Licorice root syrup belongs to the category of herbal remedies that have a powerful expectorant, anti-inflammatory and immunostimulating principle of action. The basis of this medication contains an extract of a plant that is beneficial to humans, sugar syrup and a small percentage of ethyl alcohol. The universal composition of natural components allows the use of the medicine even for young children. To understand what the licorice root syrup can be taken from, you need to study the instructions, where all the indications and contraindications are described in detail.
Composition and form of release
The drug is sold in 100 ml vials. The composition includes the following components:
- Ethyl alcohol 10 ml.
- Extract from the rhizome of naked licorice 4 ml.
- Natural sugar syrup 86 ml.
The medicine has a specific taste, thanks to which it is easy to recognize syrup. Due to the presence of sugar syrup, the drug is actively used to treat children, since small patients are very willing to take the drug.
Pharmacological principle of action
The most effective components in the syrup are flavonoids, glycyrrhizic acid, coumarins, essential oil. To understand what helps syrup from licorice root, you need to familiarize yourself with the pharmacological principle of action:
- Expectorant.
- Anti-inflammatory.
- Laxative.
- Antitumor.
- Corticosteroid.
- Regenerating.
- Enveloping.
- Immunostimulatory.
- Antispasmodic.
After the studies and experimental treatment, it was possible to confirm the main antiviral properties of this medicine. When patients are interested in why licorice root syrup helps best, experts always note that the medication is effective even in the treatment of patients with AIDS and herpes. The drug has an antibacterial effect. Numerous reviews indicate that the drug is effective in the treatment of staph infection.
Beneficial features
High efficacy and contraindications of the medication are based on its chemical composition. Licorice root contains a large number of biologically active compounds:
- Coumarins, flavonoids, polysaccharides.
- Glycyrrhizic acid.
- Phytoestrogens.
- Tannins, saponins.
- Minerals, vitamins.
- Organic acids - succinic, citric, malic, tartaric.
In addition to natural ingredients, the concentrate includes sugar syrup and ethyl alcohol 96%. Glycyrrhizin has a pronounced hypoallergenic and anti-inflammatory principle of action. An antispasmodic and expectorant effect is achieved due to flavone components that expand the lumen of the bronchi and significantly facilitate coughing.
Indications for use
Before you figure out how to drink licorice root syrup, you need to study the instructions. Manufacturers of the drug note that the medication is relevant for the treatment of the upper respiratory tract, when the disease is accompanied by wet and dry cough. The main indications:
- Bronchial asthma. The syrup softens and soothes the cough, relieves spasms of the smooth muscles of the bronchi. Self-medication with this diagnosis is strictly prohibited. Allergic manifestations on the components of the drug are not excluded.
- Cough. The use of licorice root syrup by adults is relevant for tracheitis, bronchitis, bronchopneumonia, pneumonia. The medicine dilutes the thick secret, eliminates bouts of dry cough. The drug allows you to cope with mucous plugs with obstruction of the lungs.
- Remediation of the bronchi. This procedure is relevant before surgical treatment, as well as after surgical interventions.
- Bronchiectatic pathology. The instructions for use of licorice root syrup for adults and children contain information that the medicine is effective in purulent processes in the respiratory system. The complex therapy includes antibiotics, massage, bronchodilators, breathing exercises.
The basic pharmacological effect is expectorant. The substances included in the composition have a positive effect on the ciliary epithelium of the human bronchi and stimulate their active work.
Contraindications
The healing properties of licorice root syrup are not suitable for all patients. The main contraindications include the following diseases and conditions:
- Pregnancy.
- Individual intolerance to the components.
- Arterial hypertension.
- Hypokalemia.
- Violation of cardiac activity.
- Diabetes mellitus type I and II.
- Impaired adrenal glands.
- Cirrhosis, liver failure.
- The acute form of diarrhea.
- Thrombocytopenia.
Instruction manual
Licorice root syrup for cough is in great demand in the treatment of adults and small patients. Since dry coughing must necessarily be converted to wet, this medication does an excellent job of this task. The drug promotes the formation of mucus, along with which the body is cleansed of accumulated pathogens. For effective treatment of cough, it is necessary to use the medicine three times a day for 15 mg, but not more than 14 days in a row. To facilitate the procedure, a 5 ml measuring spoon and a small glass are attached to the bottle.
Adverse reactions
Before starting treatment of diseases of the upper respiratory tract with licorice root, you need to familiarize yourself with all the possible negative manifestations that this medication can cause:
- Acute joint pain.
- Dizziness and fainting.
- Allergic manifestations (burning of the skin, itching, red rashes).
- Liver dysfunction.
- Violations of the stool.
- Depressiveness
- Gynecological bleeding.
Given all the limitations and adverse reactions, it is necessary to approach the treatment of dry cough with licorice as carefully and responsibly as possible. First you need to consult with your doctor to avoid deterioration.
Effective broth
Licorice root syrup is often prepared for children at home. The dry extract of this plant is a fine powder. Cooking a decoction consists of several stages:
- One tablespoon of licorice is filled with 200 ml of boiling water.
- The container with the solution is placed in a water bath and incubated for 40 minutes.
- The cooked broth is cooled for 20 minutes and carefully filtered through cheesecloth. Boiled water bring the product to the desired volume.
Broth take 2 tbsp. l 30 minutes before meals. The procedure is repeated 4 times a day. The duration of treatment is designed for 14 days.
Tinctures
You can cook a remedy at home. To do this, you need to perform a few simple steps:
- Finely chop the root of the plant and fill it with water in a ratio of 1: 5.
- The resulting product should be infused for 14 days in a dark place.
- The infusion must be filtered.
To combat cough, the medicine is taken twice a day, 35 drops. Tincture is washed down with warm water. In the pharmacy you can buy a ready-made collection in small bags. For 200 ml of boiling water, you need to take 3 such packages. The remedy is insisted for half an hour.
The total duration of treatment is always adjusted by the attending physician, since it all depends on the severity of the disease. The drug in any form can be used no more than two weeks. If you take licorice root for a long time, then this is fraught with a significant increase in pressure, swelling of the limbs and a decrease in sexual desire.
Tablet form
0.25% ammonia solutions are added to the thick extract. This composition is actively used for the manufacture of high quality pills. It is tablets that are the most convenient form of drug release. Before use, one pill is dissolved in 300 ml of warm water. Using cough licorice root syrup is not a difficult task. The medicine is drunk in the form of tea 2-3 times a day.
For small patients
For children, instructions for the use of licorice root syrup recommends giving a cough remedy from 3 years, but only if the benefit of therapy exceeds the possible harm. Most often, pediatricians prescribe a drug in the form of a syrup. It has a rather pleasant aroma, a sweet taste that kids really like. The dosage of syrup for dry cough is calculated according to the following scheme: 1 drop is used for each year of life. You can take syrup only after eating. Do not use the drug for more than 10 days. Otherwise, severe itching, redness of the skin, diarrhea may occur.
The standard scheme for using the drug:
- Up to 2 years. One drop of the extract must be diluted in a teaspoon of water.
- From 3 to 12 years. In a quarter cup of warm water dissolve ½ tsp. medication. Take the drug 4 times a day.
- From 12 years old. In a quarter cup of water, one teaspoon of the drug is diluted and taken 4 times a day.
It is worth noting that in some cases, syrup from licorice root in children can significantly reduce blood potassium. That is why the patient's diet should be rich in dried apricots and bananas.
The use of licorice root in women
In gynecology, the plant has found application due to the content of natural estrogens (steroid female sex hormones) in it. With their decrease, a characteristic ovarian dysfunction may develop in a woman's body, which is fraught with a menstrual cycle. Quite often, such violations occur at the initial stage of menopause. Doctors prescribe syrup to gradually lower testosterone and normalize the cycle. Licorice helps to normalize cholesterol levels in the blood, since it is he who is the main carrier of male hormone.
Means based on licorice root are extremely dangerous for pregnant women, since the use of the medication is fraught with various adverse reactions:
- Swelling.
- Water retention in the body.
- Increased blood pressure.
- Increased toxicosis.
- Negative effects on the hormonal system.
- A critical violation of the water-salt balance.
- Leaching of calcium.
The medicine is taken with extreme caution during lactation. To avoid the occurrence of adverse reactions, you should consult your doctor.
Improving the lymphatic system
For these purposes, actively use tinctures and syrups from licorice. The powerful detoxifying properties of this herb were well known in ancient times. Chinese and Tibetan healers used the plant as an antidote. Licorice can cleanse the human body from dangerous toxins and toxins. Treatment is combined with the use of sorbents. After the course, the work of the liver and kidneys is significantly improved, the immune system is strengthened, the metabolism is normalized, the condition of the hair is improved, the swelling is eliminated, and the skin is also cleaned. Only after the patient understands what the licorice root syrup helps from, can he avoid the most negative consequences.
Improving the functioning of the lymphatic system differs in several nuances:
- The use of licorice. In a small glass of hot water, 1 tbsp. l syrup and taken orally. A natural reaction in the form of lacrimation and a runny nose is quite possible.
- Reception of the sorbent. 60 minutes after licorice, Enterosgel is used, which will remove all toxins from the intestines.
- Therapy. The course of treatment is designed for 2 weeks. The procedure is carried out at least 3 times a day.
You should first consult your physician. Otherwise, the reaction of the body can be very unpredictable. Side effects from the digestive tract and nervous system are not ruled out.
Consequences of an overdose
A significant excess of the permissible dosage of licorice root is fraught with the appearance of negative symptoms. Most often, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, loss of consciousness, fever are observed. In such a situation, the use of the medication should be stopped and consult a doctor, who, if necessary, will select the optimal symptomatic treatment.
Syrup is better not to combine with diuretics and cardiac drugs, as this only enhances the excretion of potassium from the body. Hormonal and laxative medications can lead to electrolyte imbalance.