Question
I had a very bad reaction to my lidocaine numbing cream today. I applied (as directed) one hour before my treatment to lower legs, bikini and underarms, and wrapped them in cellophane. I hopped in the car and headed off for my appt. I suddenly became dizzy, my heart was pounding/racing, and I thought I was going to faint. I made it to the clinic, but by the time I got there my mouth was so dry and numb, I couldn't speak clearly enough to tell them what was going on. A nurse took my BP and pulse, both of which were very high. I was numb head-to-toe, nauseous, and my mouth tasted like metal. They laid me down and monitored me and things gradually got better. I decided to go ahead with my laser treatment (I was super numb!). They checked my BP and pulse before I went home, and things had settled down a lot. (This is a medical cosmetic clinic, and a plastic surgeon was in the office).
It's been 6 hours now, and I'm still a little numb and dizzy.
The clinic said next time they will apply the cream at the clinic and will only do legs one visit, and underarms/bikini the next. No cellophane. I'm a little nervous about having another bad reaction. It was pretty frightening, especially in the car!
Any advice?

Answer
I had a very bad reaction to my lidocaine numbing cream today. I applied (as directed) one hour before my treatment to lower legs, bikini and underarms, and wrapped them in cellophane. I hopped in the car and headed off for my appt. I suddenly became dizzy, my heart was pounding/racing, and I thought I was going to faint. I made it to the clinic, but by the time I got there my mouth was so dry and numb, I couldn't speak clearly enough to tell them what was going on. A nurse took my BP and pulse, both of which were very high. I was numb head-to-toe, nauseous, and my mouth tasted like metal. They laid me down and monitored me and things gradually got better. I decided to go ahead with my laser treatment (I was super numb!). They checked my BP and pulse before I went home, and things had settled down a lot. (This is a medical cosmetic clinic, and a plastic surgeon was in the office).
It's been 6 hours now, and I'm still a little numb and dizzy.
The clinic said next time they will apply the cream at the clinic and will only do legs one visit, and underarms/bikini the next. No cellophane. I'm a little nervous about having another bad reaction. It was pretty frightening, especially in the car!
Any advice?

Answer
some people are allergic. are you using it because you can't handle the pain? you should always try to do it without the cream. most people have no issues without it. in general, the cream is not recommended for large areas. there have been several deaths from applying it to large areas because some people can't handle it. if you find that you just can't handle the pain, i would only do it on the most painful areas. lower legs are too large of an area. i wouldn't do that at all. underarms don't really hurt bad for most people. i would only use it on bikini if you can't handle it at all. but i say, next time try not using the cream at all. you will probably find that it's not really that bad. i've been doing bikini, underarms, abdomen, and perenial region about 5 treatments now without any creams at high settings with no issues.

Answer
On my first treatment for bikini and full legs, the clinic put numbing cream just on the bikini area, and I had what my doctor called an adverse reaction to it -- anxiety, racing pulse, shallow breathing. This lasted for several days. When I called my doctor the morning after the treatment, she said to stay away from the cream, so on my second treatment (last week) I didn't use any cream and it hurt but not so badly that I couldn't take it.
I'm surprised that with the news about the people who died from doing exactly what you did that the clinic you went to didn't know better. I would consider going elsewhere.

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This isn't an allergic reaction, this is lidocaine overdose, toxic reaction. Lower legs is too large of an area to use a topical cream.
Stay away from the cream. In the future, if you have any surgical procedures that will involve anesthesia, be sure to let them know about this reaction.
You are very lucky! Do a google search for Shiri Berg, laser hair removal, Raleigh NC. She wasn't as lucky as you.

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Thank you so much for your replies. I still have a racing heartbeat and some dizziness (it's been 24 + hours) so I called the clinic and spoke with the medical director. I'm just one of those rare people who have a bad reaction to the cream. Very scary after reading the articles on the young women who died from this stuff. I won't go NEAR it again!
On to my next question . . . how is the pain with the cream vs. without it? I felt the treatment was already quite painful (2nd treatment with Cutera Xeo laser, YAG setting, 70 joules-lower legs, 45-bikini, 50-underarms). I can't imagine tolerating this without something to help with the pain. The doctor suggested ice. What do you think?
Thank you again for taking the time to answer my questions and share your knowledge. I really appreciate it since I went into this without doing much research. I just blindly trusted a "cosmetic medical center".

Answer
On my second treatment, I had ice applied both before and after each area was treated. She also put aloe on immediately afterward. There were a couple of hits that struck a nerve and where I literally jumped, but otherwise it was tolerable.

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Ice, or at the very least, cold wet compresses are very helpful with the discomfort. Also, you can try taking ibuprophen, Aleve, or Tylenol 30-60 mins. before the treatment. Aloe is cooling and soothing, but better for immediately after a treatment, I like Band-Aid Anti-itch gel. It's with the bandages at the drug store. Put the tube in the refrigerator for even more cooling. It feels great after laser or electrolysis. It's an analgesic, so it helps with the swelling and redness also.

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Would Band-Aid Anti-itch gel work as well as or better than Bendryl for the redness and swelling I get, which I've been told is a histimine response?

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Sorry, it's one of those trial and error deals. Benedryl is an antihistamine, the Band-Aid gel is an analgesic. It could very well be more comforting to you than the Benedryl. No harm in trying it. It's usually less than $5 at Wal-mart.

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Stay away from compounded topicals and stick only with over the counter products like LMX 4%.

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Even LMX 4 can be dangerous when used on large areas.
From Ferndale Labs, manufacturers of LMX:
"Application of L.M.X.4 cream to larger areas or more frequently than recommended could result in sufficient absorption of lidocaine to result in
serious adverse effects."

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I don't think its the same laser, but I recently had a treatment with the Cutera (sp?) Coolglide. Ice was applied to areas prior to being treated as this cools the scin prior to being heated with the laser. I found a HUGE difference between the pain in the areas where there was little or no pre-icing and the areas that were iced. Icing certainly makes a difference.
The pain comes from the burning as the laser is quite hot. Therefore, to counteract the heat, icing is necessary.

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Thank you all for your great advice. I will completely avoid any lidocaine cream, and use ice instead.

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I think I would rather risk the chance of getting hypothermia from ice using on a large (or small) area than use a topical cream. Yes, I have to agree that driving to the clinic is riskier than the topical cream. I guess I am one of those that would rather not use medications, if I can get away with it. Especially, when I consider that this stuff gets absorbed into the bloodstream and could have an effect on internal organs, such as the heart.