benzocaine

noun

ben·zo·caine | \ ˈben-zə-ˌkān

Definition of benzocaine

: a white crystalline ester C₉H₁₁NO₂ used as a local anesthetic

Examples of benzocaine in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Teething products with benzocaine include Baby Orajel. — Washington Post, "FDA warns teething medicines unsafe, wants them off shelves," 23 May 2018 Common over-the-counter products containing the numbing agent benzocaine can pose serious health risks to infants, with little to no benefits. — Caroline Picard, Good Housekeeping, "Don't Use Baby Teething Medicine With Benzocaine, the FDA Warns," 23 May 2018 Parents have always been overwhelmed by babies crying from teething and have used some truly awful, dangerous methods to stop the pain such as drinking alcohol, paregoric (a strong opioid), and now benzocaine. — Philly.com, "Why it's time to abandon teething medications," 7 June 2018 Products for adults can still contain benzocaine, but the FDA also wants companies to add additional warnings for those products going forward. — Abigail Abrams, Time, "FDA Warns That Benzocaine Teething Products Are Not Safe for Children," 25 May 2018 The most common active ingredient, benzocaine, a local anesthetic, can cause a blood disease methemoglobinemia which prevents red blood cells from carrying oxygen to the baby’s body. — Philly.com, "Why it's time to abandon teething medications," 7 June 2018 Although the condition can be inherited, some people develop it after taking certain medications, including benzocaine. — Korin Miller, SELF, "The FDA Wants Benzocaine Teething Products Taken Off the Market," 24 May 2018 The agency said Wednesday that various gels containing the drug benzocaine (BEN-zoh-keyn) can cause rare but deadly side effects in children, especially those 2 years and younger. — Matthew Perrone, USA TODAY, "US officials: Some teething medicines unsafe for children," 23 May 2018 The health agency is also asking that companies add warnings for adults and children age 2 and up to oral-health products containing benzocaine, a common ingredient in pain-relieving oral gels, sprays, ointments and lozenges. — Laura Mcknight, NOLA.com, "Teething gels pose 'serious risk' to babies, FDA warns," 23 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'benzocaine.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.