When does “Nurofen” begin to act for children and when can it be given again?

High temperature in a child always causes concern to parents, no matter whether a fever is detected in a very tiny baby or in an already grown-up son or daughter-schoolgirl. According to doctors, the use of antipyretic drugs is shown when the thermometer is above + 38 + 38.5 degrees.

Among the drugs with such an action, Nurofen is often chosen. Having given this drug, a caring mother wonders how quickly the temperature starts to “fall” and the child will feel better. If the medicine has not worked, you should know when it is allowed to give the medicine again. These and some other questions are worth considering in more detail.

The drug, which can be given to children, produced in three versions:

• Rectal Candlesprescribed to patients aged three months to 2 years. Their advantage is a very simple composition, since in addition to the main ingredient, represented by ibuprofen at a dosage of 60 mg, they include only solid fats. And therefore this form of medicine is called the most preferred for infants and children prone to allergies.

• Suspension, which has an orange or strawberry flavor. According to the reviews of moms, most children take this sweet drug with pleasure, and it is very simple to dispense syrup, as a plastic syringe is attached to the bottle. The drug is prescribed from 3 months to 12 years. Its composition includes ibuprofen at a dose of 100 mg / 5 ml and additional compounds in the form of flavoring, gum, glycerol, maltitol and other substances. The drug does not contain sugar and dyes.
• Coated tablets, allowed children over 6 years old. They have a small size, a smooth surface and a sweet shell, so schoolchildren do not usually have problems with swallowing. Each tablet includes ibuprofen at a dosage of 200 mg and auxiliary components, including stearic acid, sucrose, macrogol and other substances.

Ibuprofen present in every form of Nurofen affects the production of prostaglandins, due to which the medication has a rather pronounced antipyretic effect.

This causes the most frequent use of the drug for fever, the cause of which are viral infection, vaccination, infection with bacteria and other factors.

Like many other drugs, Nurofen has quite a few contraindications, so the use in childhood is not recommended without consulting a doctor. The drug is prohibited:

• with hypersensitivity to any of its components;
• in diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, occurring with ulceration or inflammation of the walls of the digestive tract;
• serious kidney disease;
• with hyperkalemia;
• for violations in the blood coagulation system;
• with bleeding;
• with severe liver disease.

In addition, candles are not used for inflammation of the rectum, and the suspension and tablets are not prescribed to children with fructose intolerance and other problems with the digestion of carbohydrates.If the child has immune pathologies, asthma, anemia, diabetes and other diseases, Nurofen can be given only under the supervision of a physician.

The onset of the antipyretic and analgesic action of Nurofen primarily depends on the form of the drug, as well as the duration of the therapeutic effect after taking:

• Active substance rectal suppository about 15-20 minutes are absorbed, so this form of medication begins to act approximately 20-30 minutes after the candle has entered the intestinal lumen. The duration of the antipyretic and analgesic effect of such Nurofen is up to 8 hours.

• Ingredients suspensions absorbed in the digestive tract for at least half an hour, so the effect of the syrup is observed after about 40-60 minutes after the child has taken this sweet medicine. The effect of the suspension is not as long as the candles, but in most children the temperature drops for at least 4-6 hours (on average - for 6-8 hours).
• Active ingredient pills enters the blood and accumulates there in sufficient quantities within 40-50 minutes, so the effect of such Nurofen begins to appear after 45-60 minutes after swallowing the pill. The duration of this form of the drug is 6-8 hours.

The body of a small patient may respond to the use of Nurofen:

• nausea;
• exacerbation of bronchial asthma;
• pain in the abdomen;
• urticaria, dermatitis, itchy skin or other allergy symptoms;
• headaches.

In rare cases, the drug can adversely affect the cellular composition of the blood, kidney function, condition of the oral mucosa, liver function or blood pressure.

Depending on the dosage form, the use and dosage are different:

• Suppositories Nurofen is used 1 candle three times a day (if the child weighs 6-8 kg and its age is 3-9 months) or four times a day (if the child weighs 8-12 kg, and his age - 9-24 months).
• Suspension They are given to children with a syringe, and the dosage of this medicine depends on the weight of the patient and his age. Exact figures can be obtained from the attending physician or from the table in the annotation to the syrup. For example, if a child is 6 months old and his body weight is 7000 g, then the drug should be given 2.5 ml up to 3 times a day.

• Tablet Nurofen It is recommended to swallow after meals with water. Usually, the therapeutic effect is achieved by taking one pill, but children over 12 can take two tablets at once, not exceeding the maximum daily dosage for children, which is 800 mg (4 tablets).

It is not recommended to treat Nurofen for more than 3 days with a fever or 5 days for pain. If symptoms persist, show the small patient to the doctor., to clarify the causes of this situation and find another treatment.

Taking the next dose of any form of Nurofen in most cases is recommended by the manufacturer only 8 hours after the previous one. If necessary, the drug can be given a little earlier - after 6 hours, but use at intervals of less than six hours is prohibited.

If more than 40-60 minutes have passed after the injection of the suppository or the administration of a suspension or a pill, and the temperature is not lost, the child is advised to give a paracetamol-based antipyretic, for example, to introduce a suppository Cefecone D or give syrup Efferalgan.

If we ignore the recommendation not to use Nurofen again earlier than after 6-8 hours, this may cause an overdosing of the medication.It is often manifested by nausea, abdominal pain, weakness, tinnitus, headache, and other negative symptoms. If the overdose is significant, the child becomes drowsy and his organs are disturbed, which requires immediate medical attention. To prevent such a dangerous condition, dIt is impossible to give Nurofen a child at a dose higher than that prescribed by the doctor.

What to do if after taking the antipyretic temperature has not decreased? Dr. Komarovsky knows the answer to this question.