About BLT Cream
At London Laser we use a specially compounded anesthetic cream to make your treatment experience more comfortable. BLT is a triple numbing cream and comes in different strength of each ingredient.
BLT cream consists of benzocaine, lidocaine, and tetracaine, and is commonly used in the field of dermatology.
Generally, BLT Cream is applied to the skin 10-30 minutes before a procedure.
Why BLT Cream
In particular, BLT cream and other topical anesthetics have shown to decrease pain and discomfort associated with procedures including cosmetic ones, such as tattoo removal, laser hair removal, and laser and light-based skin resurfacing.
Anesthetic creams with three combined ingredients provide rapid and effective cutaneous anesthesia, and BLT cream is widely recognized as the best numbing cream applied prior to laser treatments and other cosmetic procedures.
What Does BLT Cream Consist Of?
Benzocaine is among the most widely used anesthetics in medicine today. Benzocaine is effective by way of blocking voltage-dependent sodium channels on neuron membranes. Benzocaine also has a rapid onset and is comparatively well-tolerated, making it preferred for a variety of functions.
Lidocaine is another topical anesthetic, discovered in the 1940’s. Lidocaine blocks sodium channels which, when applied to the skin, prevents local neurons from signaling the brain. When applied topically, the onset of Lidocaine is a quick 4 minutes.
Tetracaine is a longer acting anesthetic that functions by altering the function of ryanodine receptors that control the distribution of intracellular calcium. Tetracaine has a longer onset time than the other two anesthetics.
A triple-acting anesthetic, BLT numbing cream (benzocaine, lidocaine, tetracaine) is often compounded for use by those who perform minimally invasive procedures of the face and other parts of the body.
Storing BLT Cream
Keep BLT cream at room temperature, or between 68°F to 77°F. Keep the cream away from heat, moisture and light. Make sure the cream is out of the reach of children. After the expiration date, discard the medication safely.
BLT Cream: Risks and Side Effects
Follow our instructions for using BLT cream. Do not apply more or more frequently than prescribed. While considered generally safe for a vast majority of people, topical anesthetics like BLT cream, when compounded in nonstandard doses and excessive exposure can result in dangerous results. Do not use benzocaine; lidocaine; tetracaine products 72 hours before having pancreatic function tests with bentiromide, as the benzocaine component could interfere with results. When patients self medicate for prolonged periods of time, they run the risk of erythema and pruritus which may lead to vesiculation and oozing.
BLT cream is used primarily for topical anesthesia and mild pain control, including procedures like tattoo removal, laser hair removal, micro needling and microblading. BLT cream is so preferred because of its rapid onset, when compared to other solutions, like EMLA cream. The onset of anesthesia with BLT cream is less than 1 minute and the cream lasts for around 30 to 60 minutes.