EMLA Cream (Prilocaine)

EMLA Cream Information

EMLA Cream is an anesthetic for the skin. It is a eutectic mixture of Lidocaine 2.5% and Prilocaine 2.5%, meaning this mixture is formed at the lowest temperature possible. The ratio of the mixture is 1:1 by weight. EMLA Cream is indicated to lessen pain and discomforts especially during surgical procedure when there is cutting of skin for operation and such. EMLA cream in other words is a local skin anesthetic.

EMLA Cream Indications

EMLA cream could be applied to normal unbroken skin, and on genital mucous membranes for superficial minor surgery for local anesthetic purposes.

Emla Cream Warnings

EMLA cream is not recommended for patients who have known or unknown allergic reactions to local anesthesia or to patients with sensitivity to Lidocaine and or Prilocaine.

EMLA cream should never be used for optical purposes.

Emla Cream Application

Before application of the EMLA Cream, make sure that the area for application is cleaned first and removed free from dirt and oils. This is usually done with scrubbing the area with a washcloth with soap and warm water. The EMLA cream should be applied to the area generously. The cream should be at least ¼ of an inch thick.

Extend the application of the cream of at least ½ inch past the intended area. After application, preferably cover the area with a saran-wrap. A saran-wrap is a very thin transparent plastic sheet made from saran. It is ideal to cover the area for it to continually remain thick. Secure the edges of the saran-wrap with a medical tape to avoid leakage.

How Emla Cream it Works

Application of the EMLA cream on the skin with a dressing either with the saran-wrap or with the anesthetic disk or with any occlusive dressing, provides dermal analgesia. It numbs the epidermal and dermal layers of the skin. Its composition of Lidocaine and Prilocaine accumulated at the mentioned layers of the skin numbs the pain receptors and the nerve endings thus freezing the feeling of the skin.

The components of EMLA cream are local anesthetic agents and work by stabilizing the neuronal membranes by the inhibition of ionic fluxes necessary to the conduction of nerve impulses therefore the anesthetic action.

The depth of the penetration of the drug is dependent upon the thickness of the cream applied and the duration with which the cream was applied to the skin. For general purposes, EMLA cream should applied for at least one hour. For clinical procedures, EMLA cream should be applied for two hours under occlusive dressing.

Emla Cream Usage

After application, the skin of the area with which the EMLA cream is applied to will feel numb for at least an hour.

Emla Cream Packaging

EMLA Cream comes as liquid oil with the thickness of a cream as it is packed with carboxypolymethylene, a thickening agent. Most eutectic mixtures melt at room temperature that’s why thickening agents are combined with it because without the thickening agent, EMLA cream would just be like liquid oil. It comes in 5-gram and 30-gram tubes. It can also come as an anesthetic disc which contains a single dosage of the EMLA cream contained within an occlusive dressing.

Emla Cream Side Effects

Dermal Application of EMLA cream may cause a fleeting and temporary blanching and redness or erythema.

When a person is allergic to either Lidocaine or Prilocaine, the following symptoms might occur:

• urticaria,
• angioedema,
• bronchospasm,
• shock

EMLA Cream and Pregnancy

There are no known side effects or any adverse effects when EMLA cream was tested in rats, however, no well-controlled studies were conducted in pregnant women.

Emla Cream Overdose

Toxic Levels of Lidocaine and or Prilocaine may cause a decrease in cardiac performance, total peripheral resistance and arterial pressure. These effects may be attributed to the depressant actions of local anesthetic agents on the cardiovascular system.

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