A study by St. Luke’s Mountain State Tumor Institute in Boise, Idaho, articulates that the pain and discomfort felt during mammograms could be eased by lidocaine gel.

Mammography is the only proven procedure to screen women for breast cancer and helps in early detection and treatment of the disease. Its necessity is apparent as breast cancer affects more women than any other non skin cancer does, with 180,000 women diagnosed with breast cancer each year and more than 40,000 deaths a year in the US.

According to the researchers, an application of 4 % lidocaine gel, which is easily available over the counter, significantly reduces the discomfort.  Lidocaine is a topical anesthetic. which should be removed before the procedure. The study published recently in the online edition of Radiology, said, due to the reduced discomfort we may see an improvement in the likelihood of future mammographic screening being done regularly.

Mammograms are found to be painful by some women and uncomfortable by others as the breasts are squeezed between two metal plates. The topically applied lidocaine was found to be more effective than painkillers like Tylenol.