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by Tahlya Loring VN, Animal Emergency Service Hobart, TAS
Numit is a local anaesthetic cream consisting of lidocaine 2.5 per cent and prilocaine 2.5 per cent. We mainly use it to numb a patient’s skin from where a blood test will be taken.
What’s good about it
Once it’s applied to the skin, it soaks in and provides an effective numbness. We use Numit whenever an animal is receiving a needle stick or is being given an injection or we’re collecting blood. The patient doesn’t feel a thing so there’s no stress or pain.
Being an emergency service, there are many occasions when we’re drawing blood. Often it happens multiple times with the same animal and they can become quite needle phobic. If they see a needle or it’s placed gently against their skin, they freak out and quickly become distressed. Numit alleviates all the stress in that situation.
We have tubes of Numit all over the practice. Our nurses carry it in their pouches. It’s a product we use regularly. It can even be used for catheter placements. Once the area is clipped, the Numit is applied and allowed to take effect. It makes the procedure much more comfortable for the animal.
The numbing effect can last for a couple of hours. There have been times when I’ve applied Numit and then been sidetracked by another emergency. When I’ve returned a couple of hours later, the area is still numb. It’s a great product.
What’s not so good
Numit needs to be placed on an area of skin and then wrapped for it to work effectively. It’s recommended that it be applied an hour before any injection. In emergency situations, I’ve allowed much less time than an hour and it worked nicely. The most important thing is to have good contact with the skin.
