benzocaine

ben·zo·caine | \ ˈben-zə-ˌkān

How to pronounce benzocaine (audio)

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Definition of benzocaine

: a white crystalline ester C₉H₁₁NO₂ used as a local anesthetic

Examples of benzocaine in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Last year, the Food and Drug Administration warned that over-the-counter drugs containing benzocaine should not be used to treat infants or kids younger than two years old for this very reason. — Beth Mole, Ars Technica, "Blueish woman with chocolaty blood highlights rare risk of common anesthetic," 23 Sep. 2019 Numbing medication caused her reaction In his patient’s case, her reaction was caused by benzocaine, an active ingredient found in over-the-counter toothache and cold sore medicine. — Cnn.com Wire Service, The Mercury News, "A woman used a numbing agent to treat a toothache. The next day her blood turned blue," 19 Sep. 2019 The case spurred Warren to keep an eye for products containing benzocaine. — NBC News, "A common numbing medication turned a woman's blood blue," 18 Sep. 2019 Stay away from teething tablets that contain the plant poison belladonna and gels with benzocaine. — Marisa Lascala, Good Housekeeping, "When Do Babies Start Teething? The Facts Every Parent Should Know," 9 Aug. 2019 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

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.

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Last Updated

21 Nov 2019

Cite this Entry

“Benzocaine.” The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Inc., https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/benzocaine. Accessed 9 December 2019.

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