EMLA cream is a mixture of which local anesthetics?

EMLA cream is a mixture of which local anesthetics?

• A. Lidocaine and prilocaine
• B. Lidocaine and benzocaine
• C. Prilocaine and benzocaine
• D. Mepivacaine and lidocaine

Answer: (A)

EMLA cream is designed around a eutectic mixture of local anesthetics, which means two drugs are combined in a way that lowers the melting point and boosts skin penetration. The combination used is lidocaine and prilocaine in equal parts (typically 2.5% each). This pairing provides effective topical dermal anesthesia for minor procedures because the two agents together permeate the skin more readily than either alone, delivering numbness where the cream is applied. Both drugs work by blocking voltage-gated sodium channels on nerve membranes, preventing nerve impulse propagation and thus sensation in the treated area. Other topical anesthetics exist, but EMLA specifically uses lidocaine with prilocaine, not benzocaine or other pairings.

EMLA cream is designed around a eutectic mixture of local anesthetics, which means two drugs are combined in a way that lowers the melting point and boosts skin penetration. The combination used is lidocaine and prilocaine in equal parts (typically 2.5% each). This pairing provides effective topical dermal anesthesia for minor procedures because the two agents together permeate the skin more readily than either alone, delivering numbness where the cream is applied. Both drugs work by blocking voltage-gated sodium channels on nerve membranes, preventing nerve impulse propagation and thus sensation in the treated area. Other topical anesthetics exist, but EMLA specifically uses lidocaine with prilocaine, not benzocaine or other pairings.