Today, the pharmaceutical market offers a huge assortment of various cough medicines. But how can you choose exactly the drug that not only can effectively help cope with the disease, but also does not harm the body? Among the wide selection of cough medicines, Ambroxol is worth highlighting. This drug is very effective in cleansing a person’s bronchial tubes from sputum, dilutes it and improves separation. Instructions for the use of Ambroxol for the treatment of adults and children we will consider further.
Drug properties
The drug has various beneficial effects, for example:
- Against the background of its administration, the viscosity of bronchial secretion decreases in people, that is, through the use of this medication, sputum is effectively diluted.
- Under the influence of the drug, the microvillis of the respiratory tract are activated, thereby accelerating the processes of sputum excretion from the bronchial lumen.
- "Ambroxol" helps stimulate the production of surfactant - a protective element that saves bronchial tissue from damage.
- The drug "Ambroxol" produces an anti-inflammatory effect and improves the metabolic process in the lung tissue.
- The medicine very well stimulates children's immunity, contributing to increased production of its own interferon.
- The drug helps to improve the penetration of antibacterial drugs into the lung tissue, which, in turn, allows antibiotics to act purposefully, increasing the effectiveness of therapy and reducing the duration of treatment.
The composition of the medication
According to the instructions for use, Ambroxol includes Ambroxol hydrochloride as an active ingredient . Other constituent components are directly dependent on the release format.
For example, tablets contain aerosil along with magnesium stearate, starch and lactose monohydrate. As for the syrup, its auxiliary ingredients are hydroxyethyl cellulose along with sorbitol, glycerol, benzoic acid, raspberry flavor and purified water.
The dosage of Ambroxol tablets is 30 mg, instructions for use are in each pack.
Formulations of drug release
In Russian pharmacies, the drug can be purchased in various forms, for example, this medicine is available in tablets, and syrup and effervescent pills are also made. Among other things, Ambroxol is also available in the form of solutions intended for internal use, injection and inhalation.
Indications for use
As indicated by the instructions for use with Ambroxol, the drug is used in the following cases in children and adults:
- With various types of bronchitis.
- Against the background of the development of tracheitis, tracheobronchitis or pneumonia.
- With bronchiectasis.
- If the patient has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
- In the presence of bronchial asthma.
Indication for the use of Ambroxol is also a rare congenital disease called cystic fibrosis. In addition, the presented drug is prescribed for patients with inflammatory processes involving the paranasal sinuses, that is, with sinusitis and frontal sinusitis, against which a secretion of a viscous and thick secretion is noted.
Now we find out in which cases this medication is not suitable for treatment.
Contraindications to the use of the drug "Ambroxol"
In accordance with the instructions for use with Ambroxol, the remedy presented has some contraindications, in the presence of which it cannot be used for treatment. In addition, the composition of the presented drug contains components that can provoke individual intolerance in patients. Thus, this drug is not suitable for the treatment of adults and small patients in the following cases:
- The presence of a patient with peptic ulcer.
- The presence of increased sensitivity of patients to lactose.
- Intolerance to the active and auxiliary components of the drug.
- The patient has a convulsive syndrome.
Doctors also advise women to abandon the use of this drug in the first trimester.
"Ambroxol" in tablets
Tablets should not be prescribed to children whose age is less than twelve years. The fact is that in this case it is very difficult for children to choose the necessary dosage. For small patients, syrup is preferred. Each tablet contains, according to the instructions for use of Ambroxol, 30 mg. The medicine is taken after meals and washed down with a glass of water. Thus, a tablet form of release is preferable for the treatment of adult patients. You need to take the drug according to the following scheme:
- In the first three days of the disease, you need to drink one tablet three times.
- In the next day of treatment, the dosage can be reduced to two tablets per day.
- The total duration of treatment is usually from five days to two weeks.
The duration of the course of therapy directly depends on the severity of the pathological processes and on the stage at which treatment of the concomitant disease was started.
Syrup
For children under the age of twelve, it is preferable to prescribe Ambroxol syrup. The instructions for use confirm this. The concentration of the drug is 15 milligrams per 5 milliliters. The dosage regimen in this case is as follows:
- Up to two years, babies should take 2.5 milliliters twice.
- Up to five years, children are prescribed 2.5 milliliters three times.
- For children whose age is more than five years, this drug in the form of a syrup is prescribed 5 milliliters three times.
Instructions for use for children’s syrup Ambroxol reports that it is undesirable to prescribe it to children for a period that exceeds five days. An open bottle with the drug must be stored for no more than one month in a cool place.
Instructions for use with Ambroxol syrup and tablets should be studied in advance.
For inhalation
Performing the inhalation procedure using the drug is recommended for children who are older than five years. Inhalations with this medicine can be done twice a day. To do this, use a nebulizer.
To perform the procedure, you need 2 milliliters of Ambroxol solution for inhalation. Instructions for use indicate that at this time you need to breathe evenly and deeply. At the end of the procedure, the drug enters the pathological focus directly, which increases its effectiveness several times.
The drug "Ambroxol" for children
A medicine for children poses absolutely no danger. It is worth emphasizing that this drug is completely non-toxic and is well tolerated by all babies. Adverse reactions occur against the background of its use is extremely rare. In this case, the following symptoms may be noticed:
- The onset of nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting.
- The appearance of allergic reactions in the form of itching, urticaria and edema.
- The appearance of weakness and headache.
The instructions say that the use of this medicine in children up to a year necessarily requires regular medical supervision. Ambroxol is considered the drug of choice for the prevention of distress syndrome among premature babies. The fact is that this medication stimulates the production of surfactant.
This is stated in the instructions for use. Reviews about Ambroxol are mostly positive.
During pregnancy
The drug in the presence of pregnancy is not prohibited. But at the initial stage one should nevertheless refrain from taking this drug, since there is currently no reliable clinical information about how the drug acts on the fetus.
In the presence of pregnancy in a woman, Ambroxol can be prescribed exclusively by the attending physician, who must carefully assess her condition. Self-medication in such a critical period is strictly prohibited, since the expectant mother is responsible not only for her health, but, in addition, for the normal development of the child.
Side effects
According to the instructions for use with Ambroxol for adults and children, certain side effects may occur when using this medication. Let's consider them in more detail:
- Allergic reactions may include a skin rash along with hives, exanthema, swelling of the face, shortness of breath, itching, and fever. Anaphylactic shock along with angioedema and allergic contact dermatitis is also possible.
- The digestive system often responds to taking this medication with nausea, less often vomiting, diarrhea, dyspepsia, and abdominal pain.
- The nervous system often reacts with dysgeusia.
- Skin and subcutaneous tissues can react with toxic epidermal necrolysis, and in addition, Johnson's syndrome. The development of acute generalized eczematous pustulosis is not excluded.
- The work of the respiratory system may be accompanied by a decrease in sensitivity in the mouth, dry mucous membrane of the respiratory system and rhinorrhea. In some cases, patients may experience dryness of the pharyngeal mucosa.
What cough should I take?
Many potential patients do not always understand which cough should take the drug presented. In this regard, it must be emphasized that the drug "Ambroxol" should be used for treatment in the presence of viscous, poorly separated sputum.
It is worth noting that if the patient has a wet cough, this medicine is especially effective and must be used for therapy. Such an approach will significantly alleviate the condition of a sick person, accelerating the healing process. The drug is not used to treat dry cough.
But in the event that the cough is too unproductive, hoping only for this method of treatment is also not worth it. First you need to provide the conditions for mucus to enter the upper respiratory tract. To achieve this goal, the drug in question must be combined with other medicines. In addition, for treatment, children are better off using syrup, and adults - tablets.
Next, we find out what people write about this drug in their comments.
Reviews about Ambroxol
According to reviews, it can be said that Ambroxol is one of the most effective cough medicines. People write that this drug not only quickly dilutes sputum, but also contributes to the productive cleansing of the bronchi. One of the advantages of this drug is that it can be prescribed for treatment even in infants.
Thus, according to the reviews of young mothers, Ambroxol effectively cures cough of absolutely all family members. This medicine has a very pleasant taste, in connection with this, as a rule, there are no problems with its intake in young children.
An additional advantage of this medication is the fact that it is not addictive, and in addition, it effectively helps in the framework of re-appointment. Parents of young children and adult patients in their reviews note that the effect of treatment with this drug is noticeable on the first day of therapy.
Analogues of Ambroxol are not indicated in the instructions for use. Let's consider them further.
Analogs
The drug "Ambroxol" today on the pharmaceutical market has a large number of all kinds of analogues that can be easily purchased in domestic pharmacies. For example, the most popular substitutes for Ambroxol are Ambrobene, Lazolvan, Ambrolan, Ambrosol, Ambrohexal, Bronhovern, Medovent and others.
But perhaps the most popular among all existing analogues of Ambroxol is a well-known drug called Lazolvan. It is prescribed to patients with similar pathologies. With it, you can also carry out therapeutic inhalation. Thus, if for some reason you have to replace the prescribed drug, you should pay attention to this particular analogue.
We reviewed the Ambroxol product for use in children and adults.