Lidocaine: Uses, Side Effects, Dosage & Reviews (2024)

When does Lidocaine start working?

Time passed since treatment started:

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The following side effects have also been reported

Pros

Cons

• Always wash your hands after applying the lidocaine patch. This gets rid of medication that might've accidentally stuck to your fingers. Avoid touching your eyes until after you've washed your hands. Lidocaine can cause very bothersome irritation if it gets into your eye.

• Avoid applying the lidocaine patch to areas of your skin with open cuts or wounds. This might affect how much medication your skin absorbs and potentially lead to side effects.

• If needed, you can cut lidocaine patches to fit smaller areas of the skin. This won't affect how the medication works.

• If you're using the ZTlido (lidocaine) patch 1.8% and the edges lift up, firmly press down on the edges to help it stick. If the patch comes off completely, you can stick it back on your skin and continue to use it. If the patch no longer sticks to your skin, remove it, fold it in half, and throw it away out of reach of children and pets. You can put on a new patch, but make sure the combined time you use the old and new patch is not longer than 12 hours.

• Avoid using a heating pad or electric blanket over your lidocaine patch because the heat might cause you to absorb more medication, which can put you at higher risk for side effects. You can wear clothing over your lidocaine patch. Clothing won't affect how much medication gets absorbed. If you're using the ZTlido (lidocaine) patch 1.8%, you can still apply the patch after exposure to moderate heat (e.g., using a heating pad for 15 minutes on the medium setting).

• Lidocaine patch 4%: Stop using lidocaine patch and talk with your provider if you've been using this medication for more than a week or if symptoms (e.g., skin pain) come back after clearing up. Also let your provider know if you have symptoms of rash, itching, redness, irritation, swelling, or blistering.

• It's not recommended to use more than one medication that contains lidocaine at the same time. Doing so can lead to skin irritations or more serious side effects, such as seizure, heart rhythm problems, and coma. Lidocaine can be found in many over-the-counter pain medications that you apply on your skin. These include other patches or creams, such as IcyHot or Salonpas. Talk with your pharmacist or healthcare provider if you're not sure whether you're using multiple lidocaine products.

• Skin irritations from using the lidocaine patch are generally mild and temporary. They typically go away on their own in a few minutes to hours. Take off your patch if you experience symptoms, such as dry, itchy skin, or a burning or warm sensation on your skin. Don't put it back on again until after the symptoms go away. Let your provider know if they don't go away or get worse over time.

• Throw away lidocaine patches after a single use. The best way to throw away a medication patch is to fold it in half, sticky sides together. This will keep someone from accidentally touching the medication side of the patch and getting it on their skin. Discarded patches can be dangerous if a child or pet chews or eats them because used patches still contain some medication.

• Avoid storing lidocaine patches in bathroom cabinets since exposing the patch to too much moisture can cause the adhesive to not work as well. Lidocaine patches should be stored up and away and out of children's reach and sight. This prevents them from accidentally swallowing medication that's left out. Always put medication away every time you use it. If you think that your child might’ve accidentally swallowed a lidocaine patch, call your Poison Control Center at 1-800-222-1222 right away even if you aren't completely sure.

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Postherpetic neuralgia is nerve pain from shingles. Shingles is an infection caused by the varicella zoster virus, the same virus responsible for chickenpox. When you recover from chickenpox, the virus continues to live in your nerves. For most people, the virus isn't active and won't cause any problems. But for some people, the virus can become active again later in life and result in shingles. Shingles typically only affect one side of the body. The earliest signs of this infection include burning and tingling pain, followed by a red rash that turns into fluid-filled blisters. The rash and blisters will eventually heal, but some people continue to feel sharp, tingling pain in the affected areas of the body for 3 months or longer. This is called postherpetic neuralgia. Lidocaine patches 5% and 1.8% are approved to treat this type of pain because they numb the nerves and make them less sensitive to pain.

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Both of these patches contain lidocaine as the active medication. One difference between the two is that ZTlido (lidocaine) patch 1.8% uses a technology that the manufacturer claims will help the ZTlido patch stick better to your body compared with the lidocaine (Lidoderm) patch 5%, so that it's less likely to fall off during activities like exercise. Another difference is that lidocaine (Lidoderm) patch 5% is available as a lower-cost generic, whereas ZTlido (lidoderm) patch 1.8% isn't. Talk with your provider if you've questions about the differences between different lidocaine patches.

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Over-the-counter lidocaine patches are approved for temporary pain relief. Because lidocaine eases pain by numbing the nerves, the patches probably work better for nerve-related pain. Symptoms of nerve pain include a prickly feeling in the hands and feet, sharp or stabbing pain, or a burning sensation. There are some data that suggest that lidocaine can help with pain that involves swelling (inflammation) as well, but more research is needed in this area for the lidocaine patch. Talk with your healthcare provider if you're not sure whether lidocaine patches are right for you.

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You can absorb too much lidocaine if you leave the patches on for more than 12 hours. This can put you at higher risk for skin irritation. Very rarely, it can also lead to serious side effects, such as seizure, heart rhythm problems, and coma.

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It's not recommended that you take a shower with most types of lidocaine patches because they might not stick as well if they get wet. You can take a shower with ZTlido (lidocaine) patch 1.8% for up to 10 minutes because the patch is designed with a special technology that the manufacturer claims to make it less likely to come off in water. Make sure to pat dry your patch after you shower.

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Lidocaine may interact with certain medications or supplements. Always let your doctor and pharmacist know about any other medications or supplements (including prescribed and over-the-counter medications, vitamins, and dietary or herbal supplements) that you are currently taking. The list below does not include all possible drug interactions with Lidocaine. Please note that only the generic name of each medication is listed below.

Lidocaine

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