What is the Difference Between Dibucaine and Lidocaine

Madhu

3 years ago

The key difference between dibucaine and lidocaine is that dibucaine is a carboxamide, whereas lidocaine is an acetamide.

Dibucaine and lidocaine are two medications that can create a feeling of numbness. However, they are different from each other chemically and according to other physical properties.

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Dibucaine
3. What is Lidocaine
4. Dibucaine vs Lidocaine in Tabular Form
5. Summary – Dibucaine vs Lidocaine

What is Dibucaine?

Dibucaine is a medication useful in treating itching on the skin and the pain from certain skin conditions. This drug is also important in treating minor discomfort and itching that is caused by hemorrhoids. Moreover, this medication is a local anesthetic that works by causing temporary numbness and loss of feeling in the skin.

This medication is available over the counter, and it comes as an ointment for topical application on the skin where itching or pain exists. Furthermore, when applying this ointment, it should not be applied to the eyes, nose, or mouth.

The common side effects of dibucaine include allergic reactions such as hives, difficulty in breathing, swelling of face, lips, tongue, and throat, severe burning or stinging sensation, rectal bleeding, rash, irritation on the skin, etc.

When considering the method of application for this medication, we need to clean and dry the skin before applying the ointment and apply a thin layer of the medication, usually 3 to 4 times a day. Moreover, we should not apply the medication on large areas of the skin or apply heat on the applied area because it can cause serious side effects. In addition, we can wash our hands immediately after applying the ointment, so we can avoid touching eyes, nose, etc.

What is Lidocaine?

Lidocaine is a type of local anaesthetic that helps to numb the tissues of a specific area in the body. We often use it as a regional anaesthetic. Furthermore, the most common trade name for this compound is Xylocaine. The metabolism of this compound occurs in the liver. Its elimination half-life is about two hours, while the duration of action is around 10 to 20 minutes.

Moreover, the chemical formula of Lidocaine is C₁₄H₂₂N₂O. The molar mass of the compound is 234.34 g/mol. The melting point of lidocaine is 68 °C. When we use lidocaine as a local anaesthetic, the adverse effects are very rare.

What is the Difference Between Dibucaine and Lidocaine?

Dibucaine is a medication useful in treating itching on the skin and the pain from certain skin conditions. Lidocaine is a type of local anaesthetic that helps to numb the tissues of a specific area in the body. The key difference between dibucaine and lidocaine is that dibucaine is a carboxamide, whereas lidocaine is an acetamide. Moreover, dibucaine is used as a topical ointment while routes of administration for lidocaine involves intravenous, subcutaneous, topical, or oral methods.

Side effects of dibucaine include difficulty in breathing, swelling of face, lips, tongue, and throat, severe burning or stinging sensation, rectal bleeding, rash, irritation on the skin, etc., whereas adverse effects of lidocaine are uncommon, and some common side effects of lidocaine may include nervousness, agitation, anxiety, etc.

The following infographic lists the differences between dibucaine and lidocaine in tabular form for side by side comparison.

Summary – Dibucaine vs Lidocaine

Reference:

1. “Dibucaine Uses, Side Effects & Warnings.” Drugs.com.
2. “Dibucaine Topical: Uses, Side Effects, Interactions, Pictures, Warnings & Dosing.” WebMD.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Cinchocaine 3D ball-and-stick” By Fvasconcellos (talk · contribs) – Own work, after Van Eerdenbrugh B, Fanwick PE, Taylor LS (2010). “2-Butoxy-N-[2-(diethylamino)ethyl]quinoline-4-carboxamide (dibucaine)”. Acta Cryst E66: o3189. DOI:10.1107/S1600536810045460. (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Lidocaine-from-xtal-3D-balls” By Ben Mills – Own work (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia

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