local & topical anaesthetics ?

[YT2095]

I`de like to know what is perculiar to the "caine" group that causes numbness, when in contact with skin or injected.

what does it do exactly?

and is the same stuff in Clove Oil, that you can put on a bad tooth to take the pain away?

 

I say the "caine" group because all the local and topical anaesthetics all seem to end in "Caine"

Novacaine

lanocaine

benzocaine

lignocaine

maybe even cocaine (I don`t know about that one?)

 

and while I`m at it, when it`s injected, how come it only stays in that one area and doesn`t go all over your body?

 

(you might have guessed, I got to goto the dentist this afternoon, this might help take my mind off it)

 

thnx all

[Runner]

YT2095 said in post #1 :

I`de like to know what is perculiar to the "caine" group that causes numbness, when in contact with skin or injected.

what does it do exactly?

 

Local anaesthetic drugs act by causing a reversible block to conduction along nerve fibres.

[Glider]

Right....and as the primary afferent fibres associated with pain are C fibres (non-myelinated) and A delta fibres (thinly myelinated), they are more easily blocked than larger, more thickly myelinated afferent fibres, although enough of the anaesthetic will block these too, and efferent fibres also, causing paralysis.

[YT2095]

Hmmm.. I`ve heard something about what you`re refering to, in fact if `m not mistaken there`s a disease that thins this nerve coating (can`t rem which one though?) muscular distrophy, MS, CF? I know it`s something like that anyway.

but what does it actualy do? and why is it a "caine" whats so special about that group?

is the same in clove oil? if not how does that work?

conduction along nerve fibers.... I assume you mean electrical?

 

oh yeah, I`ve have the work done, my dentist`s a lying git too! he said only ONE filling last time, I walked out with 3, and feel a little bit misserable at the moment

(I`ll be ok 2moro though).

[Glider]

Multiple sclerosis is the one you're thinking of. A degenerative condition, a function of which is progressive demyelination, which results in worsening motor function impairment and eventually, death.

 

The group (xylocaine, novacaine, lidocaine, lignocaine etc., etc..) is a 'cain' because all of them are pharmacutical derivatives of cocaine. These all work in the same way. They prevent the propogation of action potentials along a nerve axon by blocking the ion pumps, effectively preventing depolarisation. They are nonspecific and will block all nerves this way. It is only that they are given in doses calculated to affect only the nonmyelinated or thinly myelinated fibres. Enough of the substance will block all nerve function, large, small afferent and efferent.

 

I don't know how clove oil works. It may be the same, or similar mechanism, but I doubt it, as I have never come across a local or topical anaesthetic based on clove oil. The cocaine derivatives are extremely effective and are used for everything from local anaesthesia for (e.g.) suturing, to nerve blocks for surgery (i.e. chemically denervating an entire limb or dermatome), to epidurals.

[YT2095]

thnx

that knocks a huge chunk out of my questions

glad you mentioned about epidurals as that was going to be my next question (is it the same stuff used in...)

Clove oil`s great, though it tastes horrible, I beleive the nazis used it while torturing victims with teeth pulling, pain/no pain type stuff (evil S.O.B`s).

but yeah, ya can still buy it now in tiny vials from the chemist, I owe about 6 years worth of sanity to that stuff, as I was too chicken to goto the dentist and suffered horribly rather than go, stupid I know, but a phobia is a phobia! but I bypassed that eventualy.

interesting that you said it WAS rellated to cocaine, I wasn`t sure about that, I guess it`s a bit like opiates, opium,herion,dimorphine,codeine etc... same plant, different derivatives. bit like crude oil and all the stuff you can get from that.

Thnx again Glider, yer a star

[fafalone]

Cocaine was originally developped as a local anaesthetic. When you snort it, the back of your throat and most of your mouth go numb. However due to its psychoactive effects it was quickly replaced by lidocaine, which is the standard local anaesthetic used today externally, and of course novacaine is typically used internally like in orthodontic procedures. This is why cocaine is classified as a Schedule II drug (accepted medical use).

[Glider]

For certain surgical procedures (e.g. rhinoplasty), they still use cocaine in powder form. The reason is that not only is it effective as an anaesthetic, but it causes the spongy membranes and tissue to retract and reduces bleeding, which helps the surgeon see what he/she is doing. Unfortunately, you're unconscious at the time. Such a waste!

[YT2095]

I thought coke would have been antagonistic towards a general anaesthetic? isn`t it suposed to be some sort of "upper" and that`s why folks strung out on it get all hyper, would`t that wake the patient up, or is it not a large enough amount for that?

 

also, I rem after the bike crash in 96, I had to have over 170 stitches (I can`t have general anaesthetic) all with local. the surgeon was a bit worried at one point saying that he`de really reached the limit of what he could give me, I still had alot of work to be done and convinced him I`de be fine, so he gave me one last hypo, I was fine. I`de like to know, why he was concerned? what would have happened if he had given me too much?