If there are problems with the digestion of food, then polyenzyme preparations can help. One of them is "Mezim Forte", which is produced by the well-known company "Berlin-Chemie". The drug is actively advertised and is often prescribed to adults for various nutritional disorders and problems with the gastrointestinal tract. Not everyone knows whether it is used in the treatment of babies and when it is prescribed to children. It is worth taking a closer look at this drug and instructions for use.
Composition and form of release
The medication is presented in only one form - tablets, which are coated. There can be from 20 to 100 pieces of them in one pack (20 in one blister). These tablets are pink, flat, round and have a peculiar odor. Each of them, as the main component, includes pancreatin containing lipases with an enzymatic activity of 3500 U and amylases with an activity of at least 4200 U, as well as proteases with an enzymatic activity of 250 U.
These enzymes are supplemented with microcrystalline cellulose, sodium carboxymethyl starch, Mg stearate, and colloidal Si dioxide. The drug shell is made of hypromellose, simethicone emulsion, titanium dioxide, E122 dye, talc, polyacrylate and macrogol 6000.
Operating principle
The enzymes in Mezima Forte help in the digestion of protein molecules, carbohydrates and fats, so these nutrients are absorbed more actively in the small intestine. The medication acts as a support for the pancreas, partially compensating for its insufficient secretory function.
Indications
This tool helps:
- With chronic inflammation of the pancreas, due to which its secretory function (secretion of enzymes important for digestion) is impaired.
- For the treatment of cystic fibrosis.
- In case of errors in nutrition, when the body needs support in the digestion of food.
- For chronic pathologies of the stomach or intestines.
- With diseases of the gallbladder.
- For liver diseases.
- After irradiation or partial removal of the organs of the digestive tract, due to which the digestion of food was disrupted.
- Before an ultrasound or abdominal x-ray.
What kind of babies are prescribed?
There are no age restrictions in the annotation for "Mezim Forte", but there is a mention that the medicine is allowed to be used for children only as prescribed by a doctor. If you are going to give enzymes to a child under one year old, at the age of 2 years, 5 years or older, you need to consult a pediatrician or gastroenterologist.
Contraindications
Tablets are not given to children:
- With hypersensitivity to any of the ingredients.
- With acute pancreatitis.
- With a chronic form of pancreatitis, if an exacerbation has begun.
Since the composition of the tablets does not include bile acids, the drug is not contraindicated in liver pathologies and dysfunction of the gallbladder.
Side effects
Treatment with "Mezim" can cause an allergic reaction. In some children, the drug affects the stool (provokes constipation or diarrhea) and causes discomfort in the stomach. Very long use of the medication sometimes leads to an increase in the level of uric acid in the urine and blood.
Instructions for use:
- Mezim Forte should be taken before meals with a small amount of water. Drinking juice or tea after swallowing a tablet is not recommended.
- The dosage of the medicine for each small patient is selected individually, taking into account the cause of the digestive disorder and its degree.
- For kids who can't swallow a hard pill, it is permissible to crush the drug into powder before taking it and mix in a spoon with boiled water, after which you need to give the drug to the child either from a spoon or with a syringe without a needle.
- The duration of admission is also determined by the doctor - some babies are given medication for only a few days, while others require constant use for several years.
Drug interactions
"Mezim" should not be used together with iron-containing preparations, as enzymes will interfere with their absorption. The effectiveness of "Mezima Forte" will be lower if it is prescribed together with antacids, which contain Mg hydroxide or Ca carbonate.
Terms of sale and storage
To purchase "Mezima Forte" in a pharmacy, you do not need to take a prescription from a doctor, but the use of such a medicine in childhood should be carried out only after consulting a specialist. The average price of 20 tablets is about 70 rubles. They should be kept at home at temperatures up to +30 degrees - in a place where the drug cannot be reached by a small child. The shelf life of the medication is 3 years.
Reviews
On the use of "Mezima Forte" for children, they respond mostly positively. Mothers confirm that this medicine helps with problems with the digestive system and is well tolerated by children. Allergy to the drug is rare, but sometimes it occurs, like other adverse reactions.
"Mezim Forte 10000"
This type of "Mezima" is presented by pink round tablets, convex on both sides. They have a membrane that withstands the action of gastric juice and begins to dissolve after the drug enters the intestinal lumen. "Mezim Forte" 10000 is packaged in blisters of 10 pieces and is sold in 10-20 tablets per pack. This is an OTC product that costs an average of 180 rubles per pack.
This drug also contains pancreatin, but the dosage of enzymes in it are completely different. The activity of lipase in this medication is 10 thousand IU, proteases - 375 IU, and amylase - 7500 IU. The composition of the auxiliary components is also somewhat different from the Mezim Forte tablets.
Indications for the use of such a medicine coincide with the reasons for the appointment of "Mezima Forte", and hereditary problems with the digestion of glucose and galactose are added to the contraindications. Children are prescribed such pills from the age of 3, since they cannot be divided into parts. A single dose is selected individually - it is calculated according to the lipase activity (500-1000 IU per 1 kg of the child's weight).
Analogs
Other medicines with the same active ingredient can be substituted - "Creon 10000", "Hermital", "Pangrol 10000", "Pancreatin", "Micrasim", "Panzinorm 10000", "Penzital", "Enzistal-P" and so on. All of them are capsules or tablets with a coating that dissolves in the intestine. Children are recommended to give them only as prescribed by a doctor, since the dosage is selected individually.
Doctor Komarovsky will explain whether children really need enzymes and enzyme preparations.
