Numby Stuff

With its name, "Numby Stuff," there won’t be any trouble selling this idea to most kids, but selling it to the doctors might be a bit harder. It takes up quite a bit of time, and the science fictiony look to the procedure might scare some kids (and adults) the first time it is used on a patient. However for deep procedures it is probably the most effective way of giving pain relief.

Numby Stuff is another use of lidocaine, and like EMLA it uses a patch, but Numby Stuff also uses a device called a Phoresor II Auto Iontophoretic Drug Delivery system to provide skin numbing up to a depth of 10 mm. It takes ten minutes to work. It is called iontophoresis for short. It uses a mild electric current from a small battery powered generator and two electrodes to push the lidocaine and epinephrine into the skin. The lidocaine numbs the skin and the epinephrine pushes the lidocaine to deeper levels and makes the numbing effect last longer. To most children it feels like a tingling or warm sensation under the patch.

After the procedure the skin may be blanched or red, but this reaction is normal and the normal skin color should return in a few hours.

It should be used only with caution in patients with liver disease because their body might not be able to process local anesthetics. It should also be used with caution with heart patients. It also cannot be used on damaged skin, or on the temples or on the eyes.

 Because lidocaine can be excreted in breast milk it is not a good idea to use this while nursing. Also it has not been tested on pregnant individuals.

    Lidocaine and Numby Stuff should not be used on people who are allergic to lidocaine, epinephrine, or sulfites, or people who are allergic to certain kinds of adhesive tape. It also should be used only cautiously with people who have peripheral vascular disease.

http://www.iomed.com

 Here is information for folks who are on medicare and medicaid.

Back to Index      On to Next Page