topical anesthesia through transdermal absorption the skilled artisan can determine the appropriate volume of the compositions to apply to achieve the desired effect for example about 0 25 ml of the composition may be applied over a site on cornified skin having a surface area of about 1 cm 2 the anesthesia that is achieved by the present method is suitable for dermnal procedures that generally require subcutaneous injection of lidocaine including for example punch biopsy the present invention further provides a compartmentalized kit having a first container containing emu oil and a second container containing an aqueous solution of a local anesthetic the kits of the present invention allow the extemporaneous preparation of the present compositions for use as a topical anesthetic for cornified skin the present invention further provides an article of manufacture comprising a packaging material and a pharmaceutical composition contained within the packaging material wherein the pharmaceutical composition comprises emu oil and a local anesthetic and wherein the packaging material comprises a label that indicates that the composition can be used for topical anesthesia of cornified skin the pharmaceutical compositions may be prepared as described hereinabove the packaging material can comprise glass plastic metal or any other suitable inert material that does not react with any.