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	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.

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