Can you put a lidocaine patch on an open wound?
Unless otherwise directed by your doctor, do not apply this medicine to open wounds, burns, or broken or inflamed skin. Be careful not to get any of the ointment in your eyes, because it can cause severe eye irritation.
Where should you not put a lidocaine patch on?
Apply the lidocaine patch or topical system to clean, dry, intact skin as directed. Choose an area where the patch will not be rubbed by tight clothing. Do not apply the patch or topical system to an open wound or cut, to skin that is irritated or red, or to skin that is affected by a rash, burn, or other skin problem.
Lidocaine HCl Injectable Solution is used by veterinarians as a local anesthetic to numb areas prior to stitches to prevent pain. It may also be used in the treatment of irregular heart rhythm in certain animals.
The results, conclude the authors, show that the transdermal lidocaine patch does not provide additional pain relief to dogs given morphine and carprofen after ovariohysterectomy. “Additional studies are needed to investigate whether similar results might be achieved in dogs treated concurrently with other analgesics,” they write.
Studies of the efficacy of transdermal lidocaine patches in humans have had mixed results, note the authors. According to published reports, the patches appear to reduce neuropathic pain but do not necessarily affect traumatic and postoperative pain in humans.
Dr. Laurie Anne Walden received her doctorate in veterinary medicine from North Carolina State University. After an internship in small animal medicine and surgery at Auburn University, she returned to North Carolina, where she has been in small animal primary care practice for over 20 years. Dr. Walden is also a board-certified editor in the life sciences and owner of Walden Medical Writing, LLC. She works as a full-time freelance medical writer and editor and continues to see patients a few days each month.
Statistical analysis revealed no significant differences between groups in body weight, incision length, pain score, inflammation score, or serum cortisol concentration. No dogs had signs of incision infection.
For dogs in the lidocaine group, lidocaine patches were applied to each side of the surgical incision 1 cm from the incision edge and extending the length of the incision. (The researchers did not apply patches directly to the incisions because the patches were not sterile and lidocaine absorption through broken skin had not been reported.) The patches were covered with a nonadhesive wound dressing. Dogs in the placebo group received only the nonadhesive wound dressing. In all dogs, wound dressings were covered with abdominal bandages and were not disturbed for 18 hours.