Foot-Numbing Spray: Solution to High-Heel Pain?
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iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — Wearing high heels can be a real pain for women, but a new product claims to make wearing even the highest of stilettos comfortable with just a simple spray.
The product, Heel No Pain/Style by Biochemistry, was created by Dr. Randal Haworth, a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon.
Among its ingredients is lidocaine HCI, a local anesthetic used by doctors and dentists, according to Haworth. The product’s Facebook page reports the anesthetic is designed to work its way through the thick skin on the soles of the feet and numb the nerves that transmit pain.
The spray is to be applied to your feet no more than four times a day. After 10 to 15 minutes, the company claims, the spray will kick in and ease your pain.
While the company calls the spray a “whole new way to stay happy in your heels,” some doctors question whether it is smart to mask, rather than fix, the pain in your feet.
“It’s not really curing a problem. It’s really just masking the pain,” said Dr. Jaime Hernandez, an orthopedic surgeon at the Southern California Orthopedic Institute. “It’s important to listen and receive any signals the body is sending to you.”
ABC News’ Cecilia Vega gave the product a try, spraying one foot to see what happens.
“The foot without the spray, it feels like a foot that’s been in a high heel all day long. It kind of hurts,” Vega said. “The foot with the spray, it kind of hurts too. I don’t really notice that much of a difference.”
Dr. Haworth says the product is effective on about 70 percent of the people who try it.
The cucumber-scented spray will go on sale in 2014 and comes in a 1-ounce bottle and a 2-ounce ounce bottle.
Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio