Letter to Editor: Comparison of pain reduction between lidocaine-prilocaine cream and diclofenac gel in patients treated with the alexandrite laser

Laser– assisted permanent hair removal is commonly performed for the treatment of unwanted hair. this procedure is usually associated with pain and pain reduction has an important role in the success of this treatment. a common method of reducing pain is to use topical analgesics. a mixture of lidocaine and prilocaine (emla) is a commonly used and very effective topical anesthetic. another agent is diclofenac gel. diclofenac is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (nsaid) and is a potent inhibitor of inducible cyclo-oxygenase (cox-2). oral administration of this medication can result in adverse effects. there are no studies on its efficacy as a topical anesthetic in laser hair removal.