A runny nose in a baby is not such a rare phenomenon. But rhinitis rhinitis is different, and treating a child every time with drops of onion or beet juice is not the best solution. After all, nasal congestion and snot can be caused by various reasons - active reproduction of pathogenic bacteria, viruses, allergic reactions, mechanical damage, and so on.
And therefore, experts prescribe nasal drops only after they understand what kind of ailment they are dealing with.
A bacterial rhinitis needs to be treated with antibiotic drops, and an allergic one will require antihistamines. Today we will talk about drops with antiviral effect. They are used to treat rhinitis caused by viral infections.
Operating principle
Nasal drops with antiviral action contain a certain amount of substances that are active against certain viruses, usually the most common - influenza A and B viruses, herpes simplex, etc.
It is no secret that viruses enter a child's body most often through the nose and throat. That is why the drops help to stop the “invader” in time practically in the place of its penetration.
Nasal drugs have a direct effect on viruses, that is, they suppress their ability to reproduce, to release their affected cells of the child's body copies of the virus... In addition, such medications have a pronounced immunomodulatory effect, in other words, after instillation, the active substances activate the child's immunity to fight a foreign organism that was not given with the best intentions.
Some nasal antiviral drugs contain interferon, a protein identical to the compound of the same name that is produced by the body during the immune response.
Efficiency
It is rather difficult to answer the question of which drops are the most effective, since the clinical effectiveness of most antiviral agents has not been proven to date. Many doctors believe that a cure for ARVI and flu, along with their unpleasant symptoms, is possible without antiviral agents, only with the help of the immune system's own efforts.
We invite you to familiarize yourself with the release of Doctor Komarovsky about children's rhinitis and antiviral drops.
Increasingly, doctors talk about immune disorders that occur in a child's body if he is often given antiviral drugs. After all, artificial stimulation of natural protection is a kind of violence against nature.
Immunity must independently learn to recognize viruses and resist them. And from the regular use of medications that affect the immune system, the defense becomes weaker, "lazier". As a result, the parents get the opposite effect - the child seems to be being properly treated, but he starts to get sick more and more often, and each time the disease becomes more difficult.
It is for this reason that you should not drip antiviral drops to a child without an appropriate doctor's prescription.
Often, antiviral drops are used as a means of preventing influenza and ARVI. Doctors recommend starting instillation at the first symptoms of a viral infection. The fact is that most drugs created to resist viruses give a certain effect only in the first 36 hours after infection. It is believed that then the drugs of this group do not give any result at all.
Form advantages
Nasal drops are a dosage form that is especially convenient for children. Moreover, the age of babies practically does not matter. Nasal products are equally well tolerated by newborns and adolescents.
Antiviral drops are not always sold in pharmacies in the form we are used to, ready for instillation. Often drugs are found in the form of powders, which must be diluted at home in an exact concentration for subsequent nasal use. Pharmacists may also suggest solutions.
Popular baby nose drops from viruses
Interferon
It is the most popular in the family of antiviral interferon drugs. It consists of human leukocyte interferon, obtained in the laboratory by artificial "collision" of the virus with donor blood cells. The second way to obtain interferon is by genetic engineering to add a human gene to the DNA of the virus. As a result, protein begins to be produced. This interferon does not have a direct effect on viruses, but it activates the baby's own immunity almost immediately after getting on the mucous membranes of the nasopharynx. As a result, the spread of the viral infection slows down.
And here is a small fragment about interferon as interpreted by Doctor Komarovsky.
The drug can be bought at any pharmacy without a prescription. Pharmacists offer it in powder form, which parents can easily dilute with chilled boiled or distilled water. In addition, the medicine also exists in the form of a spray with a convenient dispenser.
Manufacturers recommend using "Interferon" for the prevention of influenza and acute respiratory viral infections at the height of the seasonal increase in the incidence, and also used for medicinal purposes at the first signs of an incipient illness. The therapeutic dose in this case will be 2 times higher than the prophylaxis dose.
For children, the drug is prescribed from birth. With the onset of the disease, it is required to bury it in each nostril intensively - every hour. After dissolving the powder, the resulting pinkish liquid is stored in the refrigerator for no more than a day, expired drops are ineffective.
The course of treatment is from 3 to 5 days. Prophylaxis can last 2 weeks, during which "Interferon" will need to be instilled 5 drops twice a day in each nostril.
The drug has contraindications, and parents should definitely find out about them before using. "Interferon" is not recommended for children with diseases of the kidneys, liver, heart and blood vessels, a strong tendency to allergies.
Grippferon and Nazoferon
These drops are based on a recombinant interferon protein obtained by genetic engineers in the manner described above. On the shelves of pharmacies, the medicine is also presented in two versions - drops and spray. Moreover, both forms are completely ready for use, and the packages are equipped with convenient plastic dispensers. "Grippferon" and "Nazoferon" can be buried even for babies. But a doctor's consultation is required, since drugs can cause significant allergic reactions.
Manufacturers claim that "Nazoferon" and "Grippferon" are able to stop the development of viral infection in 45% of cases, provided that the reception begins in the first hours of the disease.
The course of drug treatment is 5 days. Babies are prescribed five times a day, 1 dose at a time. Children from 1 to 3 years old are instilled 2 doses 3 times a day, children over three years old, schoolchildren and adolescents can drip 5 times a day, 2 doses. 1 dose = 1 drop.
For the prevention of respiratory viral infections, it is recommended to use the medicine in the same doses, but once every two days.
Derinat
A very popular remedy that can hardly be called exclusively antiviral. The drug does not contain interferon, in its composition, salts, including DNA, and purified water. Derinat resists not only viruses, but also some bacteria and a number of fungi. An immunomodulator medicine helps the mucous membranes of the nasopharynx recover from damage, as it has a regenerating effect.
Parents should take into account that in rare cases, the drug causes severe allergies, up to urticaria with edema, which require urgent medical attention for health reasons.
Derinat is sold in a special 10 ml dropper bottle with a convenient dispenser. A solution of 0.25% is completely ready for use. Derinat spray is not intended for nasal use, it is used only for the treatment of inflammatory processes in the throat.
The tool can be instilled in babies up to one year old, but only as prescribed by a doctor in a personal dosage established by him. For babies over 1 year old, the therapeutic dose is from 3 to 5 drops in each nostril up to 6 times a day.
We also offer you to listen to the annotation about Derinat drops by the specialist of the Healthy Topic portal.
Ingaron
This interferon-based drug is not intended for small children, and can be started after 7 years of age. The undoubted plus of this medication is that it can be used at almost any stage of the disease, and not just at the very beginning, like most other antiviral agents.
The drug is sold in the form of powders, which should be independently diluted with distilled water at the concentration indicated in the instructions. In the package you will find a pipette cap, which will allow you not to make a mistake with the dosage.
In the acute phase of a viral infection, a child can be instilled into the nostrils 2-3 drops up to 5 times a day. The average course of treatment is about a week.
General recommendations
Antiviral nasal drops for children should not be used more than twice a year, as this is fraught with negative changes in the child's immune system. Frequent use of interferons can lead to a significant decrease in the production of their own interferon in a child, and immunodeficiency occurs.
Interferon drops cannot be used simultaneously with drugs for the common cold, which have a vasoconstrictor effect. Such a drug "duet" can lead to excessive dryness of the mucous membranes.
Antiviral nasal drops for children most often do not act as an independent treatment. Usually the doctor prescribes from as part of complex therapy. Therefore, it is not worth relying on the miraculous effect of the drops if they are taken "alone".
Warm the bottle in your hand before instillation, the drops should be warm. In case of severe rhinitis, it is advisable to pre-flush the sinuses with saline or furacilin solution.
