A medicine called Advantan is often prescribed for inflammatory skin diseases. Such a remedy, when applied topically, effectively fights against the symptoms of inflammation and allergic skin lesions, and also prevents pathological thickening of the skin. But is it possible to use Advantan in the treatment of children, what form of this medicine to choose and how often to use such a remedy for dermatitis in a child?
Release form
The drug is produced in several forms:
- 0.1% cream. It is represented by a white opaque substance, packaged in tubes of 15 grams.
- 0.1% ointment. It is a yellow-white opaque mass with a homogeneous viscous consistency. One tube contains 15 or 50 g of such an ointment.
- 0.1% fatty ointment... Such a substance is translucent, with a white or yellowish tint. It is packed in tubes of 15 g.
- 0.1% emulsion. It is represented by an opaque white mass in tubes weighing 20 grams.
Composition
When a child is prescribed Advantan, many mothers are interested in whether it is a hormonal drug or not. Indeed, the basis of any form of Advantan is methylprednisolone aceponate, which belongs to synthetic steroid hormones. One gram of ointment, emulsion or cream contains 1 mg of it.
Additional substances in the cream are water, cetosteril and benzyl alcohol, glycerol and other compounds. In addition to methylprednisolone and water, the ointment contains liquid paraffin and white wax, as well as petroleum jelly and an emulsifier.
The oily ointment contains castor oil, paraffin wax (both liquid and soft) and microcrystalline wax. The auxiliary ingredients of the Advantan emulsion are glycerol, medium-chain triglycerides, Na edetate, water and other compounds.
Watch the video in which the practicing dermatovenerologist Vyacheslav Vasilyevich Makarchuk answers popular questions regarding the use of Advantan:
Operating principle
The active ingredient of Advantan binds to receptors sensitive to it in the skin, due to which the drug applied to the skin has antiallergic and anti-inflammatory effect. Such effects are due to the influence of methylprednisolone on the formation of inflammatory mediators. The drug also stimulates cell proliferation.
As a result of using Advantan, itching, swelling and redness are reduced. In addition, the medicine helps to eliminate excessive roughness of the skin due to constant scratching.
Indications
Lubrication with Advantan is most often indicated for skin diseases that are successfully treated with local glucocorticoids - dermatitis and eczema. In childhood, the remedy is mainly prescribed for atopic dermatitis. This drug is also effective for severe sunburn, contact dermatitis, microbial eczema, neurodermatitis and some other skin lesions.
From what age can you apply?
Lubricating the baby's skin with Advantan is allowed from 4 months of age. At the same time, only a doctor should prescribe a medicine to children under one year old, even if the baby is already 4 months old. A month-old baby, even if there is evidence, is not prescribed Advantan.
Contraindications
It is impossible to smear the skin with Advantan when:
- Intolerance to the components of the drug.
- Tuberculous skin lesions.
- Inflammation of the skin with syphilis.
- With chickenpox and skin lesions with other viral diseases.
- Perioral dermatitis.
- Rosacea.
- Post-vaccination skin reactions.
The opinion of Dr. Komarovsky on the use of hormonal ointments for children, which Advantan is, see here:
Side effects
The child's body in rare cases can react to the application of any form of Advantan with local skin reactions - redness, blistering rash, itching or burning. Very rare side effects of treatment may include hypertrichosis, perioral skin inflammation, or folliculitis. From the side of the eyes, a side symptom of the use of Advantan is glaucoma or cataract (if it is smeared with a hand and the agent gets on the mucous membrane).
How long can you use?
The drug acts mainly locally, and even with repeated treatment of large areas or applying an occlusive dressing to lubricated skin, it does not disrupt the adrenal glands.
Studies have confirmed that the use of Advantan ointment or cream for four weeks, even at an early age, does not lead to the appearance of stretch marks or rashes (acne-like), expansion of skin vessels and atrophic skin lesions.
That is why instructions for use for children of such forms of the drug limits the time of continuous use of the product to 4 weeks... As for the emulsion, it can be applied daily to the affected skin for no longer than two weeks in a row. In addition, the emulsified skin should not be covered with a bandage (remember that in babies, a diaper is considered a bandage option).
Ointment or cream - which is better?
To determine the appropriate option for Advantan, you should be aware of the following features of the different forms of this medication:
- The cream contains more water and less fat, therefore, this form is recommended for acute skin inflammation, as well as for weeping rashes. This Advantan is used for oily skin. In addition, the cream can be applied to the scalp. If the agent causes severe drying of the skin, it is abandoned in favor of an ointment.
- The ointment has a slightly higher amount of fat and a reduced water content. Such Advantan is preferable for infiltrates and inflammations in which the rash is not weeping. After applying the ointment, the skin becomes a little oily, but moisture and heat are not retained.
- There is no water in the oily ointment at all, therefore, the level of fat is the highest among all types of Advantan. This drug is indicated for chronic skin diseases. It is chosen if the affected surface is too dry.
- The emulsion can be used for any skin diseases, but this form is most often chosen for sunburn and contact dermatitis.
Instructions for use and dosage
- Advantan is allowed to be used only for external skin treatment. As soon as the symptoms of the skin disease have disappeared, the use of such a medicine is immediately stopped. For preventive purposes, Advantan is not applied to the skin.
- The tool is applied once a day. It should be applied in a thin layer to the affected surface. You do not need to rub cream or ointment into the skin. It is permissible to mix Advantan cream with baby cream.
- If Advantan in the form of an emulsion is prescribed to a child with solar dermatitis, treatment twice a day is permissible. In this case, the medicine can be rubbed into the surface of the skin with light movements.
- It is inadmissible to get Advantan on the mucous membrane of the eye. If the medicine is applied to the face, then you need to act very carefully so that the crumb does not bring it into the eyes by accidental movement.
Overdose
Studies have shown that a single application of Advantan in a higher dosage (lubrication of a large area of the skin) or accidental ingestion of the drug does not have a toxic effect. If you use Advantan for longer than the recommended period (four weeks in children) or constantly lubricate the skin too abundantly, this can cause thinning of the skin, the formation of stretch marks or the appearance of dilated small vessels. To treat such problems, the drug is canceled.
Interaction with other drugs
Treatment with Advantan does not affect the effectiveness of other medicines.
Terms of sale
Any form of Advantan can be purchased over the counter without a prescription.
Storage conditions and shelf life
For storage of ointment, emulsion or cream, the following conditions are imposed:
- Temperature is not more than + 25 ° С.
- Lack of access for small children.
- The period from the date of production is 3 years.
The fatty ointment has a longer shelf life (5 years) and the ability to keep this form at temperatures up to + 30 ° C.
Reviews
There are mostly good reviews about Advantan and its use for children. Parents who have used this medicine for diathesis, in most cases, confirm the effectiveness of the medicine. Mothers note that when an allergic rash is smeared with Advantan, soreness, irritation and redness pass quickly enough, and the itching stops tormenting the child. The main disadvantage of Advantan for many parents is its rather high price. For this reason, some mothers choose inexpensive counterparts.
Dr. Komarovsky considers Advantan one of the most effective drugs used for diathesis in children. He emphasizes that the product is modern, therefore it is almost not absorbed through the skin and acts only at the site of application. At the same time, a popular doctor focuses on the fact that hormonal creams only help to get rid of external symptoms, but do not eliminate the cause of the allergy.
The release of the famous doctor's program dedicated to the treatment of diathesis in children, see here:
Analogs
If, for any reason, the use of Advantan is not possible, instead of such a drug, you can use other hormonal ointments. These may be the following Advantan substitutes:
- Akriderm... This medicine, containing betamethasone, is available in the form of an ointment or cream and is prescribed from 1 year.
- Beloderm... Betamethasone also acts as an active ingredient in such a remedy. In pediatrics, Beloderm cream or ointment is used from 6 months of age.
- Elokom... Such a cream containing mometasone is used from 2 years of age. It also comes in the form of a lotion or ointment.
- Momat... The basis of this cream or ointment is also the substance mometasone. The tool is used at the age of 2 years and older.
- Synoderm... Such a preparation containing fluocinolone acetonide can be prescribed in infancy under the supervision of a physician. The medicine is represented by ointment, gel and cream.
- Kutiveit... Fluticasone is the active substance in such a remedy. The ointment can be applied from 6 months of age, and the cream is prescribed after a year.
- Locoid... Such an ointment containing hydrocortisone is allowed to be used in children from six months.
With bacterial or fungal dermatitis, it is more expedient to replace Advantal with agents in which hormonal substances are supplemented with antimicrobial ones. These drugs include Pimafukort, Akriderm Genta, Betaderm, Triderm and others.
If the mother prefers to get rid of the child's allergies with non-hormonal drugs, she can be advised a cream Elidel (allowed from 3 months), ointment Desitin (safe for babies), ointment Pantoderm (applied from birth), ointment Protopic 0.03% (assigned to children over 2 years old), Sudokrem (allowed at any age) and similar means.
