Pramocaine (INN and BAN, also known as pramoxine or pramoxine HCI) is a topical anesthetic discovered at Abbott Laboratories in 1953 and used as an antipruritic. During research and development, pramoxine hydrochloride stood out among a series of alkoxy aryl alkamine ethers as an especially good topical local anesthetic agent .

Pharmacologic study revealed it to be potent and of low acute and subacute toxicity, well tolerated by most mucous membranes and of a low sensitizing index in man. Like other local anesthetics, paramoxine decreases the permeability of neuronal membranes to sodium ions, blocking both initiation and conduction of nerve impulses. Depolarization and repolarization of excitable neural membranes is thus inhibited, leading to numbness .

Topical anesthetics are used to relieve pain and itching caused by conditions such as sunburn or other minor burns, insect bites or stings, poison ivy, poison oak, poison sumac, and minor cuts and scratches. Pramocaine and dibucaine are also common ingredients in over the counter hemorrhoid preparations.

Anesthesia, local- Proparacaine and tetracaine are indicated to produce local anesthesia of short duration for ophthalmic procedures including measurement of intraocular pressure, removal of foreign bodies and sutures, and conjunctival and corneal scraping in diagnosis and gonioscopy.

Proparacaine hydrochloride and tetracaine are also indicated to produce local anesthesia prior to surgical procedures such as cataract extraction and pterygium excision, usually as an adjunct to locally injected anesthetics.