Benzocaine powder is basically a
local anesthetic which is primarily used for the purpose of treating or
relieving painful conditions of mouth such as ulcers, sore throat, bacterial
infection etc. It usually works by numbing the nerves of area under treatment.
It is also used in cough drops as it known to bring great relief in cases of
severe coughing. Although it is primarily used as a topical pain reliever, but
it is also quite commonly used in a wide range of ointments and other over the
counter products for the treatment of oral or dental diseases. In addition, the
drug is also used in combination with a chemical called antipyrine, which is
known to prove quite effective for the treatment of ear pain and removal of
excessive ear wax.
Being an anesthetic, Benzocaine powder
directly interacts with the open nerve endings of the affected area to bring
relief to the patient. First introduced by the name of Anasthesin in the market
in the year 1902; the drug works by inhibiting the voltage dependent action
potentials. The pains caused in the body are a result of open nerve endings
through which sodium takes a direct entry into the neurons which in turn causes
the depolarization of nerves. This results in the initiation of action
potential which gets propagated toward the nervous system, ulktimately causing
the brain to interpret it as pain. This is where the role of pure-powder comes into play as it
interrupts the propagation of action potential, thus bringing relief to the
patient.
