A 47-year-old member asked:
how exactly does a lidocaine patch work?
2 doctor answers • 3 doctors weighed in
Dr. David Rosenfeld answered
Pain Management 27 years experience
See below: Lidocaine alters signal conduction in neurons by blocking the fast voltage gated sodium (na+) channels in the neuronal cell membrane that are responsible for signal propagation. When blocked the membrane of the postsynaptic neuron will not depolarize and will thus fail to transmit an action potential.
5228 viewsReviewed >2 years ago
Dr. David Sherer answered
Anesthesiology 37 years experience
Absorption: The Lidocaine gets absorbed into the skin and acts at the local level to stop nerve conduction of the pain fibers in the region. Use only as directed and read the warnings!
5194 viewsReviewed >2 years ago
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Similar questions
A 41-year-old member asked:
Is lidocaine patch 5% available over the otc?
2 doctor answers • 7 doctors weighed in
Dr. James Henning answered
Anesthesiology 50 years experience
No: This is a prescription item, used primarily for post-herpetic neuralgia. Caution is advised: allergic rxns, interaction with some cardiac medications, additive effects with other caine drugs, etc. Under a doctor's orders, please.
4902 viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 36-year-old member asked:
Can you tell me about orally ingesting a lidocaine (lidoderm) patch?
1 doctor answer • 1 doctor weighed in
Dr. Glenn Messina answered
Aesthetic Medicine 35 years experience
Not recommended: The lido patch is developed to deliver acontinuous dose of Lidocaine over a period of time. Opening the lido pouch and putting it on the skin that way or eating it will result in a larger than expected dose entering your body than it should have.
It may b possible to get toxic, it would depend on the dose of Lidocaine in your patch.
4144 viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 38-year-old member asked:
How can a lidocaine patch work?
1 doctor answer • 2 doctors weighed in
Dr. Gary-Anthony Lawson-Boucher answered
Anesthesiology 22 years experience
Topical analgesia: Lidocaine is a local anaesthetic. A Lidocaine patch is a topical analgesic. The patch has a membrane loaded with Lidocaine and a chemical which allows the Lidocaine to cross the skin.
4556 viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 43-year-old member asked:
For how long does a lidocaine patch work?
1 doctor answer • 2 doctors weighed in
Dr. Anthony Pollizzi answered
Anesthesiology 36 years experience
Hours: It will just last for some hours.
4276 viewsReviewed >2 years ago
CA
A male asked:
What is lidocaine patch 5% used for?
2 doctor answers • 8 doctors weighed in
Dr. William Witt answered
Anesthesiology 45 years experience
Lidocaine patches: While it only has limited FDA indications, the FDA is supposed to only regulate what companies making health care related products can advertise so it is often not worth the substantial investment (millions) to apply and so there are many non-FDA indicated uses from sunburn to sprains and other areas of tenderness can be helped, but the dosing needs to follow the package insert regardless.
3884 viewsReviewed >2 years ago
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Last updated Dec 19, 2020
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