Hi Everyone,
I was just wondering if anyone ever uses iontophoresis to numb an area prior to electrolysis? I tried it with basic OTC 4% Lidocaine cream at 1ma per square centimeter and it completely numbed the area. Is this legal to do? It seems like practically a free way to numb an area while not having to use injectables. From the few minutes of research I did, Lidocaine can be infused to about 60X the amount normally tranferred across skin causing numbing to 1 cm. in depth. I know this is routinely used by the medical profession but is it considered a medical procedure or can anyone do it?
Clients should be applying their own anesthetics unless you have another license other than electrolysis. I think you should contact your insurance carrier.
The answer to your question is, depending on what state you are in, this practice may or may not open you up to the possibility of extortion via lawyer, and possibly even state sponsored kidnapping. Of course, most state licenses have you state, under penalty of perjury, that you are bound by the regulations of the license, and that you fit the description of a person required to submit to the terms of said program.
Yes indeed … the “State Board Nazis” would have a field day!
(In my State, for example, the receptacle holding your “used” tweezers must say, “soiled tweezers.” NOT dirty tweezers, used tweezers or naughty ones … To not have this so labeled … you get a nice fat fine. Do they care if you can’t remove hair … or blast the skin to “kingdom come?” Well, actually no!)
In Ohio, cosmetic therapists/electrologists, are licensed under the state medical board. In the May newsletter I was sent, the new rules were regarding the practice of cosmetic therapy/electrology were laid out. The part about furnishing any medication is underlined. When I asked our lobbyist about this at our last continuing ed, I asked the wrong person, as many in the audience spoke up and said they never saw this information and besides, it has always been that we could not furnish medication to clients. Specifically, I wanted to know if we could purchase small tubes of LMX to resell to our clients if they needed anesthesia on their middle upper lip, for which THEY the client would apply themselves. The consensus was NO! The lobbyist said, you never want to get close to a gray area or the Medical Board will slam you hard. So, I believe that is why the word “furnish” is underlined in the link below. I tell my clients that they should discuss numbing with their physician or pharmacist and get the lidocaine topical from their local pharmacy because I don’t want to get near that gray area.
Here’s the link:
http://med.ohio.gov/rules/Limited%20Branch%20rules%20effective%201-24-12.pdf
I recall being at another electrologist office and seeing a huge bowl of 5 Gram tubes of LMX displayed for sale at $12 per tube. This was several years ago, so it was probably legal then. So, I wonder if it is illegal to even mention asking their doctor or pharmacist about numbing options? This is where things get ridiculous if this comes to pass.
In addition to the post above, I had a student call me who receives electrolysis treatment in West Virginia. She told me that topicals were applied to her and asked if I could do the same. She was shocked when I told her I could not. So to the original poster, James is correct. The rules differ from state to state. To fight the state board in my state of Ohio, is an absolute maze that leads to spending a lot of money, going through a legislator to fight for your cause, getting through the back and forth of two of the branches of government on up to the govenor to sign the bill, all the while, being expected to give political donations to the people fighting for your cause along the way. After all the time, money and effort spent, the govenor can decide not to sign on the dotted line in favor of granting anything proposed. I asked our lobbyist about doing thermocoagulation as cosmetic therapists/electrologist in the state of Ohio, with certified training, of course, and that was his answer to me. We could serve so many people, doing procedures other than permanent hair removal, but we are not rich enough to be heard and even if we were, we may be rejected after spending much money. We are told, be happy with what you can do and stay out of the gray areas. (sit down, my little prettys and shut up).
Today I’m in full agreement (odd huh?). I think the key problem with State Boards is that, besides never understanding our field, they concern themselves with written documents only. Instead of being logical, they are like lawyers: delving into the meaning of the various written laws.
At the risk of offending people, it’s like Christians that get overly caught-up in trying to decipher and interpret all the conflicting statements in the Bible. They become “menu eaters” and forget how to taste the meal. Instead, religious folks should get to the heart of the thing (say Jesus’ “Sermon on the Mount”), and forget all the minutia. The true meaning is uncomplicated.
Our California Board just allowed LMX … finally. See, the rules say that we “cannot affect the function of the skin or “go deeper” than the superficial skin.” So, they outlawed over-the-counter meds for 10 years. Never mind that we are actually burning the skin all the way down to the fat layer … and permanently altering the skin. No, we can’t put anything on the skin. Who is the loser? The patient!
And, Dee is correct … you can’t fight it without TONS of money and political will. Yeah, it’s “just sit down and shut up!” That’s what they say. Interestingly enough, in “socialist” Holland they don’t have State boards or State licensing: the profession itself sets its own rules. When it comes to most State regulations, I’m a “Republican!”
More: Our board allows electrolysis … but we can’t remove a black head or a pimple.
The issue: we are not supposed to do anything that might involve blood! For years, “those protecting us” have managed to convince the board that “the electrolysis needle does not pierce the skin but is only ‘placed’ in a follicle and never enters the skin.”
Oooops! Does that make any sense? So far, it’s working!
Like I said at the very beginning before the bombs went off; ask your insurance carrier. You have malpractice and liability insurance, yes? They will clarify what you should not do based on your state and your licenses. I hope that you come back and let us know what they tell you.
Galvanizap, can you please post the links you found on the exact method.
How long to use the roller for to get the best effect? What is the largest surface area on which you can use this method safely?
Fortunately I am not hindered by any of the above mentioned limitations.
Thanks!
Hi Everyone,
Thanks for all the information. I really didn’t think I could do it but it worked so well. Medical boards have no sense of humor. It seems as though someone wanted to know how I did it so here’s the information. I have a lot of experience with electronics so this may not make any sense, unless you’re an engineer. I used a 5 volt junk phone charger and put it into a DC-DC converter which outputs 32 volts DC but at under 100ma of current. I then controlled the output with a LM334 integrated circuit through a 2N5551 transistor. I used black conductive silicone sheet and disposable ECG electrodes to hook it up. You have to have the lidocaine on the positive electrode and the negative on the body. I used an inline ammeter to watch the current. Calculate the area of the electrode and adjust the current in milliamps to match the area in square centimeters. If you run it for 10 minutes you should be able to completely numb an area. The area chosen is dependent on the area of the electrode. If you do a search for “Percutaneous dermal drug delivery for local pain control” or just “Lidocaine iontophoresis”, you’ll find a ton of information. It may sound complicated but it took me all of 15 minutes to make and about $1.50 in parts. If anyone is interested, you can also make a crystal controlled 27MHz 16 watt thermolysis machine for under $10.00. It’s really simple using a Mistubishi RD16HHF1. What these companies charge for a radio transmitter and a 558 quad timer chip is completely ridiculous.
Sorry to resurrect this old thread but I tried this and I had no luck at all.
I just bought a Platinum and it came with the Vitaphase iontophoresis attachment and I"ve tried it and I got nothing but some severely irritated skin. No numbing although I kept it up for as long as I could (which was only a few min). Even at a very low level, the current became unbearable after 3 or 4 min.
As I’ve said above I am not restricted by any local regulations so if anyone has any insight on how or whether the platinum can even be used for this purpose, I’d love to know. (I’m going to dectro next month but I thought I’d ask here first :-))
From the literature provided by dectro it seems as though I shoudl be able to do this with EMLA and this attachment.
Thanks in advance for your input.