Provider Prepared’s Weekly Pearl of Wound Wisdom # 8 This will sting for just a second!

Wounds hurt, and wound repair hurts! Local anesthesia is best obtained by infiltration of the surrounding soft tissues with an anesthetic agent. Minimizing pain from the injection of local anesthetic is also important. With wounds that are not heavily contaminated, inserting the needle through the cut edges is less painful than through intact skin. Studies have shown that patients often do not feel any discomfort when 25 gauge or smaller needles are passed slowly through the cut wound edges.

Pain does occur when anesthetic volume distends the soft tissues. The number of needle sticks and the volume of anesthetic should be minimized as much as possible. Lidocaine is the most commonly used agent for local anesthesia. It has an onset time of 2-5 minutes and a duration of 1-2 hours. Lidocaine has an excellent clinical profile, with low allergenicity rates and minimal toxicity in appropriate volumes.

Roberts, JA et al. Clinical Procedures in Emergency Medicine 2010.490-492

Provider Prepared has your local anesthetic needs covered with Lidocaine available for licensed Healthcare Professionals! Check out our options for Laceration Repair Kits Here. 

Provider Prepared
Nathan Whittaker, MD