Cosmetic hair removal could be dangerous.
Procedures such as laser hair removal use prescription painkiller ointments, which often are not administered by a physician.
In the last six months, two women died from drug overdose after applying excessive amounts of lidocaine and tetracaine ointments followed by a plastic wrap to concentrate their effectiveness.
A U.S. Food and Drug Administration warning addressed the application of topical anesthetic creams, ointments, and gels containing lidocaine, tetracaine, benzocaine and prilocaine without close supervision by a physician.
Even in a cosmetic procedure, overdoses can lead to heart arrhythmias and seizures, according to the alert from MedWatch, the FDA’s safety information and adverse-event reporting program.
If you are going to your neighborhood tanning salon, “the issue is what is the oversight and who is doing it,” said Dr. Craig Vander Kolk, a plastic surgeon with Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore. “We believe these treatments should be performed if not personally by a board certified plastic surgeon, then by someone who works in the same office.”
“This is a wonderful technology; the patients are very happy with it and they are very efficient [procedures],” he said.
On the other hand, patients seeking hair removal probably should not have the procedure in a one-stop-shopping environment.
The FDA cited two cases involving 22- and 25-year-old women who applied topical anesthetics to their legs prior to laser hair removal. As instructed, they then wrapped their legs in plastic wrap to increase the numbing effect.
Both women had seizures, fell into comas, and subsequently died from the toxic effects of systemic absorption. Other approved and unapproved uses of these products resulted in comas, and slowed or stopped breathing, according to the FDA.
For hair removal, only a palm-sized area should be zapped at one time, Vander Kolk said. Performing the operation without the cream causes pain similar to getting a tattoo, but patients usually come back for several visits.
Adverse events potentially related to the use of topical anesthetic products should be reported to MedWatch by phone at 1-800-FDA-1088 or online at www.fda.gov/medwatch.
