocaine cre am to one-half of the moustache area and placebo to the other under an occlusive dressing for 60 min. The pain experienced by the patient du ring electrolysis was rated on a visual analogue scale (VAS) and by th e electrologist on a verbal rating scale (VRS). There was a statistica lly significant difference in favor of the lidocaine/prilocaine cream compared with placebo, for both the VAS score and VRS rating, The resu lts demonstrate that lidocaine/prilocaine cream is an effective and pr actical method for alleviating the pain experienced during electrolysi s, Sufficient amounts of cream, typically between 1.5 and 5 g on each half of the moustache area, should be applied under occlusion 1 h prio r to the procedure.