Benzocaine is marketed to help relieve pain from a variety of conditions such as teething, sore throat, canker sores and irritation of the mouth and gums.
The products are sold as gels, sprays, ointments, solutions and lozenges under the OTC brand names Anbesol, Baby Orajel, Cepacol, Chloraseptic, Hurricaine, Orabase, Orajel and Topex, as well as store brands and generics. In a Drug Safety Communication issued today, the agency builds on its previous warnings about risks associated with benzocaine products for methemoglobinemia. This dangerous condition is the result of elevated levels of methemoglobin in the blood and it can lead to death.
It causes the amount of oxygen carried through the blood to be greatly reduced. The FDA also outlined these safety concerns in letters that the agency sent to manufacturers of these products. The agency made specific recommendations to manufacturers in order to protect patients and make sure the most up-to-date drug safety information will appear on drug labels.
The FDA is requiring manufacturers of all FDA-approved prescription local anesthetics to standardize warning information about the risk of methemoglobinemia in product labeling across this class of products.
The FDA also previously cautioned parents and caregivers to not give certain homeopathic teething tablets to children and to seek advice from their health care professional for safe alternatives.
When buying OTC oral health drug products, consumers should refer to the OTC Drug Facts Label to see if benzocaine is an active ingredient and, if using these products, look for signs and symptoms of methemoglobinemia.
Signs and symptoms may occur after using benzocaine for the first time, or after prior uses and may appear within minutes to 1 to 2 hours after using benzocaine. These include pale, gray- or blue-colored skin, lips and nail beds; shortness of breath; fatigue; headache; lightheadedness; and rapid heart rate.
If any of these symptoms occur after using benzocaine, the person should receive medical attention immediately. Just as the internet transformed how we buy books and clothing, it has also given drug dealers an easy and sometimes even legal way to connect with eager buyers. Like other internet-based businesses, online sellers of drugs offer convenience and access to a global marketplace. Complicating the efforts of cities and countries to plug this pipeline, many of these chemicals are not illegal or they fall into murky legal zones.
For some people, buying online from the comfort of their home takes some of the darkened alley feel out of a drug transaction. Last year, a year-old Minnesota high school senior died after taking a synthetic psychedelic drug from China that he bought online.
China has garnered a lot of attention recently as the go-to place for illegal, or legal, but dangerous, drugs. The Minnesota teen bought the drugs for personal use. However, some people buy these drugs online in bulk for resale on the street. A few years ago, the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency seized Some officials say that China is a major source of these drugs because of a lack of laws against making bath salts and other psychoactive substances.
This was followed by another wave of ER visits in Read More: Synthetic Marijuana Poisoning ». By selling less-than-pure drugs, dealers can make a lot more money. Benzocaine, sold as a powder, is an antiseptic used to numb tooth pain. That numbing is similar to the effect that cocaine has on the nose. Benzocaine can be mixed with cocaine in a ratio without a noticeable difference in drug quality, making it the cutting agent of choice for many drug dealers.
One of the U. According to the Daily Mail , before his arrest, year-old Gregory King sold 50 kilograms of benzocaine in one day — twice as much as pharmaceutical company Glaxo Smith Klein sold globally in King made the benzocaine and other cutting agents in his own workshop. Benzocaine is also available online for legal purchase, in much smaller amounts, from major online retailers.
However, benzocaine is far from a safer high. Because its effects are much weaker, people may use it in higher doses, which can lead to a fast or slow heartbeat, stopped breathing, or seizures.
Other legal highs carry health risks, including excited or paranoid states, coma, and seizures. The U. It is a disease. Read more on how to recognize and treat it.
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