When autumn comes, the risks of contracting colds with all their unpleasant symptoms — temperature, as well as rhinitis, sore throat — increase. A particularly unpleasant symptom of acute respiratory infections is a cough. And it is especially extremely difficult for children to endure it.
Fortunately, modern pharmacological organizations have developed many cough medicines that are suitable for use in childhood. One of such preparations is considered to be “ACC” powder.
Pharmacological actions
The active component of the drug is acetylcysteine. The medication was specially developed by Italian scientists in the mid-twentieth century, and since then has repeatedly shown its effectiveness in eliminating cough.
It must be borne in mind that this unpleasant symptom is considered a standard reaction of the body for colds and related respiratory infections. There are two main types of cough - wet and dry. Acetylcysteine helps only to eliminate the first.
A wet cough is the body reflex that is accompanied by sputum production. This pathological secret binds pathogenic organisms, and a cough is designed to eliminate it from the bronchi. But when too much mucus is produced, then eliminating it from the body can be complicated.
Acetylcysteine, which is part of the drug, facilitates this task. This active substance is similar in structure to the amino acid cysteine, which can break down mucopolysaccharides, which form the basis of the pathological secretion of the bronchi. Sputum becomes more fluid and can freely leave the body. The drug, as a rule, is recommended by a doctor for purulent otitis media and sinusitis.
Although ACC powder for children is used to eliminate cough and has earned a good reputation, it can equally well be used to eliminate cough in patients of all age groups. The drug is not purely childish.
Upon entry into the body, the active substance is in the liver, where it is exchanged to cysteine and in this form passes into the general bloodstream.
The drug is produced by the Slovenian organization Sandoz or the German company Hexal AG.
Structure
There are several dosage forms:
- tablets;
- granular powder in bags for the manufacture of a suspension;
- syrup in a bottle;
- solution for inhalation;
- injection.
The composition of the tablets, in addition to the active ingredient, includes:
- vitamin C;
- mannitol;
- lactose;
- saccharin;
- acid salts of carbonic acid;
- citric acid anion;
- sodium salt of carbonic acid.
Syrup contains:
- preservative E218;
- carmellose;
- disodium salt of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid;
- saccharin;
- benzoic acid sodium salt.
The composition of the powder for the manufacture of a suspension includes:
- vitamin C;
- lemon honey flavoring;
- sucrose;
- saccharinate.
When is it necessary to take a medicine?
As a rule, the following diseases are indications for the use of “ACC” powder for children:
- Bronchitis (a respiratory disease in which the bronchi are involved in the inflammatory process).
- Bronchiolitis (an ailment of an inflammatory nature, due to the progression of which small bronchioles are affected).
- Tracheitis (inflammatory damage to the mucous membrane of the trachea, usually of an infectious origin, which is manifested by irritation of the epithelial tissue, dry paroxysmal cough or with the release of pathological secretions, pain behind the sternum, and febrile temperature).
- Bronchiectasis (a disease characterized by the destruction of muscle and lung tissue).
- Cystic fibrosis (a hereditary disease that is caused by a change in the gene for the transmembrane regulator of cystic fibrosis, and is also characterized by damage to the endocrine glands).
- Pneumonia (acute lung damage of an infectious and inflammatory origin, which involves the alveoli and interstitial tissue of the lungs).
- Laryngitis (a disease of the respiratory system in which the mucous membrane of the larynx is damaged).
- Otitis media (acute or chronic inflammation in various parts of the hearing organs).
- Sinusitis (inflammation of the sinuses of the nose).
- Pulmonary abscess (purulent destructive process in the lungs).
What limitations does the drug have?
The drug has certain limitations. It is contraindicated in exacerbation of an ulcer of the gastrointestinal tract. In a state of remission, the medication is also used with extreme caution. Treatment in this situation should be carried out under the supervision of a doctor. It is not recommended to take the drug to nursing mothers and women during pregnancy.
Contraindications to the “ACC” powder for children are as follows:
- Hemoptysis (secretion with a pathological secretion of individual blood veins or blood from the respiratory system as a result of coughing).
- Age to two years.
- Bronchial asthma (an inflammatory process of the respiratory system, which is characterized by shortness of breath, cough).
- Kidney disease.
- Damage to the liver.
Adverse reactions
According to the annotation to the drug, it is known that when using the medication, certain negative phenomena may occur. But subject to the instructions for use and dosage, they are rare. Side effects of the “ACC” powder for children are as follows:
- Noise in ears.
- Nausea.
- Headache.
- Heartburn.
- Hives.
- Stomatitis (inflammation of the oral mucosa of various origins).
- Tachycardia (heart palpitations).
- Lowering blood pressure.
- Bronchospasm (a pathology that occurs when the smooth muscles of the bronchi are contracted and their lumen is narrowed).
For patients with diabetes, it is important to consider that sucrose is included in the structure of the drug.
Interaction
It is contraindicated to use the drug in conjunction with medications that suppress the cough reflex, as this leads to an accumulation of pathological secretion. With extreme caution, it is necessary to take the drug together with antimicrobial drugs, since it is incompatible with most of them.
Only tetracycline and penicillin preparations are suitable for simultaneous use with “ACC”, but at least two hours should elapse between their use. "Nitroglycerin" enhances the effect of the drug.
How to apply the medicine?
According to the instructions for use, the powder “ACC” is used according to a certain scheme.
When eliminating respiratory diseases, adolescents and adults need to take 1 packet of “ACC” powder for children in (200 milligrams) or 2 bags (at one time) with a dosage of 100 mg three times a day.
The total dosage of the active substance varies from 400 to 600 milligrams per day. It is divided into several uses after consultation with a medical specialist.
According to the instructions for use with the “ACC” powder, children from six to fourteen years of age are prescribed 300–400 milligrams of the drug per day. The drug mixture is divided into three times and taken at approximately the same time intervals.
Children from two to five years old are recommended to use ACC powder in a dosage of 100 milligrams twice a day.
Another treatment regimen is prescribed in the treatment of cystic fibrosis. How to give children “ACC” powder in this case? From the age of six, it is required to take the drug three times a day for 200 milligrams.
Babies from two to five years old should consume 100 milligrams of the active substance four times a day. Sometimes you need to increase the daily dosage to 800 mg in patients who weigh more than thirty kilograms.
Short-term diseases require long-term treatment with the drug, which can take about six to seven days. In the treatment of cystic fibrosis or chronic problems with the respiratory system, a longer course is needed, which is selected individually by a medical specialist. It is not worthwhile to independently draw up a therapy regimen.
How to breed medicine?
According to the instructions for use with the “ACC” powder for children, the drug must be used after meals, the last use should be made no later than six in the evening. A large amount of drunk fluid enhances the effect of the drug.
To make the medicine, pour a packet of granules into one glass of water. The finished solution must be taken no later than three hours after its manufacture, but it is better to do this immediately.
It is not recommended to dilute the drug in a metal bowl, since this combination produces toxic substances. Only ceramic or glass containers are suitable for this procedure.
The appointment of “ACC” for children under two years of age can only be carried out by a medical specialist individually.
Analogs
Drugs substitutes for the powder "ACC" are:
- Fluimitsil.
- "Atsestad".
- "Lazolvan."
- Mucobene.
- Sudafred.
- "Atsestin."
- "Acetylcysteine."
- VicksActive.
- Flufort.
- Bromhexine.
- "Ambroxol".
Before replacing the original drug with an analogue, consult a medical professional.
Storage conditions of the powder “ACC” for children
According to the instructions for use with the drug, it is known that the medicine can be stored in rooms with a temperature of about twenty-five degrees. Shelf life in the factory packaging "ACC" is forty-eight months.
The medication should be kept away from children. It is released from pharmacies without a prescription from a medical specialist.
Opinions
Many parents say that the “ACC” powder for children is an effective medicine and helps to instantly alleviate the condition and provide active coughing of pathological secretions.
Moms also note that the drug is effective for otitis media, as well as pneumonia and other diseases. Negative reactions, in their opinion, develop extremely rarely.
Reviews about the "ACC" powder for children, as a rule, are only positive. Moms who treat this child’s cough with this drug note that the medicine is quite effective. They confirm that the use of the drug perfectly helped to remove the pathological secret from the respiratory system and accelerated the healing process.
Conclusion
A cough in a baby can be triggered by various sources. For example, in children, the cause of this symptom may be bronchitis, which occurs with an acute respiratory illness or flu.
It is not necessary to think that the cough will “recede” even without medical intervention. If measures are not taken in time, then the disease can go into a chronic stage.