During pregnancy, a woman's immunity becomes less resistant to harmful microorganisms, so the risk of developing an infection increases, which poses a danger to the fetus. In serious cases, you have to resort to effective antimicrobial agents, but not all of them should be used during the period of gestation. For example, such a popular drug as "Levomycetin", drinking during pregnancy is unsafe. Consider whether its ingestion is prohibited in the early stages, and whether the instructions for the use of eye drops allow the treatment of pregnant women.
Features of the drug
Levomycetin is available in several forms... One of the most popular are eye drops containing 0.25% of the active substance, which is chloramphenicol. It is a colorless or yellowish solution, packaged in dropper tubes or bottles in a volume of 1 to 10 ml.
Tablets are equally often used, each of which contains 250 mg or 500 mg of chloramphenicol. Usually they are sold in 10 or 20 pieces, but there are also larger packages.
Such tablets are round, white-yellow, small in size.
The third form of the drug is an alcoholic solution used for external treatment. The concentration of the active substance in this "Levomycetin" can be 0.25%, 1% or 3%. In addition to chloramphenicol, the medication contains only 70% ethyl alcohol. The drug is sold in bottles of 25 and 40 ml.
How does it work and when is it applied?
"Levomycetin" refers to antibiotics, because it can disrupt the synthesis of proteins in the cells of many microbes. The drug is active against Escherichia coli, Neisseria, Salmonella, Staphylococcus, Klebsiella and many other bacteria, and also acts on spirochetes and some viruses. Given the therapeutic effect and form of release, "Levomycetin" is in demand for various diseases.
Eye drops are prescribed for bacterial eye infections. Such a drug is prescribed for patients with conjunctivitis, keratitis, barley, blepharitis and similar diseases.
The tablets are effective for intestinal infections, as well as for microbial damage to the biliary and urinary tract. They are used in the treatment of dysentery, salmonellosis, brucellosis, typhus and many other dangerous diseases.
Purulent wounds and 2-3 degree burns are treated with an alcohol solution. This form is also prescribed for trophic ulcers.
Is it allowed during pregnancy?
The active substance of any of the forms of "Levomycetin" can have a negative effect on the fetus, therefore, the period of bearing a child is marked in contraindications to all variants of this medication. It is a drug that is toxic to the fetus and can provoke the development of "gray syndrome". This is the name of the complex of symptoms that occurs when the heart is malfunctioning, breathing problems and liver problems. The skin color of the newborn becomes bluish-gray, and the mortality rate is up to 40%.
Besides the "gray syndrome", any form of the drug may depress bone marrow, impair hearing and vision... Even if the expectant mother has indications for the appointment of "Levomycetin", the high risk of side effects on the child makes such a remedy undesirable at any time of gestation.
Doctors avoid its use and prefer to prescribe other medications that they consider less dangerous during pregnancy.
Treatment with Levomycetin in the 1st trimester can result in miscarriage, and in 2-3 trimesters it can cause serious pathologies in the newborn. It is better not to risk it, but to use proven analogs that are not so harmful to the baby. Drinking or dripping "Levomycetin" on your own is prohibited.
What can be replaced?
In case of eye diseases, instead of Levomycetin, the doctor may prescribe Sulfacil sodium, Tobrex, Okomistin and other eye drops. Such funds act only on the membranes of the eye, absorbed in a minimal amount, but should not be used without the advice of a specialist. What kind of drug is best for the expectant mother with conjunctivitis, barley or other pathology of the organ of vision, the doctor should decide.
If there is a need to take "Levomycetin" inside, then the pregnant woman will be prescribed a safer remedy... For example, with diarrhea of a non-infectious nature, a woman in a position may be prescribed "Loperamide". These capsules and tablets are effective for nutritional deficiencies, gut side effects of drugs, or stress-induced diarrhea. They are not used in the 1st trimester, but in later terms, the use of "Loperamide" as prescribed by a doctor is allowed.
If the expectant mother is diagnosed with an intestinal infection, then the doctor may recommend to normalize the stool "Enterosgel", "Bifiform", activated carbon, "Smectu", "Lactofiltrum", "Polysorb" and similar preparations... They absorb harmful microorganisms and toxins, increase local defense, and stimulate the development of normal intestinal flora. All these funds are safe for the fetus, so they can be used at any stage of pregnancy (of course, after consulting a doctor).
As for the replacement of the alcohol solution, in case of inflamed burns of the 2-3rd degree or wounds with suppuration, it can be used "Miramistin", "Lugol", "Baneotsin", "Levomekol" or other local remedy. Their use is permissible only as directed by a doctor.
