Cocaine as a Local Anesthetic 1884 – The Plant That Blocks Pain

In 1882, the English novelist Thomas Hardy described what it was like to undergo cataract surgery, recalling an elderly man's words: 

“It felt as though there was a red-hot needle in my eye while it was being done. But it did not last long. If it had lasted longer, I could not have borne it.” 

Imagine how unbearable the pain would be with a needle inserted into your eye for 45 minutes without local anesthesia!

In the 1880s, while investigating cocaine as a treatment for morphine addiction, the Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud shared with the young Austrian ophthalmologist Karl Koller the idea that cocaine could be used to numb specific parts of the body.

In 1884, Koller applied a cocaine solution to his own eye and then pricked it with a needle without feeling any pain. This marked the beginning of a new kind of painless surgery using local anesthetics, which can block pain perception by preventing nerve signals from being transmitted in specific areas while the patient remains fully awake. 

Shortly after Koller's discovery, the American surgeon William Halsted developed an anesthetic system for blocking individual nerves by injecting cocaine into them. (Unfortunately, Halsted soon became addicted to cocaine.) Of course, general anesthesia using ether or various gases to induce unconsciousness was also possible, but it had disadvantages such as vomiting and an inability to interact with the patient during the procedure.

For centuries, Indigenous peoples of South America chewed coca leaves for cocaine's stimulant effect. They also used the saliva produced while chewing the leaves to soothe painful wounds. 

• In 1855, the chemical component cocaine was first isolated by the German chemist Friedrich Gaedcke. 
• In 1859, the German chemist Albert Niemann gave the compound the name cocaine. 

Today, cocaine has been replaced by safer and less addictive synthetic local anesthetics such as benzocaine, lidocaine and similar agents.

About the Article Image: Erythroxylum coca is a plant native to South America and contains alkaloids such as cocaine. 

Historical Figures Mentioned in the Article: 1884 Friedrich Gaedcke (1828–1890), Albert Friedrich Emil Niemann (1834–1861), Thomas Hardy (1840–1928), William Stewart Halsted (1852–1922), Sigmund Freud (1856–1939), Karl Koller (1857–1944)

• Previous topic: Salpingectomy 1883 – Treating Ectopic Pregnancy
• Next topic: Antitoxins 1890 – Life-Saving Antisera