Anaesthetic Cream for laser pain

[pain adverse]

I've been following this forum for quite a while.

I've been convinced laser hair removal is for me but I'm really worried about the pain. My best mate had it done for his back and front and he was gingerly walking around for days.

I've had the test patch and I honestly couldn't even begin to contemplate getting hundreds of zaps all over my chest, back and ahem man boobs.

Some places in the good ol' USA are offering laser hair removal with anaesthetic creams. This sounds ideal to me. Does anywhere in australia offer the same sort of pre-pain treatment?

[aaron]

It doesn't hurt that much!


Does you doctor using a cooling device? Mine uses a Zimmer cooler to simultaneously cool down the skin. I find it reallyhelps with the pain

[Heidi42]

I agree the cooling really helps.

The machine used on me had an integrated cooling function so the whole head was icey cool when it was placed on the skin. You could barely feel it when the laser was fired

[mrgym]

The place I go to offers it and I used it the 2nd time around.

In all honesty it didn't really make that much difference. And after sitting around for 1 hour with sticky cream on your back and plastic wrap covering your body its not really worth it. It didn't really help the pain that much and it means the whole thing takes all morning instead of just one hour.

They refused to cover both chest and back at the same time because they were worried I would get too much anesthetic into the blood stream

[doctornev]

We offer emla or a specially compounded blend of anaesthetic creams for our clients.

The vast majority decline for two reasons.

With laser hair removal and its associated cooler most patients find the pain is quite tolerable

Most people find the inconvenience of waiting around for an hour or more wrapped in glad wrap to be pretty uncomfortable. The time taken also turns a lunch time procedure into a half day procedure.

The amount of anaesthetic cream we are able to safely use is strictly limited. Used in large quantities it is possible to absorb enough lignocaine into the blood strain to cause adverse effects. Most notable cardiac arrythmias. There was a recent case in america where a "pain adverse" individual took the emla cream home, slathered it over her legs, covered it with plastic wrap overnight and was promptly found dead, presumably from a cardiac arrest, in the morning. The moral of the story. No patients get to take home industrial size volumes of emla and we are all very cautious about using too much anaesthetic cream

[jomol31]

Great info doctornev,


but errr ou actually gave three reasons not two reasons why pain relief creams were unpopular!

[Heather.mayes]

Damn Jomol31 you just beat me to it!

how credible can our mighty moderator be if he can't even count to 3! :)

[doctornev]

Easy guys.

I was moderating all the threads up till 1am last night so simple mistakes probably do happen.

Besides as my accountant would tell you my previously rock steady maths has been well not so rock steady over the last couple of years :)

[Elly_Lichen]

I tried anaesthetic cream on my second course of laser hair removal for the legs.

After waiting round for 1.5hours with your legs wrapped in glad wrap I was just totally fed up.

If the Doctor has a cooling system it doesn't hurt that much anyway. I just got them to turn up the cold on the next visit. Workd better than the cream and it didn't take all morning.

I wouldn't recommend anaesthetic creams waste of time IMHO

[Heather.mayes]

I agree.


Despite some other threads currently going on on this topic the pain isn't that bad. I wouldn't want to wait around for an extra hour before every treatment .....

[Bruce the Robert]

They've never even offered me anaesthetic creams before my laser hair removal!


I dont' think I would want to wait around for an extra hour for it to work but if they ever come up with a quick acting cream I think I'll sign up.


The laser hair removal isn't that bad but it doesn't tickle either.

[Gazor]

I can't see this one catchin' on very quickly.

Even if someone invents a ypothetical, fast acting Analgesic cream. I don't think wouldn't use the cream. Its just too inconvenient.

[doctornev]

Kiora now has access to a specially compounded anaesthetic cream utilising three different anaesthetic agents, a a special transdermal gel and adrenaline that works much more quickly than the old emla creams. In general it has a good anaesthetic effect with in 15-20 minutes.


However, the limiting factor is still the possiblity of excessive systemic absorption of the lignocaine resulting in cardiac toxicity. We do not use large amounts of cream covering large surface areas because ot this risk. (generally the chest is ok but chest and back is not; likewise half leg is ok).

There is a famous case of someone getting hold of large quantities of Emla, covering both her legs in palstic wrap overnight and dying of a ventricular tachycardia.

At Kiora we try not to kill our patients who come in for laser hair removal :).

In addition we try not to cause so much pain that people are willing to literally bathe in emla cream

[anchorman]

Sign me up for the new cream!

Where exactly are Kiora located?

That laser really really hurt and I am willing to undergo the inconvenience of waiting an exrta 20 minutes.

[Gazor]

It doesn't hurt that much anchorman.


Just type in www.kiora.com.au to find the address of Kiora.