USING A LOCAL ANESTHETIC
If ordered or permitted by hospital policy you may use a local anesthet- ic before venipuncture to reduce the patient's pain and anxiety.
Although intradermal injections prior to insertion are controversial and not recommended for routine use by the Intravenous Nurses Society, using an anesthetic may make venipuncture easier on everyone because the patient will be less inclined to tense up and pull away. In most institutions, the anesthetic of choice is 1% lidocaine Xylocaine without epinephrine or contact your pharmacy to obtain buffered lidocaine, which helps remove the sting from this procedure. An alternative choice is an intradermal injection of bacteriostatic 0.9% sodium chloride.