Colds are a fairly common problem, especially in autumn and winter. Immunity at this time is greatly weakened, so people often get sick. You can also take preventative measures to maintain your health. Many of us drink vitamin complexes, eat more fresh fruits, and also go in for sports and temper. But sometimes even these actions are not enough. Then doctors recommend starting taking special medications that can protect the body from viral diseases. Pharmacies have a wide selection of such drugs, but which one is most effective?
Doctors often prescribe inexpensive tablets "Remantadine" to both adults and children. What is their composition, indications and contraindications? Can I take "Remantadine" for the prevention of acute respiratory viral infections and other diseases? How to choose the right dosage? What do other patients think about these pills? We will try to answer all these questions later in this article.
Read more about the composition and form of release
This drug is available only in tablet form. These are white pills that do not have a pronounced smell, but have a rather bitter taste. The drug has been on the pharmaceutical market for many years, therefore it is considered a proven and safe tool for the treatment and prevention of colds. Its active ingredient is rimantadine hydrochloride, which was discovered by scientists in 1963. In one tablet it contains only 50 mg. It is considered a derivative of another substance - amantadine. Now the scientists call the composition of the drug obsolete and ineffective due to the flu mutation. However, it is still popular among patients suffering from colds, as it fights well with the disease in the early stages of its development and is inexpensive.
The drug can be purchased at the pharmacy without presenting a special prescription prescribed by a doctor. The tablets themselves are packed in protective blisters, each of which contains 10 pills. They are stacked in cardboard boxes. In the pharmacy you can buy packs that contain 1 or 2 blisters, that is, 10 or 20 tablets. Also, the drug is available in glass jars made of dark glass. In each of them there are 20 pills. The cost of the drug depends on the size of the package and the region of purchase. As a rule, you can purchase these tablets on average for 30-50 rubles. Their shelf life is 5 years. At the same time, tablets should be stored in a dry place.
And although the drug is dispensed from pharmacies without a prescription, it is best to visit a doctor before admission to find out how to take Remantadine to prevent the flu or the common cold.
The main indications for use
This drug helps to quickly and effectively eliminate the symptoms of viral diseases and flu and alleviate the patient's condition. Doctors recommend taking it at the first suspicion of a developing cold. It is in this case that it shows the greatest efficiency. If the patient is ill too often, then tablets can be prescribed for prevention. How to take "Remantadine" in this case? Smaller dosages are usually prescribed. Prevention is carried out in the offseason - in the fall or in the spring. At the same time, tablets can be used for both adults and children. But the dosage in young patients should be significantly reduced.
What indications for use does this drug have? Doctors, as a rule, can prescribe it if the patient suspects tick-borne encephalitis. Often a course of pills will need to be drunk after a bite of this dangerous insect. They are taken as part of complex therapy along with more effective drugs. Therefore, if a tick is found on your skin, you should immediately consult a doctor and pass the necessary tests, and not self-medicate.
Pharmacokinetics
The main advantage of this drug is not only its low cost and safety, but also its proven effectiveness. At the same time, tablets help eliminate the symptoms of the disease in a short time. After the drug enters the body, its active substance is completely absorbed into the intestine. With its help, protein synthesis is blocked, and the virus that enters the cells is inhibited. He loses his ability to reproduce, which significantly slows down the development of pathology. But the drug is effective only in the early stages of the disease, when the virus is just beginning to spread.
The active substance is completely metabolized in the liver. Then it is excreted from the body using the kidneys. Scientists have found that after 36 hours in a healthy person rimantadine in the blood will not be detected. Moreover, this period can be increased if the patient suffers from chronic renal or liver failure. Due to this pathology, organs will not be able to split and remove the substance from the body in a timely manner, and it will accumulate. Therefore, it is recommended to select an individual dosage for such patients.
How to take "Remantadine" for the prevention of viral diseases? First, be sure to consult a doctor and make sure that your history has no pathologies in which taking these tablets is contraindicated.
What contraindications should not be taken?
This medicine, which helps in the treatment of colds, is considered a safe medication, but it is still recommended to consult a specialist before starting treatment. The instructions indicate those pathologies in which the use of tablets is strictly prohibited. As a rule, doctors forbid taking them if the patient has the following diseases:
- Hyperthyroidism is a pathology in which the thyroid gland for a long time produces more hormones than necessary.
- Individual intolerance to the active substance.
- Any metabolic disorders, including lactose intolerance and lactase deficiency. It is worth choosing another medicine in the presence of hereditary galactosemia.
- Severe damage to the liver and kidneys, as well as acute failure of these organs.
Many parents are also interested in how to take Remantadine to their children. They consider it a safe remedy, suitable for any kids. However, this is not quite true. Children's age up to 7 years is considered a direct contraindication to use. Therefore, it is impossible to treat colds with babies with these pills. For them, it is better to choose a safer and more gentle product, created specifically for their age group.
In addition, there are conditional contraindications in which the drug should be taken only under the supervision of the attending physician. As a rule, if available, the specialist prescribes a lower dosage. For example, they include hypersensitivity to the active substance that is part of the tablets. Also, when the first signs of an allergy appear, you need to stop taking it. With caution, it is recommended to use tablets for patients suffering from any pathologies of the cardiovascular and digestive systems.
How to take "Remantadine" for prevention?
If you often suffer from colds, this medication can help you. But it is best to take it after consultation with your doctor, especially if you have one or more conditional contraindications in your medical history. A specialist will select an individual dosage for you so that the tablets cannot harm the body. Often, of course, they begin to use them after the first signs of colds. But how to take Remantadine for adults to prevent flu?
In this case, tablets are prescribed to patients older than 10 years. As a rule, they should be consumed during the off-season and winter epidemics, as well as after direct contact with a sick person. Doctors recommend drinking one tablet a day. It must be consumed strictly after a meal, while drinking plenty of fluids. It should not be bitten or chewed. The duration of the preventive course is exactly 1 month. If for any reason you missed the day of admission, then the next day you do not need to take a double dose.
How to take "Remantadine" for the prevention of influenza in children under 10 years of age? In this case, the doctor should calculate the individual dosage, focusing primarily on the weight of the child.
How to take Remantadine tablets for influenza?
The drug is effective not only for the prevention of viral diseases, but also for their treatment. But for it to work, you need to take pills immediately after the first symptoms of the disease appear. It is believed that the active substance shows the greatest effectiveness if you use it within 18 hours after the onset of deterioration. Many patients do not know how to take Remantadine if you become ill. It is best, of course, to entrust the preparation of the treatment regimen to your doctor.
The instruction of the drug indicates that for influenza and colds, adult patients are advised to adhere to the following dosage:
- On the first day you need to drink 300 mg of the active substance, that is, 6 tablets. You can do this at a time or divide the technique into 2-3 parts. They should also be consumed strictly after eating. But no more than 300 mg should be drunk per day, otherwise there is a risk of signs of an overdose.
- On the second and third day of therapy, you need to reduce the dose to 200 mg, that is, 4 tablets. Their intake should be divided into 2 times, for example, drink 2 pills after tomorrow and another 2 after lunch.
- On the fourth and fifth day of treatment, the dosage is reduced to 100 mg, that is, 2 tablets. You need to drink them for 1 time.
The duration of treatment with this drug should not exceed 5 days. If your well-being has not improved, it is recommended to seek the help of a doctor. As a rule, with the timely intake of tablets, the patient's temperature decreases and the severity of intoxication of the body decreases. In the treatment of influenza, taking the medicine is recommended as part of complex therapy in conjunction with other drugs.
Tick-borne encephalitis prevention
It is noteworthy that this drug effectively copes with colds, but it can also help with infection with such a dangerous ailment as tick-borne encephalitis. Self-treatment with a tick bite is contraindicated. If an insect is found on your skin, you should immediately consult a doctor and only by its appointment start taking the tablets. This drug alone will not be able to cope with a dangerous ailment.
How much to take "Remantadine" for the prevention of tick-borne encephalitis? When an insect bites, it is recommended to immediately start taking 100 mg of the drug per day, that is, you need to drink 2 tablets. The duration of treatment is approximately 3-5 days. As a rule, tablets are included in the complex therapy.
If you live near the forest and are afraid that a tick might bite you, then you can take pills in advance for prevention. The instruction recommends taking 2 tablets per day for two weeks, which reduces the possible risk of tick-borne encephalitis.
Side effects that may appear after starting
Many patients do not know how to take Remantadine tablets, so before starting treatment, you need to carefully study the instructions included in each package. It describes in detail not only the dosage and contraindications, but also possible side effects. As a rule, the drug is easily tolerated by patients, and they do not notice a deterioration in well-being. However, in some cases, unpleasant symptoms still appear. If they are found, you should stop taking and seek help from a doctor if they have not passed on their own.
Often patients complain of disturbances in the digestive system. They have moderate pain in the stomach and prolonged nausea. In rare cases, it can even develop into vomiting. Severe dry mouth, thirst, and general malaise may also appear.
The drug is also able to negatively affect the functioning of the nervous system. Because of this, patients after starting taking the pills begin to complain of headaches and dizziness. They notice that they are having difficulty concentrating on doing mental work. Also, such patients become more irritable, get tired faster and suffer from insomnia. Sometimes they are diagnosed with anxiety. And when tablets are used by people who suffer from hypersensitivity to the active substance, various allergic reactions often occur, including inflammation on the skin.
What to do in case of overdose?
It has already been said above that the maximum daily dose of the active substance is 300 mg per day. Therefore, taking more than 6 tablets per day is not recommended. Otherwise, the condition of the patient can worsen. Many patients also think about how many days to take Remantadine. In the treatment of influenza and colds, the duration of the course is no more than 5 days. For prevention, you can drink tablets for a month, but not more than 1 pill per day. Further continued admission will not improve the effectiveness of therapy, on the contrary, it can provoke a deterioration in well-being.
In case of an overdose of the drug, patients, as a rule, complain of violations in the functioning of the digestive tract and the appearance of severe allergic reactions. Also, excessive intake of pills can provoke severe headaches, dizziness and blurred consciousness. If you do not start treatment, then after a while you can notice a violation in the liver and kidneys.
You should immediately seek help if you drank more tablets than you should. It is necessary to do a gastric lavage and give the patient activated charcoal in order to slow down the absorption of the active substance. If the patient's condition worsens, then he is sent to a hospital, where doctors select special symptomatic therapy for him.
Drug interaction with other drugs
Often, these pills are drunk as part of complex therapy to speed up the healing process. How to take "Remantadine" for prophylaxis for adults in conjunction with other medicines? This question interests many people, because you need to use it for a whole month. So, for example, scientists were able to find out that while taking them with anticonvulsants, tablets can lower their effectiveness.
It is not recommended to take "Remantadine" with adsorbents, as they slow down and reduce the absorption of the active substance. Because of this, its effectiveness is reduced. On the contrary, it increases markedly when taking pills along with drugs that alkalize urine.
Taking the drug during pregnancy and lactation
It has already been said above how to take "Remantadine" for prevention for adults. It is believed that this is a safe remedy, but pregnant women should not be treated by it. The active substance can adversely affect the development of the fetus. Therefore, for the prevention of influenza, women are advised to select other medicines for themselves. You can not take pills and breastfeeding, as rimantadine through breast milk can pass into the body of the baby. To prevent this, the admission should switch to artificial feeding.
Can I take pills for children and the elderly?
It was indicated above that the drug is not prescribed for babies under 7 years of age. Instead, they pick up analogues that are available in the form of suspensions or syrups. However, tablets are actively used to treat older children. Like adults, it is used to make you feel better at the first sign of flu and SARS. How can children take Remantadine in the presence of these diseases? The instructions indicate that patients from 7 to 10 years old should drink 100 mg per day, that is, 2 tablets of the drug. They must be consumed strictly after eating. For children over 10 years of age, the dosage should be increased. They should drink 1 tablet 3 times a day. Parents are also interested in how much to take "Remantadine" in the treatment of influenza. The duration of treatment in children should also not exceed more than 5 days.
Elderly people should take the drug under the supervision of a doctor, as their kidneys and liver can not cope with the burden placed on them. With prolonged use, it is recommended to regularly take urine and blood tests. In addition, in older people with a history of hypertension, the risk of stroke increases with these pills.
special instructions
The instructions describe in detail how to properly take "Remantadine" for both adults and children. . , , , . , .
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Positive reviews
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Negative reviews
Unfortunately, these tablets cannot be called a universal remedy for the treatment and prevention of viral diseases. Although many patients praise him in their reviews, doctors claim that the drug has long been outdated. The fact is that the flu virus constantly mutates, it becomes more stable, and its new subspecies also appear. So, “Remantadin” will no longer help if the patient has the strain A flu. In addition, doctors in the reviews note that with prolonged use for prevention, it negatively affects the liver and kidneys, especially in older people. They indicate that many patients complain of side effects.
In this article, we examined in detail the instructions for using "Remantadine". How to take this drug for the prevention and treatment of influenza? What side effects and contraindications do these pills have? How do doctors and patients respond to the drug? It is to these questions that detailed answers have been given above. Summarizing, we can say that "Remantadin" is an inexpensive, but already outdated drug that still helps with the first signs of SARS and flu.