local anaesthetic patches

[steved]

Hi
I'm think it has probably come up before but have you had experience with or is there any point using local anaesthetic stick on patches for different pain conditions eg arthritis/ IVDD etc? I was going to start trialling an OTC product we have in Australia called Nervoderm.

Thanks

Steve

[lehughes]

Hey Steve,

Interesting! I had to look it up.

To be honest, I don't know anything about this.

I do know that in the physio world, iontophoresis (pushing meds transdermally via electrical stimulation) and phonophoresis (using ultrasound) are falling out of favour. Maybe it's because one shouldn't be trying to apply NSAIDS / Steroids in muscle/tendon/ligament cases. It could be that simple.
Or, I have also heard that the transdermally applied solutions (or injections) are systemic in short order anyways... so to use something transdermally over a local area for local impact might be wishful thinking.

So, my apologies, I don't have an answer - maybe others do.

But rather, I have more questions:
Why?
Do you think 5% Lidocaine is enough?
(and/or is there a situation where it could be too much)
Would there be an issue (other than foreign body) if ingested?

And... if you do trial this, please keep us posted!

Laurie