MT. FREEDOM, N.J./EWORLDWIRE/Feb. 9, 2005 --- Specialty Medicine Compounding Pharmacy of South Lyon, Mich., has entered the marketplace with Tri-Caine and Tri-Caine LD, prescription anesthetic creams for topical application in preparation for a variety of dermatologic treatments.Marketed as Noel's Cream and Noel's Numbing Cream, the product is a combination of benzocaine, lidocaine and tetracaine formulated in two strengths. The higher strength is Tri-Caine or Noel's Cream. The lower strength, Tri-Caine LD or Noel's Numbing Cream is a combination of over-the-counter strength preparations. Both products require a prescription from a physician.
The inspiration for the preparations is Noel Gelfund, a 19-year-old man from Michigan who was born with Sturge-Weber syndrome, and who died in a car accident in December 2004. Sturge-Weber syndrome is a port wine stain condition characterized by a facial birthmark and often seizures and glaucoma. Noel had all three characteristics.
Laser treatments to reduce the port wine stain are highly effective especially when begun at an early age. The pain associated with treatment is likened to the snap of a rubber band on the skin. Dermatologists use many types of topical anesthetics to ease the pain, but patients still complain of and must endure significant discomfort.
Young children undergoing laser treatment often may be given general anesthesia in order to complete the procedure. Since babies and young children have smaller lesions, the use of this cream might eliminate the need for general anesthesia.
Shortly after Gelfund decided to resume laser therapy, after 10 years of declining treatment because of the discomfort, the topical anesthetic his dermatologist used became unavailable. His parents, Larry and Diane Gelfund, sought advice and help from a family friend, Kenny Walkup, who is the owner and pharmacist of Specialty Medicine Compounding Pharmacy in South Lyon.
Walkup's many years of experience formulating custom medications led him to a create a topical anesthetic that can provide the best combination of effectiveness, fast onset of action, depth of numbness and duration of anesthetic results.
Because of the Gelfund family's long association with the Sturge-Weber Foundation, of Mt. Freedom, N.J., and Noel's generous willingness to participate in research through the Foundation, Walkup will donate 20 percent of the proceeds of sales to the Sturge-Weber Foundation in Noel's memory. The Sturge-Weber Foundation is dedicated to research into port wine stain conditions.
The website, www.noelsnumbingcreams.com, contains a prescription blank, drug monograph and background information on the development of Noel's Creams, as well as a biography of Gelfund. The creams are shipped directly from Specialty Medicine Compounding Pharmacy after a valid prescription is faxed to the pharmacy. More information about the pharmacy is available at its website, www.specialty-medicine.com, or by calling (248)446-2643.
More information on Sturge-Weber syndrome may be obtained from www.sturge-weber.com.
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