Drotaverinum for children

"Drotaverin" is a well-known antispasmodic, which adults often use in cholecystitis, intestinal colic, urolithiasis and other problems, to get rid of which you need to eliminate the smooth muscle spasm. Not everyone knows whether such medicine is used in childhood, when the medicine is prescribed to children and how it affects the child’s body.

"Drotaverin" produce:

• In pills which are taken inside. They differ in yellow-greenish color and a flat round shape. One pack contains from 10 to 100 tablets.
• In solution for injections. It is represented by a transparent yellow or greenish-yellow liquid, poured into dark glass ampoules of 2 or 4 ml. In one box for sale 5, 10 or 20 ampoules.

In addition, the drug may be produced with a slightly different name - for example, Drotaverin-UBF, Drotaverin-Ellara or Drotaverin-Teva. Moreover, such drugs include the same active compound, are also produced in tablets and solution, and the dosage of the active ingredient, as well as the indications, other features of the application, they coincide. Additional letters or words in the title only indicate the pharmaceutical company that manufactures this version of Drotaverin.

The active ingredient of any form of the drug is drotaverine hydrochloride. One tablet usually contains 40 mg of this compound, but Drotaverin Forte is also available at a dosage of 80 mg per tablet. One milliliter of the injectable form may contain both 10 and 20 mg of the active ingredient.

Among the excipients in tablet form, you can see talc, potato starch, povidone, lactose monohydrate and other components (depending on the manufacturer). In addition to drotaverine and sterile water, sodium disulfite, as well as ethyl alcohol, acetic acid, sodium metabisulfite or sodium acetate trihydrate may be present in the composition of the injection solution.

Drotaverin has the ability to relax smooth muscles, which are located in the walls of blood vessels and internal organs, so the drug eliminates spasms (which also helps get rid of pain caused by cramps) and dilates blood vessels, while lowering blood pressure.

The drug is most effective for smooth muscles in the gastrointestinal tract, urinary organs and biliary tract. This leads to a decrease in pain and discomfort caused by increased tone or spasm in such organs. "Drotaverin" is considered an effective analgesic for various functional disorders and diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, gallbladder, bladder and kidneys.

Due to the vasodilating effect of the drug, microcirculation is improving, that is, more nutrients and oxygen are supplied to the tissue. Since Drotaverin does not have a sedative effect, it can be used in situations where M-holinoblokatori can not be given (for example, with angle-closure glaucoma).

“Drotaverin” is prescribed both in case of pain and functional disturbances in the functioning of internal organs due to spasm of smooth muscles, and in order to prevent such problems.

The medicine is used:

• With abdominal pain caused by spastic constipation, gastritis, pylorospasm, intestinal colic, enteritis, meteorism and other gastrointestinal lesions.
• With hepatic colic, biliary tract dyskinesia, cholangitis and other diseases of the biliary tract.
• With cystitis, spasms of the bladder, pelitis, renal colic and other pathologies of the urinary system.
• With headaches.
• With vasospasm (at high temperature).
• For examinations during which a medical instrument is inserted into the body (for example, during gastroscopy).
• With a strong dry cough caused by bronchospasm or laryngotracheitis. Although this indication is not noted in the official instructions, many doctors note the effect of “Drotaverin” on the bronchi, therefore they recommend to drink the drug at night so that the child does not suffer from coughing and calmly slept.

An injectable form of the drug is prescribed in exceptional cases and only in an acute condition in order to help the child as soon as possible. As soon as the spasm is removed, go to the use of tablets. In addition, Drotaverin injections are prescribed when it is impossible to give a pill to a small patient.

Drotaverine tablets are prescribed from the age of 3, and injections are given to children over 1 year of age. Age restrictions in the use of the tablet form are associated only with the difficulties of children under 3 years of age with swallowing solid medicine. If the baby is able to swallow a pill, this form can be used at the age of over one year.

The drug is not prescribed:

• With individual sensitivity to any component of the solution or tablets.
• In severe renal failure.
• With heart failure.
• With serious liver pathologies.
• With hypotension.
• With atrioventricular block.

If the child has angle-closure glaucoma, the application should be monitored by a doctor. Adults do not prescribe medication for breastfeeding and in the first trimester of pregnancy.

The treatment with Drotaverin may cause insomnia, dizziness, nausea, arrhythmia, sweating, decrease blood pressure, vomiting, allergic reactions, feelings of heat, constipation and other negative symptoms. When they appear, you should immediately tell these reactions to your doctor.

The drug in this form is taken after a meal. The drug should be swallowed whole, without chewing or grinding into powder. To wash down the medicine, use clean water in a small amount.

The dose of this tool depends on the age of the small patient:

• A child of 3-6 years old (for example, at 4 years old) is given 1 / 4-1 / 2 tablets (10-20 mg of "Drotaverin"). The drug in this dosage is prescribed twice or three times a day, and the maximum dose for a child of 5 years and other toddlers of this age is 3 tablets (120 mg of the active compound).
• A child of 6-12 years old is prescribed at one time from 20 to 40 mg of "Drotaverin", which corresponds to half or the whole tablet. The drug is given two to five times a day, and the maximum permissible is called 5 tablets (200 mg "Drotaverina").
• Adolescents over the age of 12 years for 1 admission give 40-80 mg "Drotaverina" (1-2 tablets). The drug is taken 2-3 times a day, and the maximum dose at this age is 6 tablets (240 mg of the active ingredient).

The duration of treatment with tablets usually does not exceed 1-2 weeks and is determined by the doctor individually.

"Drotaverinum" in injections can be injected into a muscle, into a vein or under the skin. With colic, the solution is most often administered intravenously. If a patient has a peripheral vasospasm, the medication can be introduced into the artery. In other cases, subcutaneous and intramuscular injections are used.

The drug is administered 1-3 times a day. The dose of the drug, as for tablets, is determined by age:

• A child of 1 year, 2 years and older (up to 6 years of age) takes 0.5-1 ml of medicine for one injection, since a single dose for this age is 10-20 mg of Drotaverine.
• Children 6-12 years old are prescribed 20 mg of active compound per dose, which corresponds to 1 ml of solution.
• A child over 12 years old takes 1-2 ampoules of the drug for one injection.

The maximum daily dosage of the drug is the same as for the tablet form. With intravenous injection, the child must lie down so that the injection does not cause the collapse. The ampoule for such injections is diluted with glucose or saline (10-20 ml), and the administration itself is performed very slowly. For injections under the skin or into the muscle tissue, it is not necessary to dilute "Drotaverinum".

If you exceed the dose of the drug, it will adversely affect the work of the heart and may impair breathing. In such a situation, you should immediately consult a doctor.

Drotaverin has the ability to enhance the therapeutic effects of other antispasmodic drugs and weaken the effect of levodopa. When used with Phenobarbital, the antispasmodic effect of Drotaverin is enhanced.

At elevated temperatures, "Drotaverin" is often included in the composition of the lytic mixture, which includes "Analgin"(It can replace" Paracetamol ") and"Diphenhydramine"(Or" Suprastin "). In this combination, the drugs effectively fight the “white” fever.

To store the medication requires a dry place hidden from the sun where the temperature will not exceed +25 degrees. Keep the drug at home where it is not enough for a small child. The shelf life of tablets and solution - 3 years.

In most cases, the treatment with "Drotaverinum" speak well. According to moms, the drug effectively eliminates cramps and pain. In addition, the drug is praised for availability in pharmacies and low cost, because of which it is often chosen instead of analogues. As for the shortcomings, in some reviews note the lack of effect, and sometimes parents complain of side effects.

The most well-known analogue of "Drotaverin" is the drug "No-Spa". Since this is an original medicine, the manufacture of which is controlled more carefully, as a result of which it is better purified from impurities, “No-Shpy” notes a stronger therapeutic effect and a minimum of side effects. However, the price of such a drug is higher than that of Drotaverin.

Other drugs (based on the same active compound), including Spasmol, NOSH-BRA, Spasmonet, Droverin, SpazoVerin, Plo Spa "," Spakovin "and others. In addition, "Drotaverin" can replace other antispasmodics - for example, "DuspatalinOr papaverine.

In the following video, Dr. Komarovsky will tell you how to provide the child with first emergency aid for various pain sensations.