Crossword clues for counterirritant
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Counterirritant \Coun"ter*ir`ri*tant\ (-?r"r?-tant), n., Counterirritation \Coun"ter*ir`ri*ta"tion\, n. See Counter irritant, etc., under Counter, a.
Wiktionary
n. (context pharmacology English) Any substance used to cause inflammation in one part of the body with the goal of lessening inflammation elsewhere.
WordNet
n. a medicine applied locally to produce superficial inflammation in order to reduce deeper inflammation
Wikipedia
A counterirritant is a substance which creates irritation or mild inflammation in one location with the goal of lessening discomfort and/or inflammation in another location. This strategy falls into the more general category of counterstimulation.
Capsaicin, menthol(mint oil), methyl salicylate, and camphor are examples of counterirritants.
The US Food and Drug Administration defines a counter irritant as "An externally applied substance that causes irritation or mild inflammation of the skin for the purpose of relieving pain in muscles, joints and viscera distal to the site of application. They differ from the anesthetics, analgesics, and antipruritic agents, however, in that the pain relief they produce results from stimulation—rather than depression—of the cutaneous sensory receptors and occurs in structures of the body other than the skin areas to which they are applied as for example, in joints, muscles, tendons and certain viscera. The use of these products dates from antiquity."
Usage examples of "counterirritant".
When I swore at her afterward she said that a counterirritant was a good thing occasionally.
Doc used a powerful counterirritant, one that poured oxygen into the system and provided such a heavy jolt to blood vessels feeding the brain that it cleared the poison out almost immediately.
Maybe Old Mother Nature sets up some kind of overriding counterirritant when the genetics are a bad match.
I have found that the mind handles pain best if it is given a counterirritant to distract it.
They settled down and enjoyed a very plentiful, if rude, existence on the products of their land, game, and fish, amid a fine climate--with mosquitoes enough in summer to act as a counterirritant and prevent stagnation from too much ease and prosperity.