I went to my electrologist on Saturday and I put what I thought was a thin coat of lidocaine.prilocaine my Doctor prescribed before hand and then covered with saran wrap. I did not wash my face right after and in a few hours I was trembling, sweating, heart palpitations, and sore joints. In fact I was feeling so bad I almost asked my wife to call an ambulance. This was the second time before I put 2 + 2 together. As both occurred after an appointment. Just warning you that something as innocuous as a numbing cream can be dangerous.

Ah... too much lidocaine. Try hypnosis instead.


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Yeah, I had a consult and the lady told me about some girl (not one of her clients) who slathered it all over her legs before an appointment and died from an OD a while back.

Nasty stuff, they really need to sell it in single use containers or something.

  Hi Dawn,

  You did remember to put air holes in the saran wrap so you could breathe didn't you?

  Joking aside I'm sorry you got to feel bad. Did you go see a doctor and did he confirm it was the medication the caused the problem and tell you why?  Something like that occurring is a serious problem and I thank you for the warning. I will look into electrolysis for myself someday and it's good to know things like that.
  So what do you do next time for pain relief?

  Hugs,
   Laurie

I honestly don't know. Right now it takes two zaps and then they pull the hair out. I can take the zaps but pulling the hair hurt alot. Nanci just got a new machine and she has not tried it yet as she is learning it's capabilities. She says it should be gentler. I think I can still use the lidocaine but over a smaller area and make sure I wash the area soon after. The way they were working was on one side for half an hour and switching to the other side. So I put it all over my cheeks, neck and chin. We will see how that goes.

Well you be careful lady, We don't want anything bad happening to you.

  Laurie

Quote from: DawnOday on May 01, 2017, 04:54:31 PM
I honestly don't know. Right now it takes two zaps and then they pull the hair out. I can take the zaps but pulling the hair hurt alot.

It's supposed to take only one painful "zap" per hair, then the hair comes out easily.  The zap is the only part that hurts.  I'm not sure if your technician is doing it right.  Also, lidocaine is not worth it.  I'd rather do the sessions without it.

Quote from: Axolotl on May 01, 2017, 09:00:48 PM
It's supposed to take only one painful "zap" per hair, then the hair comes out easily.  The zap is the only part that hurts.  I'm not sure if your technician is doing it right.  Also, lidocaine is not worth it.  I'd rather do the sessions without it.

Stubborn, deeply rooted, beard hair can take two zaps while the needle is inserted.  An experienced electrologist is a real asset in knowing how to do this.  Grey hair is stiffer and harder to remove but usually doesn't have to be rezapped.  And the zap hurts AND the pluck hurts. But not for all hairs. Some hairs don't come out so easy.  Some are practically like fishhooks and leave small red dots that take a couple of days to heal.  Have you ever plucked your eyebrows?  The plucking alone is no picnic.  The longer one is on estrogen the more it's going to hurt.  Doing it without lidocaine AND ibuprofen is not even an option for me anymore.

The better hydrated one is the more easily the hairs come out.

Lots and lots of water before a session.

I researched this a fair bit a couple of years ago, and a woman died using too much topical anaesthetic. I don't recall the details now, but it was a lot.

Quote from: Jane Emily on May 01, 2017, 09:06:45 PM
  Grey hair is stiffer and harder to remove but usually doesn't have to be rezapped.  And the zap hurts AND the pluck hurts. ...
The longer one is on estrogen the more it's going to hurt. 

  Must you tell me these terrible things?  I really should find an electrolocist soon.

I'll give you a hug anyway Jane
  (((HUG)))
   Laurie

Quote from: Jane Emily on May 01, 2017, 09:06:45 PM
Stubborn, deeply rooted, beard hair can take two zaps while the needle is inserted.  An experienced electrologist is a real asset in knowing how to do this.  Grey hair is stiffer and harder to remove but usually doesn't have to be rezapped.  And the zap hurts AND the pluck hurts. But not for all hairs. Some hairs don't come out so easy.  Some are practically like fishhooks and leave small red dots that take a couple of days to heal.  Have you ever plucked your eyebrows?  The plucking alone is no picnic.  The longer one is on estrogen the more it's going to hurt.

I was told by Christine McGinn that the longer one is on HRT the easier it is to do electrolysis.  I had really bad marks from electrolysis and they forced me to stop until I was on HRT for a longer amount of time.  I have been plucking my eyebrows for years, and I don't find it painful.  I used to pluck my arm hair and even beard hair when I was in my 20's and that hurt WAY MORE than any pluck I've felt during electrolysis.  The zap definitely hurts, but that's all.

PS- plucking hair without electrolysis is totally ineffective for thinning hair regrowth.  I've done a lot of it all over my body for years, and it has no positive effect.

Sounds like you had some kind of reaction...maybe to the adrenaline...would certainly be very very careful and get some medical advice before using it again

Many Topical Anaesthetic have adrenaline in them as well because it makes the Lidocaine, lignocaine etc work more effectively. These can be highly dangerous especially when spread over a wide area. I have a special formula of lignocaine made up and I am only allowed to use 4 grams per application because of the risk of the adrenaline causing issues. My facial injections are without the adrenaline in them for that exact reason but they work effectively for an hour on the face easily

Quote from: Axolotl on May 01, 2017, 09:37:15 PM
I was told by Christine McGinn that the longer one is on HRT the easier it is to do electrolysis. 

Easier perhaps in terms of thinner hair.  Easier in terms of pain?  No.   Also, I did 6 months of electrolysis pre-HRT and from my experience on HRT the pain is noticeably worse.

Quote from: JeanetteLW on May 01, 2017, 09:26:10 PM
  Must you tell me these terrible things?  I really should find an electrolocist soon.

It's not easy being a girl!

This is why I did laser first.

From the FDA

Topical anesthetics are sometimes used in ways not approved by FDA and at doses that may pose a risk for serious harm to consumers.   FDA is aware of two instances where women, aged 22 and 25 years old, applied topical anesthetics to their legs to lessen the pain of laser hair removal.  These women then wrapped their legs in plastic wrap, as they were instructed, to increase the creams' numbing effect.  Both women had seizures, fell into comas, and subsequently died from the toxic effects of the anesthetic drugs.

https://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/PostmarketDrugSafetyInformationforPatientsandProviders/ucm054718.htm

I tried the prescription grade cream on my first electro session but I only put it on half of my face to feel the difference and to be honest, there was no noticeable difference. my tech told me that she goes in quite deep with the needle which could explain it. I didn't like the mess and the numbing feeling of the cream so I stopped using it altogether.

Has anybody of you ever tested it like that and noticed a big difference?


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Quote from: JessicaSondelli on May 02, 2017, 06:14:37 AM
Has anybody of you ever tested it like that and noticed a big difference?

I haven't tried prescription-grade cream.  I use the over-the-counter grade of Emla, and I notice a big difference.  When the electrologist hits a spot where I have good coverage, I don't feel it at all.  When she hits spot I missed, I practically jump through the ceiling.

Quote from: DawnOday on May 01, 2017, 04:54:31 PM
I honestly don't know. Right now it takes two zaps and then they pull the hair out. I can take the zaps but pulling the hair hurt alot. Nanci just got a new machine and she has not tried it yet as she is learning it's capabilities. She says it should be gentler. I think I can still use the lidocaine but over a smaller area and make sure I wash the area soon after. The way they were working was on one side for half an hour and switching to the other side. So I put it all over my cheeks, neck and chin. We will see how that goes.

If pulling the hair out hurts, the energy delivered to the root may have been insufficient to kill the follicle.  The hair should just slide out.   The only exception I know of is with a 'dead' hair that has bonded to the side of the follicle.  These don't grow, of course, but they can hurt when being removed.

Once the 'old growth' hair is gone, the immature hairs are much easier to remove, with only roughly half the energy delivery.

Quote from: DawnOday on May 01, 2017, 03:58:36 PM
I went to my electrologist on Saturday and I put what I thought was a thin coat of lidocaine.prilocaine my Doctor prescribed before hand and then covered with saran wrap. I did not wash my face right after and in a few hours I was trembling, sweating, heart palpitations, and sore joints. In fact I was feeling so bad I almost asked my wife to call an ambulance. This was the second time before I put 2 + 2 together. As both occurred after an appointment. Just warning you that something as innocuous as a numbing cream can be dangerous.

Had it happen to me too, Dawn. Went to Costco right after my appt. and hit me like a shot. Had to stop and sit down right in the aisle. Took a half hour to regain composure. Literally thought I was having an MI. That was my last time with lidocaine. Doesn't work that well anyways

I do wonder if there is a difference in risk between the otc and rx strengths. I tend to slather on the otc stuff, but never wrap it with cellophane. Usually just on the face though.

Definitely g


~Brooke~