Effective Antiviral Drugs For Children

2024 Author: Josephine Shorter | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 21:43

Effective antiviral drugs for children

Every year, with the onset of cold weather, caring parents have another reason for concern - how to protect their child from the seasonal epidemic of acute respiratory infections, SARS or flu? And if the child has already picked up the virus, how to help the child's body cope with the virus faster and avoid serious complications? You will learn more about the most effective antiviral drugs for babies, toddlers, preschoolers and older children below.

Content:

• Should children be given antiviral drugs?
• Antiviral drugs for children under 1 year old
• Antiviral drugs for children 1 to 2 years old
• Antiviral drugs for children from 3 years old
• Antiviral drugs for children from 4-7 years old
• What antiviral drugs should not be given to children?
• Can antibiotics be taken with antiviral drugs?

Should children be given antiviral drugs?

The shelves of modern pharmacies are bursting with cold remedies, among which there are supposedly very effective antiviral drugs - both inexpensive and at an exorbitant price. But how to understand if they will help, and is it worth giving such pills to children at all? Will such external interference harm the child's immunity? To answer these important questions, you must first understand what a virus is, how it behaves when it enters the body, how the immune system responds to an invasion, and how antiviral drugs can help it.

When we get infected with a virus, the following processes take place:

• DNA or RNA of the virus enters cells with the help of special enzymes, is incorporated into their genome and makes them “work for themselves” instead of performing physiological functions;
• Replication begins - the synthesis of new viral particles;
• Particles are produced and accumulated in the cytoplasm of diseased cells until their vital resources are exhausted;
• Cell death, rupture of cell membranes and release of the virus to the outside occurs;
• New viral particles enter neighboring healthy cells, and the infection progresses.

The human immune system can counter this with the following types of "weapons":

• Interferon is a protective protein produced by the cells of our body in the presence of an inflammatory process and increased body temperature. It does not allow the pathogen to penetrate the cells;
• A nonspecific immune response is the first phase of the response to a virus invading the body. Immunocompetent cells (macrophages and lymphocytes) attack and devour viral particles;
• A specific immune response is the second phase of the fight against infection. It is cellular and humoral. For cellular, cytotoxic lymphocytes are responsible, destroying cells infected with the virus. For humoral - B-lymphocytes, which recognize the virus and kill it with the help of antibodies created specifically to fight it - immunoglobulin proteins.

Based on this, science has developed antiviral drugs with three principles of action:

• Vaccines - "acquaint" the body with viruses and allow you to respond to their possible invasion in the future with a specific immune response, that is, to defeat the infection at the first stage and not get sick at all;
• Interferon and its inductors - replenish the reserves of interferon in the patient's body or stimulate their own cells to produce it, that is, they briefly enhance the nonspecific immune response;
• Etiotropic agents - block the activity of viruses at the stage of penetration into cells, replication or exit outside (inhibiting enzymes and blocking ion channels). This group includes artificially created chemicals that are taken strictly as prescribed by a doctor.

In terms of composition, effective antiviral drugs for children can be divided into the following categories:

• Interferons - Viferon, Grippferon, Lokferon;
• Endogenous interferon inducers - Cycloferon, Kagocel, Lavomax;

• Neuraminidase inhibitors - Tamiflu (oseltamivir), Relenza (zanamivir);
• M2 channel blockers - Remantadine, Amantadine;
• A specific inhibitor of hemagglutinin - umifenovir (Arbidol, Immustat);
• Plant extracts - Echinacea, Immunal, Immunorm, Imunoflazid, Imupret.

Only neuraminidase inhibitors and M2 channel blockers have proven clinical efficacy. The action of other antiviral drugs is either not proven at all, or is difficult in the human body and is observed only in a laboratory test tube.

As for interferon, its most important role in the formation of nonspecific immunity is beyond doubt, but how effective are antiviral drugs for children in the form of dry interferon lyophilisate, nasal drops, sprays and rectal suppositories?

We answer: donor or recombinant protein will be fully assimilated by the body only after parenteral administration (that is, bypassing the gastrointestinal tract). At the same time, it will really help to overcome the virus only during the first 24-72 hours after its penetration into the body. Further, interferon is useless, since the first phase of the immune response has ended, the pathogen has been identified or recognized for the first time, the second phase - specific - has begun in which antibodies-immunoglobulins work.

You should not knock down the temperature if it does not exceed 38.5 ° C. Giving a child with a cold an antipyretic and then antiviral drug, you first "forbid" his body to produce interferon, and then try to slip a replacement for this protein or artificially spur its synthesis.

The effectiveness of immunostimulating antiviral drugs for children raises even more questions. Normal immunity does not need stimulation, it does not need to be "raised", it stands in its place. Hyperactivation of immunocompetent cells threatens the development of unpredictable complications: cancer and autoimmune diseases. In the first case, healthy cells mutate and multiply abnormally quickly, and in the second, lymphocytes and macrophages attack the tissues of their own body.

If a child has a family history of cancer or autoimmune diseases (leukemia, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis), in no case should he be given immunostimulants without a doctor's prescription!

So, is it necessary to give a child antiviral drugs during seasonal epidemics of influenza and SARS? If the baby is often sick and misses kindergarten, it makes sense to purchase interferon at the pharmacy to strengthen local immunity, as soon as you learn about the outbreak of colds among his classmates. An older child who is already attending school can be given Remantadin as a preventive measure.

As for the situation when the child is already sick, then you need to run not to the pharmacy for pills, but to the doctor for an appointment, especially when it comes to a baby. To distinguish a bacterial infection from a viral one "by eye", according to the symptoms, no parent can. The general concept of "cold" hides a variety of potentially dangerous diseases of various etiologies that require laboratory diagnosis and a targeted approach to treatment. And the purchase of more and more new pills: antiviral drugs, immunostimulants and even antibiotics in the hope that the child will finally get rid of the lingering cold is not only wasteful, but also criminal in relation to his health.

Antiviral drugs for children under 1 year old

Anaferon for children (sublingual tablets)

Active ingredient: Affinity purified antibodies to human gamma interferon

Indications and dosage: For the prevention of acute respiratory viral infections

Children over 1 month old: 1 tablet a day, for treatment: within the first two hours after the onset of symptoms, 1 tablet every 30 minutes, then 1 tablet 3 times a day.

Contraindications and side effects: Lactose intolerance (auxiliary component of the drug) No side effects have been identified.

Approximate price (rub.): 180-250

Viferon (rectal suppositories)

Analogs: Kipferon

Active substance: Interferon alfa-2b recombinant, suppositories

150,000 IU, 500,000 IU, 1,000,000 IU, 3,000,000 IU.

Indications and dosage: For viral and bacterial infections.

Children under 7 years of age, including newborns and premature infants, 1 suppository 150,000 IU 3 times a day every 8 hours for 5 days;

Children over 7 years of age: 1 suppository 500,000 IU 2 times a day every 12 hours for 5 days.

Contraindications and side effects: Individual intolerance to interferons, autoimmune diseases, severe allergies.

Allergic reactions are possible in the form of itching and rash.

Approximate price (rub.): 250-900

Imunoflazid (syrup)

Analogs: Proteflazid, Flavosid.

Active ingredient: Extract of soddy pike and ground reed grass.

Indications and dosage: For ARVI and influenza, twice a day for 2 weeks

Children under one year old: 0.5 ml;

Children 1-2 years old: 1 ml;

Children 2-4 years old: 1.5 ml;

Children 4-6 years old: 3 ml;

Children 6-9 years old: 5 ml;

Children 9-12 years old: 6 ml.

Contraindications and side effects: Individual intolerance to the components of the drug, gastric and duodenal ulcers, autoimmune diseases.

Possible vomiting, headache, diarrhea, nausea, abdominal pain, fever.

Approximate price (rub.): 160-270

Interferon (lyophilisate)

Analogs: Lokferon, Inferon.

Active ingredient: human leukocyte interferon.

Indications and dosage: For acute respiratory viral infections and influenza, the solution is applied intranasally.

Children under 1 month: 3 drops on the flagella, insert into the nostrils for 10 minutes 4-6 times a day, Children under 1 year: 1 drop in each nasal passage 4-6 times a day;

Children over 1 year old: 3-5 drops no more than 6 times a day.

Contraindications and side effects: Leukocyte donor interferon is more dangerous than recombinant (artificial) in terms of allergies, side effects and unwanted interactions.

Possible skin rash, headache, nausea, drowsiness, fever.

Approximate price (rub.): 100-250

Nazoferon (nasal drops and spray)

Analogs: Grippferon

Active ingredient: Interferon alpha-2b human recombinant.

Indications and dosage: For ARVI and influenza

Children under 1 year: 1 drop in each nostril 5 times a day;

Children 1-3 years old: 2 drops or 1 injection 4 times a day;

Children 3-14 years old: 3 drops or 2 injections 5 times a day.

Contraindications and side effects: Individual intolerance to interferons, autoimmune diseases, severe allergies.

Allergic reactions are possible in the form of itching, rash, sneezing, lacrimation.

Approximate price (rub.): 170-300

Oxolin (ointment)

Active ingredient: Naphthalene-1,2,3,4-tetron (oxolin).

Indications and dosage: For rhinitis of viral etiology and for the prevention of influenza.

For children of any age, lubricate the nasal passages 2-3 times a day.

Contraindications and side effects: Individual intolerance to oxolin.

Burning sensation in the nose and rhinorrhea are possible.

Approximate price (rub.): 60-100

Thymogen (solution and nasal spray)

Active ingredient: Alpha-glutamyl-tryptophan sodium.

Indications and dosage: For the prevention and treatment of respiratory viral infections 1 time per day.

Children under 1 year old: 1 drop of solution in each nasal passage;

Children 1-6 years old: 1 spray into any nostril;

Children 7-14 years old: 1 spray in each nostril.

Contraindications and side effects: Individual intolerance to thymogen, autoimmune diseases.

Allergic reactions are possible, with a tenfold excess of the dosage, a flu-like syndrome sometimes develops.

Approximate price (rub.): 270-350

Ergoferon (sublingual tablets)

Active ingredient: Antibodies to human gamma interferon affinity purified, antibodies to histamine affinity purified, antibodies to CD4 affinity purified.

Indications and dosage: For the treatment of acute respiratory viral infections

For children from 6 months, during the first 2 hours, the drug is given every 30 minutes, then during the first day 3 more times at regular intervals. From the second day onwards, 1 tablet 3 times a day. For the prevention of viral infectious diseases - 1 tablet per day.

Contraindications and side effects: Individual intolerance to the components of the drug.

Allergic reactions are possible.

Approximate price (rub.): 280-360.

Antiviral drugs for children 1 to 2 years old

Immunal (solution, tablets)

Analogues: Immunorm, Estifan, Echinacin Liquidum, Echinacea Hexal

Active ingredient: Echinacea purpurea herb juice.

Indications and dosage: To strengthen the immune system in uncomplicated acute viral infections.

Children over 1 year old:

1 ml of solution 3 times a day.

Attention: the tablets are intended for children over 4 years old.

Contraindications and side effects: Systemic and autoimmune diseases, allergy to plants of the Asteraceae family. Possible skin rash, dizziness, bronchospasm, shortness of breath, anaphylactic shock.

Approximate price (rub.): 300-400.

Imupret (solution, pills)

Active ingredient: Alcohol-aqueous solution or dry extract of marshmallow root, horsetail, yarrow and dandelion herb, chamomile flowers, walnut leaves, oak bark.

Indications and dosage: For the prevention and treatment of respiratory viral infections, acute and chronic diseases of the upper respiratory tract.

Children from 1 to 2 years old, 5 drops, 3 times a day for 1-3 weeks.

Contraindications and side effects: Individual intolerance to the components of the drug.

In rare cases, allergic reactions may develop.

Approximate price (rub.): 350-480.

Orvirem (syrup)

Analogues: (Remavir 20) (powder)

Active ingredient: Rimantadine hydrochloride.

Indications and dosage: For the prevention and treatment of influenza type A.

Children from 1 year old: on day 1, 10 ml (2 teaspoons) of syrup 3 times a day; on days 2 and 3, 10 ml 2 times a day; on day 4, 10 ml once a day.

Attention: Rimantadine tablets are allowed for children from 7 years old.

Contraindications and side effects: Individual intolerance to rimantadine, liver and kidney disease, epilepsy.

Possible skin rash, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, flatulence, dizziness, insomnia.

Approximate price (rub.): 250-400.

Tamiflu (powder, capsules)

Active ingredient: Oseltamivir phosphate.

Indications and dosage: For the treatment and prevention of influenza A and B viruses.

Children from 1-2 years old: 1 dose (12 mg / ml) of a suspension prepared from a powder or an opened capsule 2 times a day;

course of treatment 10 days

Attention: it is possible to use it from 6 months for special indications.

Contraindications and side effects: End-stage renal disease, hypersensitivity to oseltamivir.

Possible nausea, vomiting, headache, insomnia, convulsions, increased nervous irritability, depression.

Approximate price (rub.): 1200-1500.

Tsitovir-3 (syrup, capsules, powder)

Active ingredient: sodium alpha-glutamyl-tryptophan (thymogen), ascorbic acid (vitamin C), bendazole hydrochloride (dibazol).

Indications and dosage: For prophylaxis and as part of the complex therapy of influenza and ARVI.

Children from 1 year old: 2 ml of syrup 3 times a day for 4 days in a row.

Attention: capsules are intended for children over 6 years old.

Contraindications and side effects: Thrombophlebitis, severe hypotension, diabetes mellitus, stomach ulcer, urolithiasis.

Possible urticaria and short-term decrease in blood pressure.

Approximate price (rub.): 300-800.

Antiviral drugs for children from 3 years old

Alpizarin (tablets, ointment)

Active ingredient: Tetrahydroxygluco-pyranosylxanthene.

Indications and dosage: As part of the complex therapy for herpes virus, chickenpox, lichen, cytomegalovirus.

Children 3-6 years old: 1/2 tab. 3 times a day.

Children 6-12 years old: 1 tab. 3 times a day for 5-21 days.

The ointment is allowed from 1 year.

Contraindications and side effects: Individual lactose intolerance, hypersensitivity to drug components.

In rare cases, allergic reactions are possible.

Price (rub.): 90-250.

Arbidol (tablets, capsules powder)

Analogs: Arpeflu, Arpetolid, Arpetol, Immustat.

Active ingredient: Umifenovir (methylphenylthiomethyl-dimethylaminomethyl-hydroxybromindole carboxylic acid ethyl ester).

Indications and dosage: For the prevention and treatment of acute respiratory viral infections and influenza, as part of the complex therapy of rotavirus intestinal infections.

Children 3-6 years old: 50 mg 1-3 times a day;

Children 6-12 years old: 100 mg 1-3 times a day;

Children over 12 years of age: 200 mg 1-3 times a day.

Contraindications and side effects: Individual intolerance to umifenovir.

In rare cases, allergic reactions are possible.

Price (rub.): 130-300.

Hyporamine (tablets, ointment)

Active ingredient: Sea buckthorn leaf extract.

Indications and dosage: For the prevention and treatment of ARVI, influenza A and B, adenovirus and cytomegalovirus infection, herpes, lichen, chickenpox

Children 3-12 years old: 1 tablet 2-3 times a day;

Children over 12 years old: 1 tablet 3-4 times a day.

Ointment - from 1 month.

Contraindications and side effects: Hypersensitivity to the active ingredient of the drug.

In rare cases, allergic reactions are possible.

Price (rub.): 130-180.

Groprinosine (tablets)

Analogs: Isoprenosine

Active ingredient: Inosine pranobex (a compound of inosine with 1-dimethylamino-2-propanol-4-acetylaminobenzoate in a ratio of one to three).

Indications and dosage: For the prevention and treatment of ARVI, influenza, herpes, lichen, measles, chickenpox, papillomas, mononucleosis, cytomegaly, molluscum contagiosum

Children from 3 years old: 1/2 tablet (50 mg) for every 5 kg of body weight per day for 3-4 doses.

Contraindications and side effects: Urolithiasis, gout, arrhythmia, severe renal failure, body weight less than 15 kg.

Possible nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, itching, polyuria, insomnia, headache, weakness.

Price (rub.): 2200-3000.

Kagocel (tablets)

Active ingredient: Kagocel (copolymer of gossypol with carboxymethyl cellulose).

Indications and dosage: For the treatment and prevention of ARVI, influenza, herpes virus

Children 3-6 years old: the first 2 days, 1 tab. 2 times a day, then 1 tab. 2 more days per day;

Children over 6 years old: the first 2 days, 1 tab. 3 times a day, then 1 tab. 2 times a day for 2 days.

Contraindications and side effects: Individual lactose intolerance, hypersensitivity to the active ingredient of the drug.

Local and general allergic reactions are possible.

Price (rub.): 220-280.

Flacoside (tablets)

Active ingredient: Amur velvet and Laval velvet leaves extract.

Indications and dosage: For the treatment of herpes viruses, hepatitis, measles, lichen, chickenpox.

Children 3-6 years old: 0.05-0.1 g 2-3 times a day.

Children over 6 years old: 0.1 g 2-3 times a day, the course of treatment is 7-21 days.

Contraindications and side effects: Acute hepatic failure, hypersensitivity to drug components, cholestasis.

In rare cases, allergic reactions are possible.

Price (rub.): 180-250.

Antiviral drugs for children from 4-7 years old

Amiksin (tablets)

Analogs: Lavomax, Tilaxin, Tiloram.

Active ingredient: Tiloron

Indications and dosage: With ARVI and influenza, Children from 7 years old: 60 mg (1 tablet) 1 time per day for 3 consecutive days. Heading dose - 180 mg (3 tablets), in case of complicated infection - 240 mg (4 tablets).

Contraindications and side effects: Hypersensitivity to tilorone.

Possible dyspeptic disorders, chills, allergic reactions.

Price (rub.): 500-700.

Ingavirin 60

Active ingredient: Vitaglutam (imidazolylethanamide of pentanedioic acid).

Indications and dosage: For ARVI and influenza

Children from 7 years old: 1 capsule (60 mg) once a day for 5-7 days from the onset of symptoms of the disease.

Contraindications and side effects: Individual intolerance to vitaglutam.

Allergic reactions are possible.

Price (rub.): 420-550.

Polyoxidonium (tablets, suppositories, lyophilisate)

Active ingredient: Azoximer bromide

Indications and dosage: As part of the complex therapy of acute and chronic diseases caused by bacteria, viruses and fungi.

Children from 6 years old: inside, parenterally, intranasally or rectally. Doses, method and scheme of administration are established by the doctor depending on the diagnosis.

Contraindications and side effects: Hypersensitivity to polyoxidonium.

Allergic reactions and pain at the injection site are possible if the parenteral route of treatment is chosen.

Price (rub.): 720-950.

Relenza (powder with included inhaler)

Active ingredient: Zanamivir

Indications and dosage: For the treatment and prevention of influenza A and B.

Children over 5 years old: 2 inhalations (5 mg) 2 times a day for 5 days from the first symptoms.

Contraindications and side effects: Individual intolerance to zanamivir, history of bronchospasm.

Local and general allergic reactions, suffocation are possible.

Price (rub.): 960-1500.

Remantadine (tablets, dragees, syrup)

Active ingredient: Remantadine hydrochloride.

Indications and dosage: For the prevention and treatment of ARVI and influenza

Children from 7 years old: 5 mg of remantadine for each kg of body weight 1 time per day. The maximum daily dose should not exceed 150 mg.

Contraindications and side effects: Acute and chronic liver and kidney diseases, thyrotoxicosis, hypersensitivity to rimantadine.

Possible nausea, allergic reactions, dry mouth, headache, insomnia.

Price (rub.): 40-300.

Ridostin (lyophilisate)

Active ingredient: Sodium salt of double-stranded ribonucleic acid Saccharomyces serevisiae.

Indications and dosage: For the treatment and prevention of influenza, ARVI and herpes

Children from 7 years of age: intramuscularly, 8 mg of lyophilisate per 1 ml of 0.5% solution of procaine, injected once, then 2 days later, subject to persisting fever, maximum per course - 2-4 injections.

Contraindications and side effects: Severe liver and kidney disease, individual intolerance.

A short-term rise in temperature after injection is possible.

Price (rub.): 650-1300.

Cycloferon (tablets, solution, liniment)

Active ingredient: Meglumine acridone acetate

Indications and dosage: For the treatment of influenza, ARVI and herpes

Children 4-6 years old: 1 tablet once a day;

Children 7-11 years old: 2 tablets once a day;

Children from 12 years old: 3 tablets, once a day.

Contraindications and side effects: Liver cirrhosis, individual intolerance.

Allergic reactions are possible.

Price (rub.): 120-400

What antiviral drugs should not be given to children?

There are a number of effective antiviral drugs that are not recommended for children, either due to insufficient knowledge of the effect on a growing body, or because of the high probability of developing unwanted side effects.

This category includes:

• Adapromin - A-Propyl-1-adamantyl-ethylamine hydrochloride, has antiviral activity against influenza viruses A / H / 3N2 and B;
• Amantadine (Midantan, Neo Midantan, Gludantan, PK-merz) - Adamantan-1-amine, has antiviral and antiparkinsonian action;
• Iodantipyrine - 1-phenyl-2,3-dimethyl-4-iodopyrazolone, produces anti-inflammatory, immunostimulating and interferonogenic effects, approved for use in children over 14 years old;
• Neovir - sodium oxodihydroacridinyl acetate, is used as an immunostimulating agent in the combination therapy of a wide range of diseases of viral etiology;
• Ribavirin (Trivorin) - 1 - [(2R, 3R, 4S, 5R) -3,4-dihydroxy-5-hydroxymethyloxolan-2-yl] -1H-1,2,4-triazole-3-carboxamide, used for treatment viral hepatitis;
• Triazavirin - sodium salt of 2-methylthio-6-nitro-1,2,4-triazolo [5,1-c] -1,2,4-triazin-7-one dihydrate, is prescribed for influenza only in patients over 18 years of age.

However, among the antiviral drugs approved for children, which you see in the tables above, there are medicines for which incriminating information has appeared in recent years. We are talking about scientific research carried out in a double-blind environment.

A large group of patients with the same diagnosis is taken and divided into subgroups according to the number of drugs tested + one subgroup for placebo. Throughout the experiment, neither the patients themselves, nor even the doctors who give them the pills, know where which drug is, and where is the dummy. At the end of the study, information about this is disclosed, and an analysis of the effectiveness and side effects of the tested drugs is performed.

So, most of the modern antiviral drugs for children have not been tested in this way at all. And among the tested drugs, there were those that did not show any effectiveness or even demonstrated a harmful effect on the body of the tested people. Why is this happening?

Because pharmaceuticals is a huge business with billions of dollars in profits. And viral infections are the cause of epidemics. Some antiviral drugs in developed countries are lobbied at the government level and purchased in tons with public money every time the world is swept by another epidemic of "bird" or "swine" flu.

Does this mean that you need to ignore the pediatrician's recommendation when prescribing an antiviral drug for your child? Of course not, but you will be much calmer if you learn all the compromising information available at the moment about some of these drugs. Fortunately, there are very few of them.

Amiksin

This drug was banned in the United States at the stage of testing on animals in the 80s of the last century. In experimental mice, retinal dissection, liver lipidosis and other serious pathologies were observed. Tilorone-based antiviral drugs are also not used in the European Union.

In open sources, there are results of testing this substance in humans: in a small group of 14 patients, tilorone caused retinopathy and keratopathy in two. True, the destructive changes in the eye tissues were reversible and did not lead to fatal consequences for vision.

The most fair conclusion from this would be the following: tilorone has not been sufficiently well studied today (as, in fact, human immunity) to judge with confidence the safety and effectiveness of Amiksin and its analogues.

Arbidol

The active ingredient of this drug, umifenovir, was invented in Russia. Foreign researchers were actively interested in the novelty and conducted research: in 2004, in China, in a group of 230 ARVI patients, the effectiveness of umifenovir was not confirmed (in all respects it lost to Tamiflu and Ingaverin). Domestic testing, which took place in 2008, showed that Arbidol stops the development of a viral infection in the human body at the first stage of the disease worse than Viferon (suppositories with recombinant interferon alpha).

Nevertheless, in 2010, Arbidol was included by the Government of the Russian Federation in the list of vital and essential medicines, first as an immunostimulant. And then, when the WHO recognized umifenovir as a direct-acting antiviral substance in 2013 and assigned it the international code J05AX13, Arbidol acquired the status of an effective antiviral drug in our country.

A large-scale test of Arbidol, despite the presence of very serious sponsors, for unknown reasons has not yet been carried out. In recent years, the events around this drug have acquired the character of an action-packed epic: protests of independent doctors, accusations in the state lobby, reviews of some patients about the undoubted effectiveness of Arbidol, and others about its utter uselessness … Time passes, but the discussion continues.

Yodantipyrine

Previously, this substance was used as a radioisotope label during instrumental studies of human body fluids. And now it is actively promoting it on the Russian market as an antiviral drug.

The first report on the antiviral activity of Iodantipyrine and other pyrazolone compounds at the preclinical stage was published by Professor Saratikov (Head of the Department of Pharmacology, Siberian State Medical University, Tomsk).

The management of the Central Clinical Hospital of Ufa states that there have been successful trials of Yodantipyrine against hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome. However, the drug did not undergo full-fledged clinical trials either in Russia or abroad, and it is not certified as an antiviral agent.

Kagocel

The active ingredient of this drug is the sodium salt of a copolymer of gossypol with carboxymethyl cellulose. Gossypol itself is a yellow pigment, a toxic polyphenol derived from cotton. The contraceptive properties of gossypol have been studied for a long time in the world, it was found that this substance stops spermatogenesis. In particular, China pinned great hopes on it, planning to develop a male oral contraceptive on its basis. But to achieve a reversible contraceptive effect, you need 10-20 mg of gossypol per day, while the result is visible only after a very long intake - from 2 to 18 months. The revolution in male contraception did not take place. The possibilities of gossypol in oncology are now being actively studied, since this polyphenol has a powerful antitumor effect.

It is wrong to fear the harm of Kagocel just because it is related to a toxic substance. There is no free gossypol in Kagocel, it is a sodium salt, which has completely different physicochemical properties than polyphenol. But in fairness, it must be said that neither in Western Europe nor in the United States this antiviral drug is used, it is not on the official list of WHO drugs. And although in Russia Kagocel is actively recommended against influenza and ARVI for both adults and children, there is no evidence of the safety of this drug for preschool and school children, clinical studies in this age category have not yet been conducted.

Tamiflu and Relenza

First of all, it should be understood that oseltamivir and zanamivir are effective only against influenza A and B viruses, they are useless against other acute respiratory viral infections. These two substances are inhibitors of the enzyme by which the influenza virus particles try to dissolve the cell membranes and enter the human body. Science has proven that Tamiflu and Relenza are really useful during a flu epidemic, but only if you start taking medication for prevention or at the first sign of a cold.

In addition to the very high price, Relenza and Tamiflu have another significant drawback: their side effects can add up to a flu-like syndrome, which makes diagnosis difficult. In other words, the doctor does not understand why the patient has a headache, nausea and fever - from the flu itself, or from the pills against it. But this is still not the most unpleasant thing.

Since 2004, information about neuropsychiatric disorders among patients taking Tamiflu began to appear in medical sources: anxiety, insomnia, nightmares, seizures, psychosis, and suicidal tendencies. For example, in Japan, 54 deaths were reported, 16 of which were in the 10-19 age group. Moreover, 15 out of 16 young people who took Tamiflu committed suicide, 1 was hit by a car. In all other cases, death occurred from kidney failure, which, however, could develop due to severe flu. Don't forget that 54 people are statistically negligible given the population of Japan and the widespread prevalence of this antiviral drug.

In 2014, the results of nearly fifty studies of Tamiflu and Relenza were published, in which a total of about 24 thousand people around the world took part.

The conclusions are as follows:

• Tamiflu slightly reduces the risk of transmission of influenza from person to person when used prophylactically;
• Symptoms of the disease in adults are observed for 6 days instead of 7 days without treatment; in children, this interval is not shortened at all;
• The drug does not prevent the development of influenza complications;
• Oseltamivir and zanamivir are recognized as quite toxic to the body, nausea and vomiting often occurs in both adults and children;
• Long-term use of these drugs for preventive purposes is fraught with the development of neuropsychiatric disorders and deterioration of renal function.

Based on the data received, an international group of experts on evidence-based medicine called on the governments of the world's leading countries to stop the bulk purchases of Tamiflu and Relenza. By the way, the UK and the USA in 2009 in connection with the swine flu epidemic purchased about 40 million packages of these drugs. This is perhaps the most striking example of a government lobby in the entire history of the pharmaceutical industry.

Can antibiotics be taken with antiviral drugs?

Antibiotics have either a bactericidal effect (destroy bacteria and germs) or bacteriostatic (prevent them from multiplying). And antiviral drugs for children and adults are designed to fight the non-cellular form of life - a virus, which has a completely different structure and principles of pathogenic effects on the human body. Antibiotics are powerless against viruses, but some antivirals may be helpful for bacterial infections. We are talking about drugs that enhance nonspecific immunity, because it helps us fight against "uninvited guests" of any type, be it a virus, bacteria or even a fungus. But they are also called accordingly: immunostimulating, and not just antiviral.

This is interesting: How to distinguish a viral infection from a bacterial one? In the first case, the disease debuts with a sharp rise in temperature and aches throughout the body. Respiratory symptoms are activated in 2-3 days. And in the second case, the disease manifests itself firstly with pain when swallowing, and the temperature may not rise at all.

Since some antibiotics lead to a decrease in immunity, destroying healthy cells along with bacteria, an organism weakened by prolonged antibiotic therapy can become an easy target for the virus. The opposite is also true: a person with a viral infection is more vulnerable to pathogenic bacteria that can provoke a formidable complication of ARVI: bronchitis, pneumonia.

From this we come to the conclusion: it is possible and even necessary to take antibiotics and antiviral drugs at the same time, but only in the case of the development of the so-called "superinfection", when a viral disease is complicated by an inflammatory process of a bacterial nature, and vice versa. Parallel therapy is always justified, for example, in the case of HIV, because in conditions of immunodeficiency, people are affected by tuberculosis, sepsis and other opportunistic infections, which lead to death.

When prescribing antibiotics and antiviral drugs for children, pediatricians are guided by the nature and dynamics of pathogenesis, the immune status of the little patient, the data of his medical record, and also take into account the phenomenon of drug antagonism. Not all antibacterial agents are well combined with antivirals, but there are also such drugs that have long been successfully used in the complex therapy of complicated and mixed infections.

One thing you can know for sure: if the doctor diagnosed your child with tonsillitis (tonsillitis) and prescribed an antiviral drug (not an immunostimulant!), He is either incompetent or financially interested in the welfare of the local pharmacy. And if the doctor diagnosed the baby with “uncomplicated ARVI” and at the same time prescribed an antibiotic, then he is simply a criminal, because such therapy will not help recovery, but will only kill the beneficial microflora and reduce the effectiveness of this antibiotic in the future, when it may really be vital.

The author of the article: Sokolova Praskovya Fedorovna | Pediatrician

Education: Diploma in the specialty "General Medicine" received at the Volgograd State Medical University. A specialist certificate was immediately received in 2014.