Benzalkonium chloride/lidocaine (trade name Bactine among others) is an

antiseptic An antiseptic (from Greek ἀντί ''anti'', "against" and σηπτικός ''sēptikos'', "putrefactive") is an antimicrobial substance or compound that is applied to living tissue/skin to reduce the possibility of infection, sepsis, or putre ...

, first-aid treatment distributed by Wellspring Pharmaceutical Corporation. Bactine was developed in 1947 and first marketed in 1950 by

Miles Laboratories Miles Laboratories was founded as the Dr. Miles Medical Company in Elkhart, Indiana, in 1884 by Dr. Franklin Lawrence Miles, a specialist in the treatment of eye and ear disorders, with an interest in the connection of the nervous system to ov ...

. It is a topically applied

first aid First aid is the first and immediate assistance given to any person with either a minor or serious illness or injury, with care provided to preserve life, prevent the condition from worsening, or to promote recovery. It includes initial in ...

liquid with

active ingredient An active ingredient is any ingredient that provides biologically active or other direct effect in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease or to affect the structure or any function of the body of humans or animals. The ...

benzalkonium chloride Benzalkonium chloride (BZK, BKC, BAK, BAC), also known as alkyldimethylbenzylammonium chloride (ADBAC) and by the trade name Zephiran, is a type of cationic surfactant. It is an organic salt classified as a quaternary ammonium compound. ADBACs hav ...

(an antiseptic) and

lidocaine Lidocaine, also known as lignocaine and sold under the brand name Xylocaine among others, is a local anesthetic of the amino amide type. It is also used to treat ventricular tachycardia. When used for local anaesthesia or in nerve blocks, li ...

topical anaesthetic A topical anesthetic is a local anesthetic that is used to numb the surface of a body part. They can be used to numb any area of the human skin, skin as well as the front of the human eyeball, eyeball, the inside of the Human nose, nose, ear or thro ...

). As an antiseptic, Bactine can help to prevent infections, while the topical anesthetic in Bactine serves to numb the surface of a body part and temporarily relieve pain and itching on the skin. Bactine was introduced in an article in the May 14, 1950, issue of the Sunday newspaper supplement ''Parade'' magazine, where an article noted that "Sometime in the next two weeks you may be able to buy what promises to be one of the most useful antiseptics ever put in your medicine chest." Originated by Miles Laboratories,

Bayer Bayer AG (, commonly pronounced ; ) is a German multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company and one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. Headquartered in Leverkusen, Bayer's areas of business include pharmaceutica ...

continued to produce Bactine after it acquired Miles in 1995. Bactine was acquired from Bayer by Wellspring in 2015.

References

External links

Bactine product website

Wellspring Consumer Healthcare
Products introduced in 1950 Combination drugs Local anesthetics Antiseptics {{Treatment-stub