Local anaesthetic injection (Local anaesthetic infiltration)

What is local anaesthetic infiltration?

Local anaesthetic infiltration is an injection of numbing medicine directly into the small area where a procedure is being done. It works by temporarily stopping the nerves in that area from sending pain signals to your brain, so you stay fully awake and aware but do not feel pain there.

It is a good choice for skin and soft-tissue procedures of limited size and depth — for example removing a skin lesion, stitching a wound, or a minor operation on the skin or a finger. The surgeon or doctor doing the procedure usually gives it. You may still feel touch, pressure, tugging or movement, but not pain.

The injection is not a surgical cut. It uses a fine needle to place the numbing medicine under the skin; you typically feel a brief sting or stinging as it goes in, then the area becomes numb within a few minutes.

It is a very useful, widely used technique, but it is not suitable for every procedure. Larger, deeper or longer operations may need a nerve block, sedation or a general anaesthetic instead.

Types, options & approaches

There may be different ways to do this. The right approach depends on the clinical question and your circumstances.

Local anaesthetic vs general anaesthetic

Your clinician will advise which is appropriate for your procedure and your health.

Preparing for your treatment

• Tell the clinician about any allergy or previous bad reaction to local anaesthetic or dental numbing.
• Mention all your medicines, especially blood thinners, as these can affect bleeding.
• Say if you have fainted with needles or injections before.
• Ask whether you should keep taking your usual medicines as normal.
• Usually no fasting is needed for a local anaesthetic alone, but follow any specific instructions — fasting is required if sedation is added.
• Wear comfortable clothing that gives easy access to the area being treated.

What happens

The clinician cleans the skin over the area to be treated. They then use a fine needle to inject the local anaesthetic under the skin and around the site. You usually feel a brief sting or stinging sensation and sometimes a feeling of pressure as the medicine goes in.

Within a few minutes the area becomes numb. The clinician checks it is fully numb before starting. During the procedure you stay awake and can usually talk; you may feel touch, pressure or pulling, but should not feel sharp pain. If you do feel pain, tell them and more local anaesthetic can be given.

For some procedures a screen can be placed so you do not have to watch. Afterwards the area stays numb for a few hours before sensation gradually returns, sometimes with a tingling feeling as it wears off.

Because you are awake and the after-effects are minor, you can usually go about your day, though the treated area itself may need care depending on the procedure.

Is this treatment right for me?

A good consultation should explore whether it's the right choice for you now — including reasons to wait or consider something else.

Before you decide

Use this as a shared-decision checklist. The aim is not just “can this be done?”, but whether it is right for you, now, with the risks and alternatives clearly understood.

Comfort, sedation or contrast choices

If local anaesthetic, sedation, contrast or pain relief is used, ask what is planned, why, and what it means afterwards.

Local anaesthetic is very safe, but it is not without risks. The most important rare problem is local anaesthetic toxicity, where too much medicine reaches the bloodstream and can affect the brain and heart; this is uncommon and clinicians limit the dose and inject carefully to avoid it. Tell the clinician straight away if you feel odd — ringing in the ears, a metallic taste, numbness around the mouth, dizziness or drowsiness — during or soon after the injection.

Published figures to discuss

Local anaesthetic infiltration is very safe, and serious complications are rare. The most important serious risk, local anaesthetic systemic toxicity, depends on the dose, the site and the individual; the figures below come from registries and reviews and apply broadly to local anaesthetic injections, including nerve blocks.

These are literature figures, not a personalised prediction. Your own risks and likely benefits depend on your circumstances, your health, and how your care is carried out and followed up.

What happens afterwards

There is usually little to recover from. The area stays numb for a few hours and then sensation returns; any after-effects from the injection itself are normally minor and short-lived.

• Numbness in the area for a few hours.
• Tingling or 'pins and needles' as feeling returns.
• Mild soreness or a small bruise where the needle went in.
• Mild discomfort at the procedure site once the numbness fades, eased by simple pain relief.

Aftercare

• Protect the numb area until feeling returns, as you may not notice heat, cold or knocks.
• Avoid hot drinks or food if your mouth or lip is numb, to prevent burns or biting.
• Take simple pain relief as advised once the numbness wears off, if needed.
• Follow any wound-care advice for the procedure itself.
• Keep the area clean and watch for signs of infection.
• Contact the clinic if you feel unwell or have concerns after the injection.

• Allergies and reactions mentioned to the clinician
• Medicines list shared, including blood thinners
• Simple pain relief available at home if needed
• Wound-care instructions understood
• Plan to protect the numb area until feeling returns
• Clinic contact number saved

Scars and how they heal

Local anaesthetic infiltration uses a fine needle, not a surgical cut, so it does not leave a scar of its own. You may have a tiny needle mark, minor bruising or short-lived soreness where it was injected. Any scar comes from the procedure itself, not from the numbing injection.

⚠ Get urgent help if…

• Feeling odd soon after the injection — ringing in the ears, a metallic taste, numbness around the mouth, dizziness or drowsiness — tell the clinician at once.
• Any rash, swelling of the face, lips or throat, or breathing difficulty — seek emergency help.
• Numbness or weakness that lasts much longer than expected, or does not start to wear off.
• Spreading redness, heat, swelling or discharge at the injection or procedure site (signs of infection).
• Severe or worsening pain not helped by simple pain relief.
• Feeling generally very unwell after the procedure — contact the clinic. For urgent advice that is not life-threatening, use NHS 111 in England, Scotland or Wales; in Northern Ireland, contact your GP out-of-hours service or your HSC Trust's Phone First service. If it is an emergency, call 999 or go to A&E.

Who to contact: your clinician, clinic or test provider first (keep their number to hand). For urgent advice when you can't reach them, call NHS 111. In an emergency, call 999.

General guidance — it doesn't replace the specific advice your specialist gives you.

Results & realistic expectations

When it works well, the area is fully numb, the procedure is pain-free, and feeling returns over a few hours with no lasting effects. It is a reliable way to carry out many minor procedures while you stay awake. It cannot numb large or deep areas for long operations, where a different anaesthetic is needed.

Occasionally the area is not fully numb and more local anaesthetic, or a change of plan, is needed — this is uncommon and easily managed.

The numbing effect is temporary, lasting roughly a few hours depending on the medicine used and the area. It is for the procedure and short-term pain relief, not a long-term treatment.

Related tests, treatments or support

Local anaesthetic infiltration is often combined with sedation for people who would rather feel relaxed, and is sometimes used alongside a regional nerve block or, after bigger operations, as wound infiltration for pain relief.

Follow-up & long-term care

Most local anaesthetic procedures need no specific anaesthetic follow-up. Any follow-up relates to the procedure itself — for example a wound check, removal of stitches, or biopsy results — which the clinician will arrange. Seek advice if you develop warning signs.

Repeat, follow-on and what comes next

• If the area is not fully numb, more local anaesthetic can be given.
• Occasionally the plan changes to sedation or a different anaesthetic if comfort cannot be achieved.
• The numbing is temporary and may need repeating for staged or repeat procedures.

Ask what happens if the result is unclear or needs repeating, and what is included if further tests or follow-up are needed.

What good aftercare looks like

• Clear advice on protecting the numb area until sensation returns.
• Guidance on simple pain relief once the numbness wears off.
• Wound-care instructions for the procedure itself.
• A named contact route if you feel unwell or have concerns.
• Awareness among staff of how to recognise and treat local anaesthetic toxicity.

What affects the cost

Costs vary a great deal between people and providers, and we don't publish prices. What matters is understanding what drives the cost and making sure your quote is complete. The main things that affect it:

• The procedure itself, which the local anaesthetic supports.
• Whether sedation is added, which needs more monitoring and recovery time.
• The clinician's fee and any clinic or facility fee.
• Any pathology or laboratory fee if a sample is taken.
• Follow-up such as wound checks, stitch removal or results.
• Take-home pain relief or dressings if needed.

• The clinician's fee and what the procedure includes.
• Whether sedation is included or extra.
• Any clinic or facility fee.
• Laboratory or pathology fees if a sample is taken.
• Follow-up, results and a contact route afterwards.
• What happens, and any cost, if a complication occurs.

On the NHS? Local anaesthetic for minor procedures is routine on the NHS and privately; private care is mainly about choice and timing rather than a different technique.

You're entitled to your total cost in writing — including reports, follow-up and what happens if the result is inconclusive — before you decide.

Consent traps and marketing red flags

These are not small details. They are often where patients lose choice, time to reflect, or realistic expectations.

Choosing a specialist safely

• Check the specialist is on the GMC Specialist Register for this area.
• Make sure they work at a CQC-registered service, and look for membership of the relevant Royal College or professional body.
• You're entitled to time to consider and to have your questions answered before you agree — the specialist who looks after you should explain it, not a salesperson.
• Be wary of pressure: time-limited offers or deposits taken before you've had time to think are red flags, not bargains.
• You're entitled to your total cost in writing — including any follow-up — before you decide.

How Vuemedics verifies every consultant →

Take this to your consultation. A good specialist will welcome every one of these.

• Is a local anaesthetic the best choice for my procedure, or would another option be better?
• How much will I feel during the procedure?
• How long will the area stay numb, and how should I protect it?
• What signs of a reaction should I watch for after the injection?
• Will I need sedation as well, and if so, what does that change?
• What pain relief will I need once the numbness wears off?
• Are you on the GMC Specialist Register for this area, and which Royal College or professional body are you a member of?
• Will you be the specialist who carries out my treatment, and who looks after me afterwards?
• What are the risks for someone like me, and how often do your own patients have a problem or need it repeated or redone?
• What does a realistic result look like — and what can this treatment not achieve?
• What are my options, including waiting, doing nothing for now, or choosing a different approach?
• Can I have written information, results and aftercare instructions in a format I can use, including any accessibility or communication support I need?
• What is the total cost in writing, including any follow-ups, and how much time do I have to decide?

Find a verified specialist for local anaesthetic injection

Every consultant is GMC-checked and independently reviewed. Search by postcode and distance, or switch to a map. Ordered by rating, relevance and recency — never by who pays.

How we made this page

Medically reviewed by a GMC-registered consultant. Written in plain English, checked against NHS, NICE, GMC and relevant Royal College / specialist-society guidance, and kept under review. No clinic paid to appear on this page, and we publish no pricing. This is general information to help you prepare — it is not a substitute for advice from your own clinician. How we review our guides →

Source hierarchy: UK regulator and NHS/NICE guidance first, then relevant Royal College or specialist-society guidance, then peer-reviewed evidence for procedure-specific figures where available.

Sources & standards: NHS — Local anaesthesia RCoA — You and your anaesthetic RCoA — Sedation explained Local anaesthetic systemic toxicity — review (PubMed) Local anaesthetic toxicity — StatPearls (NCBI) nidirect — Urgent and emergency care services nidirect — GP out-of-hours service

Reviews reflect patients' experience of care, not clinical outcomes. For procedure volumes and outcome data see PHIN.

Last medically reviewed 2026-09-21. Spotted something wrong or out of date? Report an error in this guide.