Does ice act as anesthetic?
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Hello, Does ice act as anesthetic? Please explain elaborately the mechanism of action behind this. I learnt that briefly applying an ice cube to the skin could diminish the pain. Please leave your comments.
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@rajanya Local anesthetics are typically used to reduce pain when minor wounds need to be cleaned or stitched up, but the injections themselves are often considered the most painful part of the procedure, according to the National Institutes of Health. As the study authors describe in the Emergency Medicine Journal online October 12, there are multiple ways to reduce the associated pain. They include mixing the local anesthetic with sodium biocarbonate, applying eutectic mixture of local anesthetics (EMLA) cream, and warming lidocaine to near body temperature. But, the authors point out, each method has known drawbacks. The shelf life for lidocaine is shortened when it is buffered with sodium bicarbonate or warmed close to body temperature; additional equipment is needed for storage; tiny precipitates form after mixing with sodium bicarbonate; and EMLA cream is not approved for use on open wounds.