Why does lidocaine not work on me?

If you’ve ever undergone a medical procedure that required numbing, chances are your doctor utilized lidocaine. However, have you ever experienced the frustrating and painful scenario of lidocaine not working on you? Well, fear not because in this article, we’ll explore why that might be happening to you.

What is Lidocaine?

Before discussing why lidocaine may not work for some individuals, let’s first delve into what it actually is. Lidocaine is a medication used primarily for pain relief but also as an anesthesia in certain minor surgical procedures.

When your body undergoes stress or injury, it can cause inflammation which leads to nerves sending pain signals to your brain. Lidocaine works by blocking these nerve signals from reaching the brain which results in lessened pain sensations.

It’s available in several forms such as topical ointments and creams or injectable solutions typically used by healthcare professionals during surgeries or dental procedures.

Reasons Why Lidocaine May Not Work

Now that we know the basics of lidocaine let’s move onto some reasons why it may fail to numb specific areas effectively.

Your Nerves Are Too Inflamed

One reason could potentially be due to individual biological differences- specifically inflammations caused by chronic health issues like fibromyalgia or rheumatoid arthritis (RA). RA affects approximately 1% of the population and has been shown to hinder local anesthetics such as lidocaines effectiveness when attempted postoperatively (Stebbing et al., 2010).

Fibrosis

Another possibility could be related specifically around tendon therapy; ‘fibrotic tissue’ building up around tendons reduces needle penetration/absorption rates delaying onset time.

Resistance Build-up Over Time

If you’re frequently exposed site-specifically for prolonged periods there might exist resistance build-up: repetitive exposure over time can cause the drug to become less effective. This phenomenon occurs with most pharmaceuticals, including antibiotics (NCBI resource center for microbial pathogens: Staphylococcus aureus).

Incorrect Dosing

A common reason could be as simple as being given an incorrect dosage amount by medical professionals who are learning how to administer local anesthesia during their training. These mistakes happen more often than you’d think! Always ask questions and understand the medication you’re receiving.

Body Size

Additionally, body size is a factor that can affect lidocaines effectiveness; larger individuals may require higher dosages of anesthesia in order to achieve numbness compared to smaller individuals.

Genetic Factors

Finally, there are differences among us all in our genetic composition determining if drugs will work effectively- certain genes code implementation standards leading some people unaffected or hypersensitive whereas others develop allergic reactions.

Alternatives To Lidocaine

If lidocaine does not work for you, there’s no need to panic because other options exist out there that provide similar effects;

Benzocaine, another popular numbing agent found primarily in toothache remedies or skin creams
\
Prilocaine, ‘equal potency’ against lidocaines effects but slower onset process \
Bupivacaine, A long-lasting local anesthetic of amide group typically used on children \
and finally; Ropivacaine, 3 times safer compared with Lidcocaine due its delayed toxicity potentiality ([Swami et al.,2010])

Conclusion:

In conclusion while it is frustrating having “not so friendly” sensations when undergoing a procedure without adequate pain relief from lidocane we have provided reasons why this may occur such as fibrosis/repetitive exposure/inflammations/dosage etc.. We also covered replacement agents (benzocain/prilcoiane/bupivcain/ropivacaine) so individuals can prepare for future medical procedures without the hassle!

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