For the treatment of viral diseases, doctors prescribe drugs that can directly affect viruses. One of these drugs is Arbidol from the Russian company Pharmstandard-Leksredstva. It is produced especially for children in the form of a sweet suspension that is easy to dose for babies. At what age is it permissible to use this medication and how to give it to a child correctly?
Release form
Suspension Arbidol is produced in dark glass bottles with a capacity of 125 milliliters, inside which there is 37 g of powder - a white granular substance with a fruity aroma. After dilution, it forms a white suspension with a cream or yellow tint, which smells like fruit. The bottle has a mark indicating the 100 ml level. The bottle comes with instructions and a measuring spoon.
Arbidol is also produced in solid form - in yellow or white gelatin capsules and in round tablets covered with a white film shell. Such drug variants contain 50 or 100 mg of the active ingredient. In addition, there is the drug Arbidol Maximum, which is a capsule with 200 mg of active substance.
Composition
The main substance in the Arbidol suspension, which provides such a drug with an antiviral effect, is represented by umifenovir hydrochloride in the form of a monohydrate. Its content in 5 ml of the finished drug is 25 mg. Additionally, the medication contains silicon dioxide, starch, sodium chloride and sodium benzoate. For a sweet taste, sucrose, sucralose and maltodextrin were added to the drug, and cherry and banana flavors give the drug a pleasant smell.
Operating principle
Umifenovir in the composition of the drug is able to suppress the activity of such pathogens:
- Influenza viruses, including subtypes with high pathogenicity.
- Coronaviruses.
- Rhinoviruses.
- Adenoviruses.
- Viruses that cause parainfluenza.
- Respiratory syncytial viruses.
Taking Arbidol prevents the fusion of viruses with cell membranes. In addition, this drug activates the production of interferon and stimulates the cellular response to viral infection. Under its influence, the number of lymphocytes (especially T-helpers and natural killer cells) increases, and macrophages more actively perform their phagocytic function.
In a sick child, this effect of the drug is manifested by a decrease in the severity of a viral infection and a decrease in its duration. In addition, due to the use of Arbidol in suspension, the incidence of complications of an infectious disease decreases.
Indications
The suspension is prescribed:
- For the prevention or treatment of influenza and other acute respiratory viral infections.
- As a means of complex treatment of rotavirus enteritis.
- To prevent or treat SARS pathology caused by coronaviruses.
The drug is prescribed at the first signs of intoxication, when the child's body temperature has risen more than up to +380 ° C. The earlier treatment is started, the greater its effect will be.
From what age is it allowed to take?
Arbidol in liquid form is contraindicated for children in the first two years of life. At the same time, in children over 2 years old, the instruction recommends treating flu, rotavirus infection or ARVI with this remedy. In case of SARS infection, the drug is used to treat children over 12 years old, and for prophylactic purposes - in children over 6 years old.
Solid forms of Arbidol are allowed for children over three years old, provided that the baby can swallow them without problems. If there is a problem with this, at the age of 3 years and older, continue to give the child the medicine in suspension. Due to the increased dosage, the drug Arbidol Maximum is given to children only from the age of 12.
Contraindications
Arbidol in suspension is not prescribed for children who have an intolerance to umifenovir or any other ingredient of the drug. Since the composition of this form of the drug includes simple carbohydrates, the drug should not be taken by children with glucose-galactose malabsorption, isomaltase deficiency, fructose intolerance or sucrase deficiency. In addition, the presence of sucrose should be taken into account when prescribing a suspension to a child with diabetes.
Side effects
Sometimes the child's body reacts to Arbidol with allergic reactions such as hives, skin rashes, Quincke's edema or itching. Anaphylactic reaction to the suspension is very rare.
Instructions for use and dosage
The suspension is taken before meals. To prepare the medicine, add about 30 ml of water to the powder, or fill the bottle with water to 2/3 of its volume. The water for preparing the solution should be brought to a boil and then cooled. It should be at room temperature when mixed with the powder. After pouring water inside and closing the bottle with a lid, you need to turn the bottle over, and then shake it thoroughly several times so that the medicine becomes homogeneous.
Having topped up the bottle with still boiled water to the mark that corresponds to 100 ml of liquid, the bottle is closed again and shaken again. Thorough shaking of the suspension is also required before each dose of the drug so that the syrup taken is homogeneous. For dosing, it is recommended to use the measuring spoon, which the manufacturer attaches to the bottle.
A single dosage for a child is determined depending on his age:
- Children 2-6 years old are given 10 ml of the drug per dose, which corresponds to 50 mg of umifenovir.
- A child aged six to 12 years old needs 100 mg of the active substance per dose, so he is given 20 ml of suspension.
- A child over 12 years old should drink 40 ml of the drug, that is, he will receive 200 mg of umifenovir at one time. Since at this age you need to immediately swallow 8 measuring spoons of the medicine, it is better to switch to taking solid forms with a higher dosage.
The suspension regimen depends on the purpose for which the medicine is taken:
- If the drug is prescribed for prophylaxis during the season of SARS epidemics, then it should be given to the child for 3 weeks, twice a day.
- If the baby was in contact with a person who has the flu or other acute respiratory viral infection, the suspension is prescribed for a course of 10-14 days. In this case, the drug should be drunk only once a day.
- For flu or other viral infections of the respiratory tract, if there are no complications, the medicine is taken every six hours. Such a four-time reception is prescribed for 5 days.
- When infected with rotavirus, a child over 2 years old is also given the drug four times a day for five days.
- In order to prevent SARS syndrome in a child over 6 years old, the suspension is given once a day for a course of 12 to 14 days. For the treatment of such an acute pathology in a child over 12 years old, a two-time intake of Arbidol is prescribed, and the duration of therapy is from 8 to 10 days.
If the child missed the medication, the missed dose of the suspension should be taken as soon as it was discovered. Further, the treatment is continued according to the scheme prescribed by the doctor.
Overdose and drug interactions
There is no data on the negative effect of a high dose of the suspension on the child's body, as well as on the incompatibility of the drug with other drugs, in the annotation to the drug.
Terms of sale
Arbidol powder is an over-the-counter drug sold in most pharmacies in our country. The average price of one bottle of such a medication is 300 rubles.
Storage conditions and shelf life
The undiluted powder must be stored out of the reach of babies until the end of its shelf life, which is 2 years. Keep an unopened bottle at temperatures below +25 degrees Celsius. Once a suspension has been prepared from the drug, such a liquid form should be used within 10 days, and storage should be in the refrigerator (at a temperature below +8 degrees). You cannot freeze such a liquid medicine.
Reviews
Many mothers speak positively of the suspension, noting that the use of Arbidol from the first days of the disease helped their children in the fight against the common cold and other symptoms of acute respiratory viral infections, and the period of elevated temperature during treatment with this medication was shortened. In addition, the use of the suspension reduced the risk of complications from influenza.
Parents praise this form of medicine for its pleasant taste and ease of dosage. Moms also like that the remedy is a good prevention of viral infections during the cold season. As for the disadvantages, many parents refer to them as a short shelf life of the finished suspension. In addition, there are complaints about the inefficiency and high cost of the medication. Some mothers are afraid to give it to their child, confusing it with antibacterial drugs or not trusting the manufacturer.
Analogs
You can replace Arbidol after consulting a doctor with one of these antiviral drugs:
- Orvirem. This syrup containing rimantadine is used in the treatment of children over a year old.
- Amiksin. The basis of such coated tablets is tilorone. The medication is prescribed for children from the age of 7.
- Amizonchik. This syrup with antiviral action is used in the treatment of children 3 years of age and older. The drug is also available in Amizon tablets, but they should not be given until the age of 18.
- Isoprinosine. These inosine-based tablets are approved in pediatrics from the age of three.
- Kagocel. This antiviral pill is prescribed for children over 3 years old.
- Ingavirin. Such capsules can be given for ARVI and influenza to a child over 13 years old.
In addition, in the treatment of ARVI or for the prevention of such diseases in childhood, the pediatrician may prescribe interferon preparations, for example, Viferon or Grippferon. Also, some parents decide to give a child with a viral infection homeopathic remedies (Anaferon, Oscillococcinum, Aflubin, Ergoferon), but most doctors consider them ineffective and do not advise using Arbidol to replace them.
And now we invite you to watch the issue of Doctor Komarovsky about children's antiviral drugs, and find out his competent opinion on this matter.
