Topical pain reduction comparison I've limited this comparison to a short list recommended topicals.
Here's a longer list of available  topical anesthetics.
Disclaimer:
A pain medication which works
perfectly for one consumer may not work at all for another.
I make absolutely no guarantee
that any product mentioned in this section will work for you
or will work better or worse for you than another product.
For details, see my Pain management intro page.
Keeping the disclaimer above in mind, I consider ELA-Max 5 and
EMLA as your two best options overall.
See also:
Purchasing information
for topicals
Clinical data
Topical anesthesia brands: pros and
cons
| Brand |
Active ingredient (%) |
| Ametop gel |
tetracaine (4%) |
| Betacaine cream |
lidocaine, prilocaine |
| ELA-Max cream |
lidocaine (4%) |
| ELA-Max 5 cream |
lidocaine (5%) |
| EMLA cream |
lidocaine (2.5%), prilocaine (2.5%) |
| Mento-kaine liquid |
benzocaine (20%), phenol, camphor, menthol |
| Stud spray |
lidocaine (9.6%) |
| Brand |
Rx |
Unit |
Price* |
Unit cost* |
Works in |
Lasts |
Cover |
in US |
Effectiveness |
| Ametop |
|
1.5 g tube |
£1.96 |
£1.31 g |
15-30 min. |
30-180 min. |
|
|
 |
| Betacaine |
X |
30g tube |
42.00** |
$1.40 g |
30 min. |
30-180 min. |
|
X |
|
| Betacaine OTC |
|
30g tube |
42.00 |
|
30 min. |
30-180 min. |
|
X |
|
| ELA-Max |
|
30g tube |
$38.02 |
$1.27 g |
15-30 min. |
30-180 min. |
|
X |
|
| ELA-Max 5 |
|
30g tube |
$43.40 |
$1.45 g |
15-30 min. |
30-180 min. |
|
X |
|
| EMLA |
X |
5 x 5g tubes |
$43.20** |
$1.73 g |
30-120 min. |
30-180 min. |
X |
X |
|
| EMLA |
X |
30g tube |
$47.72** |
$1.59 g |
30-120 min. |
30-180 min. |
X |
X |
|
| Mento-kaine |
|
2oz bottle |
$4.50 |
$0.08 g |
1-5 min. |
5-10 min. |
|
X |
|
| Mento-kaine |
|
4oz bottle |
$7.95 |
$0.07 g |
1-5 min. |
5-10 min. |
|
X |
|
| Mento-kaine |
|
8oz bottle |
$14.50 |
$0.06 g |
1-5 min. |
5-10 min. |
|
X |
|
| Mento-kaine |
|
16oz bottle |
$23.95 |
$0.05 g |
1-5 min. |
5-10 min. |
|
X |
|
| Mento-kaine |
|
32oz bottle |
$40.00 |
$0.04 g |
1-5 min. |
5-10 min. |
|
X |
|
| Stud spray |
|
0.44oz bottle |
$12.00 |
$0.96 g |
1-5 min. |
5-10 min. |
|
X |
|
* Prices are based on sample costs from 3/25/01. Prices may change.
** Covered by some insurance policies for cost of Rx copayment.
|
hair removal
facts
for consumers
