The best thing I have found for urethra pain

**dawn42007** · 01-14-2005, 05:01 AM

My doctor gave me some lidocaine gel. It comes in a syringe but without the needle. The tip is rounded and I am able to put it right on the opening of my urethra. Last night I had a major flare and I put some lidocaine up there and instantly felt so much better. I was also told by my gyno that I can put the lidocaine on a q-tip and insert it in my urethra to relieve pain that is higher up. I just wanted to offer up this idea for everyone and I hope it can help others.

Jessica

**mightylittlemom** · 01-14-2005, 06:43 AM

thanks for the tip. I have a small tube of xylocaine gel left over from when I burned my finger. That has helped trememdously. My mom was the one who recommeded doing the same thing you just posted about. It does help, even if it is temporary. I hadn't thought to use a q-tip though. Thanks.

MLM

**Jeanne D.** · 01-14-2005, 10:32 AM

Be extremely careful when using a q-tip -- it can irritate the urethra!

Xylocaine gel can be obtained, with a prescription, in the size dentists use (when numbing your gums before the novocain is injected). The larger quantity is much cheaper. You can purchase a syringe used for dosing infants, fill with the gel, and squirt into the urethra. It works very well. My uro gave me this tip.

Jeanne

**classics** · 01-14-2005, 10:48 AM

Is there a difference between lidocaine and Xylocaine? Is Xylocaine better in that it numbs more?

**Jeanne D.** · 01-14-2005, 11:16 AM

Lidocaine and Xylocaine are the same drug.

**Allibeth** · 01-15-2005, 04:59 AM

Try to get sterile q-tips if you do that.

***ICNDonna*** · 01-15-2005, 05:06 AM

without first discussing it with your physician. Q-tips can be especially hazardous because under that soft cotton tip there is sometimes a sharp stick, plus the fact that they can "shed" cotton.

If your doctor feels this is a good step for you, you will be taught how to do it safely.

Donna

**BittersweetRain** · 01-15-2005, 01:56 PM

You know, Donna, I have had so much urethral pain I can't even imagine inserting something into it. And I would also be concerned about fibers left behind. I'll have to use the more conventional methods for pain relief or just put it at the opening.

**Allibeth** · 01-15-2005, 02:47 PM

There must be some sort of thin silicon or latex cannula you can use, or a syringe with a longer tip. Maybe you can use a urinary catheter and cut it very short -- the pediatric ones are thinner (you can get them in #10French) so not as painful. Or use liquid lidocaine (instead of gel) while reclining so it leaks back into your urethra. You need to be creative -- don't expect your MD to know all the answers. I go to a well-reputed MD in Manhattan, and he told me it was okay to use a latex catheter eventhough I'm allergic to latex (like I really need more urethritis from using a substance I'm allergic to), and when I suggested a smaller, more comfortable type of catheter for my bladder irrigations that I found he had never heard of it. Maybe you can check out supplies at a medical supply store near you, and then ask your MD if it's okay to improvise with whatever goodies you find. Good luck.

**A.J.** · 01-15-2005, 03:56 PM

i used to use lydocaine in a bottle with a slender tip so i could easily insert it, but i notice that i'm one of those people who uses medicine for a while, then it wears off after a while. this is not always true, but it happened with the lydocaine which is such a bummer because it really helped. so i'd definitely recommend it, maybe minus the q-tip thing. you should be able to get the special bottle for easy use. good luck to everyone!

***Julie B*** · 01-16-2005, 03:50 AM

I am really considering asking about this after the icky night I had last night. Lately, that is where most of my irritation has been. And as I was scrolling through the other answers, I was very glad you posted the warning about the Qtips, Donna.......I actually had my first (butcher) uro suggest using a Q-tip up there to relieve the itchy irritation! I was incensed.....asking are you kidding?

I would also be very very cautious about using any tip or syringe that is not disposible after use. I hope no one will reuse anything that touches there without sterilizing it, if that is the only option. I can envision the ped's catheters used to dip in the gel and inserted gently to sort of coat the opening, then throwing it away. I have never used catheters though.

I am for almost anything that relieves anyone's IC pain, but always check with your doctor......not only do you want them to have some input on what you are doing, but as was mentioned, THEY can learn from US about different ways to cope with IC and maybe help other patients. My (wonderful fantastic) second urologist had not tried atarax much (at all?) when I first asked about it. He said, give it a shot. That was in the very beginning of it's use in IC. Now, we all know, it is one of the first treatments tried.

Be well................Julie :-)

**Betsie** · 01-16-2005, 04:09 AM

I actually had my first (butcher) uro suggest using a Q-tip up there to relieve the itchy irritation! I was incensed.....asking are you kidding?

Good Lord Julie!

I never stop being amazed at the barbaric things still said and thought in the age of modern medicine. I hope no poor trusting teenager is given this advice...soglad you have a new and much improved URO...I too have never used catheters...so fortunate and while my IC is in very decent shape, I too am interested in the lidocaine method vs. pain meds.

My tolerance to them is abnormally high, so it seems a more generalized approach when needed might be a great thing to know. will ask my URO-the kindest man in the world and very well known uro, but truthfully? Clueless about managing IC...I had to read a lot to figure out my best approach. Time to move on I think.

**Allibeth** · 01-16-2005, 06:38 AM

Well, actually cotton swabs are inserted in the urethra to obtain specimens, such as testing for ureaplasma. But I agree it is not preferable. I am also wary of not using something sterile and disposable, especially since it is difficult (if not impossible) for us to discern if our pain is from a new UTI. I know there are numerous studies that show clean technique and sterile technique have the same infectious rate outcomes (indeed, people with spinal cord injury don't use sterile technique, and they certainly cath often and don't feel UTI pain), so we don't need to obsess about being sterile, but I do anyway. It drives me crazy that my urologist isn't more conscientious about this -- e.g., he told me to bring my elmiron tablets to his office to crunch up so he could instill it in my bladder, and I was thinking: isn't he going to tell me to wash my hands before handling the tablet, and put it in a clean bag in my purse? What if I'd been putting unwashed hands in that bottle all along -- most people don't wash their hands before taking a pill. What if I carried that pill in a dirty coat pocket? Shouldn't he think to instruct patients on these things? And when something is sterile, like a syringe or catheter, he doesn't use sterile technique so it's futile. Julie B, it's so true that healthcare providers learn from their patients. I've been an RN for 13 years, and I've learned so much from my patients. I first learned about IC from a patient with it years ago (which is why I could identify it when I became symptomatic), and some people are so creative with their own treatments of various ailments.

**classics** · 01-16-2005, 03:18 PM

I doubt that I would be able to put anything in my urethra either. Haven't tried the lidocaine in my vagina, but I might try that. Since they are right next to each other maybe it's possible for the lidocaine to penetrate the tissues of the urethra. Who knows.

I do have success with putting a piece of ice in a balloon, filling the rest with water and freezing it, then placing it in the vagina. It's terribly cold when first entering, but once it's up there far enough, I can't feel it. (leave the end out, for easy removal) The ice numbs the urethra. Only thing, you can't walk around as it melts, else it will fall out. It's not a cure for burning, but provides some temporary relief.

**Allibeth** · 01-16-2005, 03:54 PM

Classics, applebetty, Maybe you can freeze something small and metal so it conducts cold well and insert that. I also get hot burning pain in my vagina and sometimes feel like shoving ice cubes up there but haven't yet, but even if I did I see your point about leakage. Anal dildos are small, maybe sex stores sell metal dildos?? It would be the right shape, just put in the freezer for an hour to make cold. Or maybe a mini ice pack? Do they come that small? They make "tampon weights" for people that do Kegel exercises -- they are popular in parts of Europe -- maybe they make metal ones. Perhaps once the vagina is numbed with ice, the urethra will become numb enough to insert some lidocaine.