Newborns and babies are practically defenseless against viruses. Immunity "learns" with age, with each new disease, the natural defense of the human body learns to identify and destroy disease-causing "invaders". In the newly born crumbs, their own immunity still knows little and knows how, he did not meet with viruses, unless, of course, the mother did not suffer a viral infection during pregnancy.
In the first month after the birth of the child, the residual mother's immunity partially protects. Then, if the baby is breastfeeding, he will receive a certain amount of the necessary substances for immune protection from the mother's milk. If a child for some reason is artificially fed or on a mixed diet, his ability to resist aggressive and ubiquitous viruses is significantly reduced.
Parents are often interested in whether antiviral agents can be used for children under one year old. Let's try to figure it out together.
We also offer you to watch the video release of Dr. Komarovsky about children's antiviral drugs.
Medicines for viruses
The pharmaceutical market today offers a huge number of antiviral drugs, but not all of them are approved for use in newborns and infants. The choice is great, but it is an illusion. Actually, the choice for the baby's parents is limited to a few medicinal names.
According to the method of action, all drugs in this group are conventionally divided into several types:
- Interferons. Preparations containing an interferon protein prepared artificially in the laboratory, which, in case of illness, is produced in the human body independently as a necessary substance for the correct and quick work of antibodies.
- Immunostimulants. These drugs act on the child's immune system, forcing it to respond more quickly to the penetration of the virus.
- Direct antiviral drugs. Such products contain substances that interfere with the replication of the virus and its further spread.
- Homeopathic remedies. There are no active active ingredients in their composition, but there is a large number of doses of various drugs diluted to negligible values, including molecules similar in structure to the virus itself.
Each medicine has its own pros and cons. Advertising tells parents about the advantages every day, because drugs in this group are widely advertised in the media. I want to tell my parents about the cons, the manufacturers will not inform about this.
- Interferons are capable of causing many side effects.
- Immunostimulants and immunomodulators with frequent use, they cause immunodeficiency, when the child's own natural defense system begins to malfunction, "is lazy." It turns out that the baby is regularly treated with expensive good means, and he gets sick more and more often.
- Medicines that act directly on viruses equally affect all other systems and organs. As you can imagine, this impact is not soft.
- But only about homeopathic medicines it is impossible to say bad things, because they have no side effects, they are harmless, but, unfortunately, useless. Their effectiveness and efficiency have not been proven, traditional medicine is skeptical about them, to put it mildly.
In general, antiviral drugs have many problems with the evidence base. Laboratory managed to confirm only the effectiveness of some drugs, mainly related to drugs with direct antiviral action... 99% of other drugs exist and by their existence raise a lot of questions. Many doctors tend to believe that they are completely useless. Manufacturers think differently, because famous brands bring trillions of profits every cold season.
Should I give?
Antiviral agents, according to the established practice in pediatrics, are prescribed for two purposes. This is the prevention of influenza and SARS and, directly, the treatment of viral infections, which, in addition to influenza, include chickenpox, measles, scarlet fever, herpes, enterovirus infection along with rotavirus, and many others.
Experts strongly advise against taking anti-virus medications often and uncontrollably. This warning is especially true for newborns and babies.
Remember that their immunity has yet to develop, he needs to recognize viruses "by sight" in order to quickly recognize and destroy them during infection. Without the use of medicines, this process of "education" of immunity will go more correctly and quickly. Therefore, it is better to refuse treatment with such means if possible.
Judge for yourself, drug manufacturers claim that their medicine "effectively relieves the symptoms of influenza and SARS in 5 days." You cannot catch them in deception, but, alas, it is impossible to prove the correctness of such statements.
After all, the immunity of a somatically healthy person and independently, without pills, copes with viruses in about the same period of time.
In some cases, antiviral drugs are still recommended for the child. This primarily applies to children with congenital immunodeficiency (HIV), premature babies, whose immunity is very weak. Such drugs are justified in case of a very severe course of a viral infection, accompanied by high fever, symptoms of intoxication, which is extremely dangerous for infants.
In any case, the decision to take an antiviral drug should be made by a doctor.
So, what can be assigned to a child from 0 to 12 months old?
Drug List 0+
Anaferon for children
Russian homeopathic medicine, which is produced in a single dosage form - lozenges. Since our crumbs cannot absorb pills for up to a year, it is recommended for them to dilute Anaferon in a small amount of chilled boiled water. The dose for children from 1 month to a year is no more than one tablet per day for the prevention of influenza.
If the baby is already sick, then in the first couple of hours after the onset of ARVI symptoms, they give a pill every half hour, and then one pill three times a day. Be careful, the pills contain sugar. If the baby is prone to diathesis, inform the doctor about this fact, perhaps he will select another drug for your child.
Aflubin
Homeopathic medicine, which is available in tablets "under the tongue" and in the form of drops. It is logical that for a child under the age of one year, we will choose drops, since the baby's sublingual pill can choke. Dosage - 1 drop per day.
If, nevertheless, you bought the drug in tablet form, dilute one fourth of the tablet for 1 dose. Aflubin is recommended for the prevention of influenza if there is someone sick in the family, as well as for the treatment of an infection that has already begun.
Viferon
This is a drug that belongs to the group containing interferon. It is produced in the form of rectal suppositories, this is a fairly convenient form for newborns and babies. The dosage in the first year of life should not exceed three suppositories per day. Most often, doctors recommend injecting 1 suppository into the child's rectum three times a day.
This is no longer a homeopathic remedy, and therefore the list of side effects of the drug is quite impressive: the development of severe systemic allergies, the appearance of local allergic itching, the likelihood of autoimmune diseases, etc.
Interferon
As the name suggests, this is a medicine that contains interferon. He has a great variety of release forms, but for children under one year old, the drug is used exclusively in the form of nasal drops. There are two ways to use it - to bury 1 drop into the nostrils 5-6 times a day or to inject small cotton cords dipped in a solution of "Interferon" into the nose.
Among the indicated possible negative consequences of taking the drug are fever, drowsiness, nausea, upset stool of the baby, severe allergies, itching, etc.
Immunoflazid
This is a syrup that contains only natural herbal ingredients. Babies up to a year are given 0.5 ml twice a day during illness. You can take this syrup for 10-14 days.
Be careful if the crumb is prone to food allergies, because the syrup is quite sweet. For babies, it makes sense to dilute it with a little water.
Oxolinic ointment
This legendary medicine, which was used by our grandmothers, is still relevant today. It is mainly used to prevent influenza and ARVI. It is enough for babies to lubricate the nasal passages three times a day during periods of mass morbidity.
If there is a need to go with the child to the clinic for an appointment or to the store, be sure to complete the procedure before leaving home and immediately after returning.
General recommendations
- You should not give the baby an antipyretic and antiviral at the same time. These drugs contradict each other by the principle of action.
- Do not give your child antiviral medication more than twice a year, as this can cause problems with the immune system.
