Chemically speaking, benzocaine can be defined as the ethyl ester of para-aminobenzoic acid (or 4-aminobenzoic acid). Thanks to the anesthetic activity that it is able to exercise, benzocaine is part of the composition of numerous drugs indicated for the treatment of various disorders characterized by symptoms such as pain, burning and / or itching. In these medicines, benzocaine is always present in combination to other active ingredients used to counteract the disorder in question and / or to help relieve its symptoms. Benzocaine-based medicines currently available on the Italian market are intended for topical and local administration (skin, mucous membranes, dental cavities and rectum ).
Some of the aforementioned medicines, in order to be dispensed, require a specific medical prescription, while others are classified as SOP (non-prescription drugs) or OTC (over-the-counter drugs).
