Q: Where can I buy emla cream?A: emla cream is available at your local community pharmacy or can be purchased directly through our
online pharmacy.
Q: Who can use emla cream?A: emla can be used by babies (from full term), children and adults. Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding are advised to talk to their pharmacist or doctor.
Q: Do I have to use a dressing with emla?
A: Because of the way emla is made, a waterproof dressing should be used after emla cream is applied to the skin. The only exception to this is when it is applied to delicate areas like the genitals in adults.
Q: How long do I leave emla on for?A: emla cream can left be on the skin from 60 minutes to 5 hours in adults.
Q: Is emla cream safe?A: Like all medicines, emla cream 5% can cause side effects, although not everybody gets them. Common side effects (that affect more than 1 in 10 people) are redness, slight swelling, or temporary paleness of the place where the cream was used.
Q: My child is anaemic, can they use emla cream?A: Talk to your pharmacist or doctor about whether emla cream is suitable for your child. Emla is licensed for use in babies (from full term), children and adults.
Q: I take a lot of medicines, can I still use emla cream?
A: emla is not recommended if you take any medicines used to treat or prevent an irregular heartbeat such as mexiletine or amiodarone or any medication containing sulphonamides such as sulfmethoxazole. This list is not exhaustive. If you are unsure,please talk to your pharmacist or doctor.
Q: I think I may be allergic to lidocaine, can I use emla?A: You should not use emla cream 5% if you have had problems in the past when taking medicines containing lidocaine or prilocaine.
Q: Why is it often recommended that EMLA be applied in two places?A: Prior to a venipuncture or an injection, it is sometimes difficult to know exactly where the needle will be inserted. You should therefore apply cream on two skin areas so as to have a ”reserve site” to inject into.
Q: Can EMLA cream be kept in a fridge? A: Yes, but application to the skin straight from the fridge may feel somewhat unpleasant. EMLA cream must not, however, be frozen.
Q: Can EMLA cream be used on skin areas affected by atopic dermatitis? A: Yes, but with caution. The application time should be shortened to 15-30 minutes because of faster absorption on all parts of the skin in patients with atopic dermatitis, i.e. including skin areas without eczema.
Q: How will the anaesthesia be effected if you apply EMLA to intact skin for a period of less than 1 hour?A: An application time of less than 1 hour creates an unreliable anaesthetic effect, whereby individual variations can be significant. This means you can never predict which patients will experience satisfactory anaesthesia after 40 minutes and in which patients the skin will not be numb. However, in patients with atopic dermatitis 15-30 min is sufficient for a minor procedure. Also, for the curettage of molluscum contagiosum, about 80-90% of patients will experience no or only mild pain after an EMLA application of about 30 minutes.
Q: How can I estimate the dose from the 30 g EMLA cream tube? A: 1 g of EMLA cream administered from the 30 g aluminium tube corresponds to a length of cream string of approximately 3.5 cm.
