Grippferon for children: instructions for use

During the season of viral infections, each mother wants to protect her child from flu and ARVI, and if the crumb has already fallen ill, she does everything to speed up her recovery. For this often use drugs with an immunomodulatory effect based on interferon. One of the most popular means of this group is Grippferon. Is it permitted in childhood, in what forms it is produced, how does it affect children’s body and how is it properly used for prophylactic purposes?

The drug is presented:

• Nasal drops. They are sold in plastic bottles with a dropper of 5 ml, as well as 10 ml in each bottle.
• Dosed nasal spray. The amount of medication in this form is 10 milliliters, containing 200 doses of medication.

The internal contents of the packaging of any of these drugs is a clear, colorless or yellowish liquid.

The drug, produced in the form of an ointment, can not be used by persons under the age of 18, due to the lack of data on the efficacy and safety of the drug in children.

The active substance of any of the variants of Grippferon is human recombinant interferon. Such interferon alpha-2b is contained in one milliliter of drops in the dosage of 10000 IU, and in one dose of the spray - in the amount of 500 ME.

Auxiliary ingredients and spray, and drops are the same. Among them are potassium dihydrophosphate, sodium dodecahydrate hydrogen phosphate and povidone 8000. The medicine also includes sodium chloride and disodium edetate disodium. The rest of the drug takes up macrogol 4000 and purified water.

Both the drops and the Grippferon spray are immunomodulating agents with anti-inflammatory effects. In addition, these drugs have antiviral activity.

In the next video, Dr. Komarovsky will tell us about antiviral drugs for children in general.

Grippferon is most often prescribed for various viral diseases of the upper respiratory tract, especially for influenza. These drugs are also in demand to prevent infection by the influenza virus, rhinoviruses, adenoviruses and other pathogens that infect nasopharyngeal mucosa cells.

Grippferon is called safe medicine for the body of children, so this medicine is prescribed even for an infant up to one year old, for example, is prescribed for a 3-month-old baby. However, although the annotation to the drug does not contain any age restrictions, it is still advisable to consult with a specialist if it is worth using interferon for a particular child.

The drug is not used in the treatment of children who have discovered intolerance to interferon or some other ingredient of the drug. Also, Grippferon is contraindicated for children with severe allergies.

In some young patients, treatment with Grippferon may trigger an allergic reaction. Other negative symptoms when using drops or spray do not reveal.

• Starting to drip or inject Grippferon in case of viral disease is advised as soon as possible when the first symptoms of infection appear.
• The duration of the course of drug treatment is usually 5 days, and the dose and frequency of injection into the nasal cavity is determined based on the patient's age.
• After dripping into the nose of Grippferon in the drops, it is recommended to massage the wings of the child's nose for several minutes. To do this, they gently press with your fingers so that the tool is distributed over the mucous membrane more evenly.
• To use the spray, you need to remove the cap from the bottle, gently insert the device for spraying into the nostril, and then press with a force on the mechanism so that the drug falls into the nasal cavity. One press responds to a single dose of medication. Before using this form for the first time, several sprays should be made in the air until a small cloud of drug particles appears.

• A single therapeutic dose for a child up to a year is 1000ME of interferon, which corresponds to 1 drop or 1 spray injection into each nostril. For treatment, the drug is applied 5 times a day, that is, in just one day, the baby is administered with 5000ME of the active ingredient.
• 1-3 years old one application requires 2000ME of interferon, so the child is either instilled with 2 drops, or 2 doses of spray are administered in each nasal passage. The daily dosage for treatment is 6000-8000ME active ingredient, which corresponds to three or four times use.
• Child 3-14 years old the 2000MU of the active compound is also instilled or injected at one time, but the daily therapeutic dosage at this age rises to 8000-10000ME, i.e. the administration of spray or drops should be 4-5 times during the day.
• Over the age of 14 In each nasal passage should be administered 3 drops of the drug or 3 doses of spray, since a single dose for adolescents is 3000ME interferon. The child needs to receive 15000-18000ME of the active ingredient per day, therefore, it is necessary to inject the medication for treatment 5-6 times a day.
• For prophylaxis the medicine is instilled or injected in the recommended age-specific dose 1 time per day in the morning or every other day in the morning. In case of contact with a person suffering from acute respiratory viral infection or hypothermia, the medicine is administered twice twice a day.

The manufacturer does not provide information on the negative impact of exceeded doses of the drug.

It is not recommended to use Grippferon and at the same time treat the child with other drugs in the nose that have a vasoconstrictor effect. With this combination of drugs, the nasopharyngeal mucosa will dry out.

All forms of Grippferon are classified as over-the-counter drugs, so they can be obtained without any difficulties at the pharmacy. One bottle of drops costs an average of 250 rubles, and the price of a spray is slightly higher and ranges from 270 to 330 rubles.

Unopened preparations (both a bottle with drops, and a spray bottle) are recommended to be stored until the end of their shelf life, which is 2 years, in a cool place at a temperature of + 2 + 8 degrees Celsius (in the refrigerator). When the package has been opened, the contents can only be applied for 30 days. If a month has already passed after the first use of the spray or drops, but the contents have not been fully used, the drug should not be injected into the baby’s nose. This drug should be discarded.

Many mothers speak well of Grippferon, confirming that the medicine helps to recover faster with a cold, cough and other symptoms of viral infections, and during prophylactic use children do not get the flu during the epidemic season. The pros the drug called the possibility of use at any age, the absence of bitter taste and convenient packaging.

Disadvantages Some parents attribute a small amount of medication, a short period of the opened bottle and a rather high cost, which makes many mothers want to find a replacement cheaper. In addition, some reviews mention the lack of effect of treatment with such a remedy, which is why parents again had to call the pediatrician and buy other medicines.

A replacement for Grippferon can be other interferon drugs, for example:

• Viferon. This medicine, containing alpha interferon, is also in demand for ARVI, chickenpox and other viral diseases, as well as for candidal infections. Candles and gel are allowed to use in children from birth, and the use of ointment is permissible in children older than a year.
• Genferon Light. This medication includes not only interferon, but also taurine. It is represented by suppositories and nose dropsallowed for children of any age. Also, the drug is released in the spray, but it is prescribed only 14 years.

If a child has a viral infection, instead of Grippferon, the pediatrician may prescribe antiviral medications, for example:

• Suspension or Arbidol tablets for flu.
• Cream, ointment or pills Acyclovir with herpes.
• Pills Kagocel with ARVI or herpes infection.
• Amizonchik syrups or Orvirem with ARVI.

In addition, drugs with an immunostimulating effect can be prescribed for treatment or prophylactic purposes, including solution Derinat, spray IRS 19, pills Imudon or syrup Tsitovir-3.

Some mothers decide to use homeopathic remedies instead of Grippferon (Viburkol, Anaferon, Oscillococcinum, Aflubin, Erhoferon and others), but pediatricians warn that such drugs can not be a full replacement. In addition, many doctors, among whom Komarovsky, consider them ineffective.