How do you numb your arm?

Answer 1

The simplest way to cause some numbness in any extremity is to use ice. The area to be numbed should be exposed, then ice should be applied. If the area is large, an ice pack may be the best bet. If the area is smaller, however, the following trick can be used: Fill a small (8oz) styrofoam cup with water. Place the cup in the freezer until the water is completely frozen. Peel the upper lip of the cup off, exposing about 2-3cm of ice, then hold the styrofoam and rub the ice on the area to be numbed. Other ways to numb an arm will likely involve your physician. Lidocaine is the mainstay of local anesthesia, and can be administered in a number of ways. A "local" anesthetic is applied directly at the site to be numbed using a small needle. Of course, this assumes that the area to be numbed is small. For larger areas, nerve blocks are used. In a nerve block, an amount of anesthetic agent (e.g. lidocaine) is injected very close to the nerve supplying that particular region. For example, if the thumb is to be anesthetized, the physician might opt for a median nerve block (although in my experience, a digital block where the small nerves to the finger or thumb itself are anesthetized works wonderfully). For the entire arm to be numbed, it might even be necessary to perform a Bier block. In a Bier block, the blood is squeezed out of the arm, then a tourniquet is applied. Finally, the anesthetic is injected - not near the nerves but into the large veins of the arm. This usually causes nearly complete anesthesia of the arm unti the tourniquet is removed. Great caution must be used with tourniquets, of course, as their improper use can cause great harm.