Ice, lidocaine-prilocaine associated with similar pain reduction after laser hair removal
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Ice and topical anesthetics demonstrated a similar capacity for pain reduction after laser hair removal, according to a study.
“Laser hair removal is associated with moderate acute pain,” Wanjarus Roongpisuthipong, MD, of the department of dermatology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, and colleagues wrote.
The aim of the current study was to compare ice packs with topical lidocaine-prilocaine as a pain reduction strategy during axillary laser hair removal.
The study included 88 patients randomly assigned to be treated with topical anesthetic to one axilla and ice on the other axilla before 810 nm diode laser sessions. Participants were treated with three monthly procedures.
The researchers assessed pain according to the Short-Form McGill Pain Questionnaire immediately and 5 minutes after treatment. This assessment included a 100-point VAS, with 0 signifying no pain and 100 signifying the worst possible pain, as the primary endpoint. The researchers also assessed for post-treatment erythema, overall edema and perifollicular edema and recorded patient skin temperatures, patient preferences and adverse events.
Higher VAS pain scores were reported in the lidocaine-prilocaine arm vs. ice arm immediately after the procedure (10.2 vs. 7.8; P = .03), according to the results.
However, findings from the 5-minute assessment showed higher VAS pain scores among patients treated with ice vs. lidocaine-prilocaine (2.7 vs. 1.6; P = .03).
A preference for ice was reported by participants in 53 of the 88 procedures overall (60.2%).
Safety data showed no serious adverse events.
The researchers noted that all participants were either white or Asian with Fitzpatrick skin type I to III and “coarse dark axillary hair.” This may limit the generalizability of the findings.
“While pain control with ice and topical anesthesia is associated with time after treatment, the two modalities do not differ in terms of degree of pain reduction associated with axillary laser hair removal,” the researchers concluded.