Key points about medicines to help with pain during tests and procedures
- numbing medicine numbs the skin and tissues underneath the skin
- numbing medicine may burn a little bit at first
- sedation involves using medicine, or a combination of medicines, to help your child relax or sleep through the test or procedure
Numbing the skin with topical or local anaesthesia
Topical medicine
Your child may have a topical numbing medicine before a test or procedure. This is medicine you put on the surface of the skin. This may be a cream, spray, patch, or another device your healthcare team put on the skin. They will put the topical medicine on the skin close to where the procedure will happen.
The medicine numbs the skin and the tissues underneath the skin. For many tamariki (children), this is enough numbing medicine for a needle procedure.
Local anaesthesia
After the medicine has numbed the surface of the skin, sometimes your child will have another numbing medicine. A member of your healthcare team will inject this medicine a little bit deeper into the tissue using a small needle. This numbing medicine may burn a little bit at first, but after 1 to 2 minutes, the tissue will feel numb all the way down to the bone.
Sedation for tests or procedures
Your healthcare team will talk with you about sedation if your child needs more than topical medicine or local anaesthesia.
Sedation involves using medicine, or a combination of medicines, to help your child relax or sleep through the test or procedure.
There are different levels of sedation, ranging from a feeling of calm, to sleepiness, to being completely asleep (general anaesthesia). The level of sedation will depend on:
- your child's age
- your child's condition
- your child's level of anxiety around the procedure anxiety
- hospital guidelines
- what kind of procedure your child is having
The goal of all levels of sedation is to keep your child comfortable and free from pain. Talk with your healthcare team to learn more about what type of sedation is best for your child.
Your healthcare team may discuss other ways to support your child. Check the following pages for ways to support your child during procedures and treatment.
Acknowledgements
All the pages in the childhood cancer section of this website have been written by health professionals who work in the field of paediatric oncology. They have been reviewed by the members of the National Child Cancer Network (NZ). Medical information is authorised by the clinical leader of the National Child Cancer Network.
