Infectious diseases can affect a variety of systems of the human body. There are a lot of universal drugs prescribed by doctors to patients to fight microbes, the modern pharmacological industry. And one of the most effective means of fighting infections is Trimethoprim sulfamethoxazole. Instructions for the use of this medication will be discussed in the article.
This modern drug can be used to treat the respiratory tract, urogenetic, skin diseases, urinary system, etc. That is, the tool is almost universal.
Release form and composition of the drug
This drug can be delivered to pharmacies in the form of tablets, suspensions, syrup or granules. Its main active ingredient is co-trimoxazole. Trimethoprim sulfamethoxazole belongs to the group of combined antimicrobial agents.
In the human body, the active substance of this drug can affect both gram-positive and gram-negative microorganisms. This drug helps well against diseases caused, for example, by bacteria such as Streptococcus spp, Nocardia asteroides, Legionella pneumophila, Vibrio cholerae, staphylococcus MR. “Trimethoprim sulfamethoxazole”, among other things, is able to be absorbed very quickly in the patient’s body, which, of course, can be attributed to its unconditional advantages.
Sulfamethoxazole, which is part of the preparation, being captured by a microbe cell, prevents PABA from being incorporated into the molecule of dihydrofolic acid. Trimethoprim, in turn, inhibits the reversibly dihydrofolate reductase bacteria.
The maximum concentration of the drug in the blood is reached after 1.5-4 hours after administration. The duration of action of the drug is approximately 7 hours.
Indications for use
The drug “Trimethoprim sulfamethoxazole” can be prescribed by doctors to patients, for example, with such diseases of the urinary system, such as:
- cystitis;
- urethritis;
- pyelitis;
- prostatitis;
- pyelonephritis;
- epididymitis.
This remedy also helps with the following respiratory diseases:
- acute and chronic bronchitis;
- empyema pleura;
- bronchiectatic disease;
- pneumonia;
- lung abscess.
Patients with urogenital diseases such as:
- chancroid;
- gonorrhea;
- inguinal granuloma.
In some cases, the drug "Trimethoprim sulfamethoxazole" (co-trimoxazole) can be prescribed by doctors and in case of problems in patients associated with the gastrointestinal tract. The diseases that this medicine helps with are, for example:
- shigellosis;
- bacterial diarrhea;
- typhoid fever;
- cholera;
- cholangitis;
- gastoenteritis.
Also, this tool can be used to treat ENT organs, for example, with:
- otitis media;
- laryngitis;
- sinusitis;
- osteomyelitis;
- meningitis, etc.
The medicine “Trimethoprim sulfamethoxazole” also works quite effectively also for skin diseases such as:
- erysipelas;
- furunculosis;
- acne
- wound infections.
If necessary, you can use this medicine for soft tissue abscesses.
Contraindications
Of course, like any other medicine, even the most modern, Trimethoprim sulfamethoxazole can be prescribed not to all patients. Contraindications to the use of this tool are, for example:
- liver or kidney failure;
- Anemia B 12 is deficient;
- leukopenia;
- deficiency in the body of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase;
- agranulocytosis;
- leukopenia;
- hyperbilirubinemia in children.
Can I take pregnant
During the period of gestation, women should not prescribe this medicine. Also, infectious diseases are not treated with this drug when breastfeeding a child. Children under 6 years of age are not allowed to prescribe medication intramuscularly. For babies up to 3 months, the medicine is also not prescribed orally.
What side effects can a medicine cause
Take the drug "Trimethoprim sulfamethoxazole", of course, should be in strict accordance with the recommendations of the attending physician. This remedy can give quite a lot of side effects. When using this medicine, patients often display such negative reactions of the body from the digestive tract, for example, as:
- dyspepsia;
- vomiting and nausea;
- stomatitis;
- dysbiosis;
- anorexia.
On the part of the blood forming organs, the following side effects can be observed:
- aplastic anemia;
- thrombocytopenia;
- eosinophilia, etc.
Also, patients may experience allergic reactions to the components of the drug:
- rash and urticaria;
- Lyell's syndrome;
- myocarditis;
- Quincke's edema.
In addition, the drug can cause side effects such as:
- weakness;
- neuritis;
- headache.
"Trimethoprim sulfamethoxazole": instructions for use
This medicine is prescribed to patients by doctors, usually in dosages based on sulfomethoxazole. Most often, patients take 400 mg of this medicine in knocking. At the same time, this remedy is supposed to be drunk every 12 hours. The course of treatment with this drug in most cases is 6-14 days. However, in each case, the treatment regimen is developed by the doctor for the patient, of course, individually, depending on the specific disease. For example, with pneumonia, 100 mg of the drug per 1 kg of patient weight is usually prescribed. The interval between doses of the drug in this case is 6 hours. In this case, the course of treatment lasts 14 days.
With gonorrhea, the dosage of the drug is 2 g. Drinking with this disease pills is supposed to be every 12 hours.
Children "Trimethoprim sulfamethoxazole" is prescribed, of course, in reduced dosages:
- at the age of one year to 2 years - 100 mg 2 times a day;
- at the age of 3 to 6 years - 200 mg 2 times;
- from 6 to 12 years - 400-600 mg 2 times.
For children over 12 years of age, the drug is usually prescribed in the same dosages as for adult patients.
special instructions
For patients with a deficiency of acid of folic acid in the body, “Trimethoprim sulfamethoxazole” recommends the use of caution. The same applies to people with impaired liver and kidney function, as well as having problems with the thyroid gland. For such patients, the drug is usually prescribed in reduced dosages. Treatment in this case should be carried out under the strict supervision of a physician. With caution, this drug is also prescribed for patients with bronchial asthma.
Sometimes "Trimethoprim sulfamethoxazole", the instructions for the use of which was discussed by us above, patients have to take a long time. In this case, the patient is supposed to periodically conduct laboratory tests of peripheral blood. Also, the doctor should monitor the condition of the kidneys and liver of the patient. In older patients, this medicine is in most cases prescribed simultaneously with folic acid.
Recommendations
In addition, when taking Trimethoprim sulfamethoxazole, crystalluria may develop in patients. To prevent the occurrence of such a problem, people taking this drug are recommended to drink plenty of fluids (alkaline).
When taking this drug, you should also:
- avoid excessive sunlight and UV radiation;
- consume less PABA foods (spinach, legumes, cauliflower, etc.).
In people with AIDS, the risk of side effects when taking "Trimethoprim sulfamethoxazole", unfortunately, significantly increases.
If the drug is prescribed in the form of a solution, every 2-3 days immediately before the infusion it is supposed to conduct laboratory blood tests for the concentration of sulfamethoxazole. If the indicators exceed 150 μg / ml, treatment with Trimethoprim sulfamethoxazole should be discontinued.
Reception methods
Most often, patients take this medicine orally. But sometimes doctors prescribe injections of this drug. Thus, patients are treated, but only if it is impossible to take it inside.
In this case, adult patients are usually prescribed intramuscularly at 800 mg every 12 hours. For children aged 6 to 12 years, the dosage in this case is usually 30 mg / kg per day. The interval between injections for small patients is also 2 times a day.
Interaction with other medicines
It is believed that "Trimethoprim sulfamethoxazole" is fully compatible with such medicinal substances as:
- dextrose for intravenous infusion of 10 and 5%;
- sodium chloride 0.9%;
- levulose 5% and with some others.
Also, this drug increases the activity of indirect antioagulants, methotrexate and hypoglycemic drugs. In turn, the intensity of the action of this drug itself can increase salicylic acid derivatives.
A drug such as Colestyramine is recommended to be drunk no earlier than 1 hour after taking Trimethoprim sulfamethoxazole or at least 4-6 hours before. This medicine, unfortunately, reduces the absorption of the drug.
What can happen in case of overdose?
If the patient takes too much “Trimethoprim sulfamethoxazole”, he may experience the following symptoms:
- vomiting, nausea, diarrhea;
- dizziness and headache;
- visual impairment.
In case of chronic overdose, the following are possible:
- thrombocytopenia;
- leukopenia.
Such problems in patients taking elevated dosages of Trimethoprim sulfamethoxazole, the instructions for use of which must be observed exactly, can occur due to a deficiency of folic acid in the body and, as a consequence, impaired hematopoiesis.
If symptoms of acute overdose manifest, the patient should immediately wash the stomach. Also, a poisoned person needs to drink plenty of water. In addition, with an overdose, patients may be prescribed calcium folinate. This substance eliminates the negative effect on the bone marrow of trimethoprim.
Patient reviews about the drug
Most patients who have ever been treated with Trimethoprim sulfamethoxazole consider this medicine to be quite effective. The advantages of this drug, of course, include its versatility. Many patients believe that in terms of effectiveness this action is in no way inferior to the popular Biseptolum. At the same time, this medicine is much cheaper.
Two domestic plants produce this domestic preparation: Biosynthesis and Pharmstandard. Good reviews from consumers earned pills from both of these manufacturers. According to the effectiveness of the action, this drug, according to patients, resembles antibiotics. "Trimethoprim sulfamethoxazole" from infections helps in any case very quickly. At the same time, it also has less negative effect on the body than real antibiotics.
The list of side effects that this drug can cause is actually quite wide. However, judging by the reviews available on the Web, it still does not have a negative effect on the patient’s body too often.
Everything else and this medicine is very inexpensive. For a package of 10 tablets. "Trimethoprim sulfamethoxazole" will have to pay a total of about 30-50 p. This many patients, of course, are also attributed to the undoubted advantages of the medicine. The risk of running into a fake when buying this drug is almost completely absent. After all, releasing something else under the guise of this tool is simply not economically feasible.
In comparison with Biseptolum, as many consumers consider, this medicine has one more important advantage. Trimethoprim sulfamethoxazole tablets are very small in size. And therefore it is convenient to swallow.
Of the side effects, this remedy most often causes, as consumers say, dysbiosis. In this regard, the medicine, judging by the reviews, is very similar to antibiotics. Therefore, use "Trimethoprim sulfamethoxazole" is still with caution. In the event of dysbiosis due to this drug, it will be necessary to undergo an additional course of treatment using agents that improve the intestinal microflora.
Analogues of Trimethoprim sulfamethoxazole
In pharmacies, this medicine is almost always available. So to get it will not be any work at any time. However, of course, if necessary, this drug can be replaced with some other medicine with a similar therapeutic effect.
In addition to Biseptol, the analogues of Trimethoprim sulfamethoxazole are:
- "Dvaseptol."
- "Co-trimoxazole."
- "Ziplin."
- "Bisutrim."
You can also replace this medicine with Groseptol, Intrim, Cotrimol and some others.