When choosing a medicine to treat a child, many parents prefer medicines that are made from plants. Such a drug is Gedelix. One of the dosage forms of such a medication are drops for oral administration. Can they be given to children and in what dose is it acceptable to use them in childhood?
Release form
Gedelix Drops is a brown fragrant liquid placed in a 50 ml dark glass bottle. The preparation is often transparent, but a precipitate may appear in the solution during storage. If you shake the drops with sediment at the bottom, the liquid will become cloudy, but this does not impair the properties of the drug.
Composition
The main component of Gedelix, which provides the drops with a healing effect, is represented by an extract from ivy leaves. 100 ml of the preparation contains 4 grams of such an extract. Auxiliary components are glycerol, peppermint oil and propylene glycol. A mixture of levomenthol, eucalyptus and anise oils gives the medicine a pleasant smell.
Operating principle
Gedelix belongs to herbal preparations used for coughing. Ivy extract in its composition has a mucolytic and expectorant effect. Also, thanks to saponins, this extract has antispasmodic properties.
Indications
The drug is in demand for inflammatory and infectious diseases affecting the bronchi and upper respiratory tract. Gedelix is prescribed for coughing when sputum is separated with great difficulty, for example, with acute respiratory viral infections or tracheobronchitis.
At what age is it allowed to take
Gedelix in the form of drops is not given to children under two years old, since in babies of this age group, the medication can provoke laryngospasm. If you need to prescribe Gedelix to a child under one year old (for example, at 2 months), the doctor prescribes a syrup, since this form of the drug can be used from birth.
Contraindications
Gedelix drops should not be given to children who have a hypersensitivity to any of the components of the drug. Also, the medication is contraindicated in case of a tendency to laryngospasm and bronchial asthma. You should not use this form of Gedelix and in the absence of the enzyme "arginine-succinate-synthetase".
Side effects
While taking Gedelix in drops, a child may experience an allergic reaction to such a drug due to the herbal raw materials in its composition. Also, in some young patients, when treated with Gedelix drops, negative symptoms from the digestive tract are noted - loose stools, vomiting, nausea, pain in the stomach. Their appearance forces to cancel the drug.
Instructions for use and dosage
Gedelix drops are recommended to be drunk after meals.
Usually the doctor prescribes a three-time dose in such a single dose:
The drug is not diluted, but washed down with a glass of water. Before giving drops to a child, the bottle should be shaken.
The duration of treatment is influenced by the severity of the disease, since after the disappearance of clinical symptoms, Gedelix is advised to drink for another 2-3 days. Basically, such drops are prescribed in a course of at least 7 days.
Overdose
Giving your child more drops than recommended for their age will cause diarrhea, vomiting, or severe nausea. Also, exceeding the dose can provoke the development of gastroenteritis. In such a situation, the remedy is immediately canceled and a treatment is prescribed that will eliminate the unpleasant symptoms.
Drug interaction
Gedelix drops should not be given to children together with cough suppressants that can inhibit the cough reflex. This combination of drugs will make it difficult to cough up phlegm.
Terms of sale
Gedelix in the form of drops is an OTC drug, therefore it is freely sold in pharmacy chains. On average, the price of one bottle of drops is 330-350 rubles.
Storage conditions and shelf life
At home, Gedelix drops should be kept away from sunlight in a place where children cannot reach the drug. The optimal temperature limits for maintaining the properties of the solution are considered to be the range from 5 to 25 degrees Celsius. An unopened bottle is valid for up to 4 years from the date of manufacture, but after opening the contents of the bottle must be used within 6 months.
Reviews
There are many good reviews about the use of Gedelix drops in children for coughing. Mothers praise such a medicine for the absence of sugar and alcohol in its composition, the herbal basis of the drug and the convenience of its use. In most cases, they confirm the effectiveness of drops in respiratory diseases.
The disadvantages of the drug are called the unpleasant taste of the drops and their high cost. In addition, sometimes the drug does not have the expected therapeutic effect and it has to be replaced with another expectorant.
There are also reviews in which parents mention the occurrence of an allergy or a negative reaction of the child's gastrointestinal tract to Gedelix.
Analogs
A replacement for Gedelix drops can be another product based on ivy extract, for example:
- Prospan. This syrup is prescribed to babies from birth, and Prospan drops are given from 2 years of age.
- Pectolvan ivy. The drug is represented by a syrup prescribed for children over two years old.
- Herbion ivy syrup. This medicine is used to treat children 2 years of age and older.
- Bronchipret. Thyme extract is added to the ivy extract in the composition of such a preparation. The product is produced in syrup (prescribed from 3 months) and drops (given to children over 6 years old).
In addition, the pediatrician can replace Gedelix with other herbal preparations that help with cough, among which are Althea Syrup, Bronchicum C, Eucabal, Mukaltin, Licorice Syrup and others. No less often, babies with cough are prescribed medications based on ambroxol, bromhexine or acetylcysteine. At the same time, it is better to choose any replacement for Gedelix with a doctor, because each of these medicines has its own peculiarities of application.
How else you can cure a cough, says Dr. Komarovsky:
