ARE you guilty of convincing yourself you can do a whole night in your favourite stilettos only to hobble home in crippling pain?
A hack making the rounds on TikTok has users convinced they can sidestep the agony that comes with wearing high heels.
But doctors aren't convinced, warning the trend could cause unwanted side effects.
People have flocked to TikTok to rave about the trick, which involves spraying your bare feet with lidocaine – a topical anaesthetic used to numb parts of your body or relieve pain – before donning your heels.
One app user, @bestofbrittanyy, posted a video of her self spritzing her feet with the stuff liberally before tying a pair of gold strappy sandals.
“You’ll be in your shoes all night!” she captioned the clip.
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Meanwhile, TikToker Amy Wang – known as @bondenavant – shared that her "feet went instantly numb" after trying the trick, with her video getting a whopping 4 million views.
Speaking to CNA Lifestyle, family physician Dr Andrew Fang said lidocaine spray tends to be used as a local anaesthetic for the temporary relief from pain, typically during medical examinations of the nose, throat or stomach using an endoscopy or during dental treatments.
In the UK, a cream version of the numbing agent is available on prescription.
While it might seem like an excellent idea, Dr Fang warned against.
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"When used as directed, lidocaine spray is generally safe for short-term use as it does not get absorbed into the bloodstream in high amounts," he said.
But the numbing spray can cause side effects such as skin irritation and allergic reactions, according to the specialist.
He even said that anybody with pre-existing medical conditions might also be putting their heart and brain health at risk.
And anyone who is allergic to anaesthetic medicines would be wise to avoid lidocaine altogether without first speaking to medical professional.
According to Saw Yu Ting, chief podiatrist at Straits Podiatry, "numbing your feet stops your body from providing pain feedback.
"You may risk unnoticed cuts or wounds, which may lead to nasty infections," she stressed.
Meanwhile, podiatrist Georgina Callaghan-Tay warned against using lidocaine if you are diabetic and have diabetic neuropathy – this is when you have nerve damage caused by diabetes.
Many people with the condition might already have numbness or limited sensation in their feet due to their damaged nerves, she said, which can make it difficult for them to sense blisters or foot injuries.
Low blood flow to the feet can often mean that diabetics' foot injuries take a long time to heal.
Dr Fang added that numbing your feet with lidocaine could it make it more likely that you'll trip or fall over – though you might escape feet pain temporarily, you might wake up with all sorts of cuts and bruises the next day.
The numbing spray could also result in long-lasting issues, especially if you use it often and for prolonged periods of time.
You could experience nerve damage, according to Dr Fang.
Overall, the experts said if you want to avoid the pain of wearing heals, maybe just avoid the shoes altogether and go for something comfier.
“If you suffer from pain when wearing high heels, you should avoid wearing them and have your feet checked for any underlying issues,” Saw said.
“Some individuals have underlying foot problems, such as bunions or flat feet, which make wearing high heels very uncomfortable.”
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