Wilprafen for children

Macrolide antibiotics are in demand because of their wide spectrum of action and rare side effects. Among them, Vilprafen is very popular. For adults, it is often prescribed for pathologies of the urogenital organs, peptic ulcer disease and other bacterial infections. But is it possible to give it to a child, what are the age limits for the use of vilprafen and how do parents respond about it?

The drug is produced in the form of tablets that have a shell. They have oblong convex shape and white shade, and there are risks on both sides. One pack Vilprafena Includes one blister with 10 tablets.

There is another form of this medicine, but since it is represented by soluble pills, this antibiotic is called Vilprafen Solutab. It is more convenient to give it to children, because the tablet can be divided into parts, and before taking it is mixed with water, resulting in a strawberry suspension, which is much easier to swallow than solid medicine.

The main ingredient of vilprafen, due to which the medication has an antimicrobial effect, is josamycin. It is presented in a dose of 500 mg per 1 tablet and supplemented with substances that help to give the drug shape and strength. Among them are methylcellulose, polysorbate 80, talc, MCC, aluminum hydroxide and other compounds.

After entering the digestive tract components of the tablets are absorbed very quickly. The maximum concentration of josamycin in the patient's blood is noted already 1 hour after ingestion. With the bloodstream, the antibiotic penetrates almost all tissues (except the brain). Especially a lot of medication gets into the tonsils, saliva, tears and sputum.

In tissues and organs, the drug acts on the causative agents of infections, inhibiting their reproduction and growth. This action, called bacteriostatic, is due to the ability of josamycin to bind to ribosomes inside microbial cells, which interferes with protein synthesis.

The spectrum of activity of vilprafen against bacteria is very extensive. The medicine effectively fights various types of strepto-and staphylococci, including such dangerous species for children as pneumococci and Staphylococcus aureus. The drug acts on the causative agent of diphtheria and anthrax, propionobacteria, clostridia, Listeria and other gram-positive microorganisms.

Tablets are also active against microbes, which are called gram-negative - gonococci, bordetella, meningococci, hemophilic sticks, legionella, helicobacter and many others. The drug acts on intracellular microorganisms, including mycoplasma, chlamydia and ureaplasma.

Resistance to this drug is very rare. And even if microbes are insensitive to other macrolides, Vilprafen often helps.

Treatment with Vilprafen is recommended for:

• bronchitis;
• laryngitis;
• angina;
• otitis media;
• diphtheria;
• pharyngitis;
• pneumonia;
• whooping cough;
• lesions of chlamydia (pneumoclamidiosis, conjunctivitis, and others);
• dental infections;
• dacryocystitis;
• blepharitis;
• anthrax;
• phlegmon;
• wound infection;
• boils;
• face;
• felon;
• infected burns;
• gonorrhea;
• urethritis;
• syphilis;
• scarlet fever;
• sinusitis and many other infections caused by one of the josamycin-sensitive microbes.

According to the annotation, Vilprafen can be administered to children weighing more than 10 kilograms. But if you consider that the drug is available in coated tablets that are undesirable to break and crush, the age limit for using such an antibiotic will be determined by the ability of the young patient to swallow the medication.

Some children can take this form as early as 3 years, but often even a 6-7 year old child has difficulty with solid tablets. In pediatric practice in younger than 4-6 years more often resort to soluble form (Vilprafen Solutab). These tablets, though they contain more active substance (1000 mg per 1 tablet), but can be divided into halves and quarters, and after mixing with water they form a suspension, which can be swallowed by both a child aged 2 years and a one-year-old baby.

Tablets are not prescribed for intolerance to josamycin or any other component. Also, this antibiotic is not prescribed to children with allergies to other macrolides. And due to the fact that the metabolism of drugs occurs mainly in the liver, serious diseases of this body is also a contraindication to the treatment of Vilprafen.

Most often, the children's body tolerates Vilprafen well. If there are side effects, they are often associated with the reaction of the digestive tract and are represented by nausea, discomfort in the stomach, and liquid stool. Rare side effects of pills are called allergies (urticaria, angioedema, and other forms), stomatitis, colitis, jaundice, temporary hearing impairment.

• For children weighing more than 10 kg under the age of 14, Vilprafen is prescribed 1 tablet three times a day. The drug should be taken with an equal interval (every 8 hours).
• Although the annotation states that food intake does not affect the absorption of josamycin, doctors recommend drinking the drug 30 minutes before a meal. The drug is swallowed and washed down with water.
• A child over 14 years old is prescribed 1-2 tablets twice a day. If required, the daily dosage is increased to 3000 mg and give a teenager 2 tablets 3 times a day.
• The duration of treatment with Vilprafen can range from 5 days to 3 weeks. It depends on the severity of the disease and is determined individually. At the same time, it is not necessary to stop therapy before the term prescribed by the doctor. Even if the condition of the small patient has improved, the course must be completed for the treatment to be completed successfully.
• If the pill is missed, you should drink the drug as soon as possible. In case if the pass was remembered by the time of the next drug intake, the “forgotten” pill is not taken in addition to the next one.

In the following short video, Dr. Komarovsky clarifies how to take antibiotics correctly.

The manufacturer does not give any information about the negative effects of an overdose of josamycin, but doctors suggest that an overdose will be manifested by increased side effects from such a medicine. The first symptoms will be associated with irritation of the digestive tract. If they appear, you should immediately contact the doctor.

Vilprafen is incompatible with many other antibacterial drugs, such as clindamycin and preparations with a bactericidal effect. Also, this antibiotic should not be combined with xanthines, digoxin, cyclosporine, ergot alkaloids and antihistamine drugs. Such combinations threaten serious adverse reactions.

Keep the pills at home in a place hidden from the sun, where the drug will not reach the children. Storage temperature should not be above +25 degrees. The shelf life of such an antibiotic is 4 years.

In almost all reviews of Vilprafen, parents confirm the high efficacy of such a drug and very rare side effects. The drug is praised for a wide range of antimicrobial effects, the ability to use with resistance to many other antibiotics and fast action.

In this case, the disadvantages of drugs called large pill size and their high cost. Because of these minuses parents often buy Vilprafen SolutabSince the price is lower due to the higher dosage, and the use of dispersible tablets is more convenient in childhood.

Instead of vilprafen in coated or soluble tablets, the doctor may prescribe another macrolide, for example, a suspension Sumamed or Azithromycin-based Azitrox, approved from six months of age. Josamycin may also be replaced by pellets. Macropene (discharged at any age), suspension Klacid (it is appointed from 3 years) or Rulid's soluble tablets (are applied from 2 months).

If, in the course of the treatment, the child has an intolerance to Vilprafen, the doctor will select an antibacterial drug from another group, for example:

• Pills Flemoxine Solutab. Such a penicillin antibiotic is a soluble form - when mixed with water, the tablet forms a fruit syrup. The drug is used for otitis, furunculosis, gonorrhea, bronchitis and other infections. It is allowed for children of any age.
• Augmentin Suspension, used in children from birth. To expand the spectrum of action, clavulanic acid is added to the penicillin antibiotic. The drug is in demand for whooping cough, tonsillitis, pneumonia and other diseases.
• Suspension Zinnat, appointed from 3 months of age. This is an antibiotic group of cephalosporins, effective in otitis, pyelonephritis, pyoderma, bronchitis and many other infections.

You will learn more about antibiotics from Dr. Komarovsky’s program.