Despite the fact that a disease such as tuberculosis has long been successfully treated, it is still considered one of the most dangerous among ordinary people. There are many rumors about him. The same goes for drugs that are available to treat the disease. Isoniazid tablets are very effective at certain stages of the disease. However, for some reason, patients are afraid of their appointment. Today we will consider the side effect of Isoniazid, as well as talk about its forms of release and dosage. Perhaps the information below will be useful to some categories of readers.
Brief description of the drug
We’ll clarify right away that “Isoniazid” for tuberculosis is not prescribed in all cases. It is most effective at the initial stage of the disease, when the body has not yet had time to significantly suffer from Koch's bacillus. As you know, it is she who serves as the causative agent of the disease. If you start treatment on time, the drug will be able to destroy actively developing sticks, as well as mycobacteria, which are located inside and outside the cells.
It is noteworthy that until now, pharmacists who produce such a tool can not accurately describe the mechanism of its effect on Koch's wand. It is believed that the drug inhibits intracellular bacterial synthesis. This is what stops their reproduction and the course of the disease.
It is worth considering that doctors often prescribe "Isoniazid" and for preventive purposes. Sometimes it is prescribed to persons who have successfully undergone treatment for tuberculosis. Also, the drug is also taken by patients with a positive Mantoux reaction. This number includes children and adolescents.
Release Forms
When treating with Isoniazid, specialists use different forms of its release. Determines the necessary doctor depending on the age of the patient and the course of the disease. We will briefly list all known forms of this popular and effective drug:
- Tablets "Isoniazid". One capsule usually contains 100, 200 or 300 milligrams of the active substance. Mostly 10 tablets are placed in one blister. The package may contain 2, 5 and 10 blisters. Since the treatment with the drug is stretched for a rather long time, manufacturers also provide more capacious packaging. For example, 100, 500 and 1000 tablets are packed in cans. Capsules in a dosage of 300 milligrams are packaged in 100 pieces in jars. The manufacturer also packs the medicine in bags. Their maximum number in this case reaches 1000 tablets in a container.
- Injection. It is ten percent, in one ampoule contains 5 milligrams of active substance. Usually in one package is from 5 to 10 bubbles.
- Syrup. Such a form implies packaging in bottles of dark glass. Each contains 200 milliliters of the drug. In five milliliters of syrup, the concentration of the active substance does not exceed 100 milligrams.
- Powder. Its concentration is usually identical to the tablet form, in this form the medicine is prescribed mainly for children. But even in this case, it is used extremely rarely.
If we talk about the side effects of Isoniazid, it does not change depending on the form in which the drug is used by the patient. Therefore, it is worth listening to the opinion of the attending physician and focusing on it.
The composition of the drug
Depending on the dosage, one tablet of the drug contains from 100 to 300 mg of isoniazid. It is he who is the active substance of the drug. The following components are used as auxiliary:
- potato starch;
- stearic acid.
The tablets are flat and white. On the surface are risks for ease of division.
One milliliter of injection contains 100 mg of isoniazid. It is worth considering that injections can be done both intravenously and intramuscularly. It depends on the doctor’s prescription.
Indications for use
We already mentioned that the drug is prescribed in different cases. We will list the most common indications for the use of Isoniazid:
- Active forms of tuberculosis, regardless of its localization in the body. Judging by the reviews of experts, the drug proved to be very effective in the initial stages of the disease. If you start taking it immediately after infection, the chances of quick healing increase several times.
- Tuberculous meningitis. Usually, in this case, doctors prescribe not only Isoniazid, but also other drugs. As part of complex therapy, it is very effective and helps to cope with the disease.
- Persons in close contact with tuberculosis patients. If your close relative suffers from this disease, then this drug is most likely to be prescribed as a prophylaxis.
- Children, adolescents and adults who have a positive reaction to the Mantoux test. For kids under four years old, a spot of 10 millimeters is considered dangerous, for adults - more than five millimeters.
- Children and adolescents who were first infected with Koch's bacillus, as well as those who had simultaneously suffered from serious infectious diseases. These include pneumonia or measles, for example.
- Patients diagnosed with HIV.
- Persons involved in animal husbandry and by occupation forced to contact cattle with tuberculosis sick.
- With residual forms of tuberculosis.
It should be borne in mind that before prescribing the drug, the patient undergoes a thorough examination. It includes an X-ray examination and consultation of a TB specialist. Only after this, the doctor decides whether to prescribe Isoniazid. Side effects of the drug, by the way, he always also describes his patients.
Pharmacokinetics
Many patients are primarily concerned about the side effects of Isoniazid indicated in the instructions in adults and children. However, it is equally important to understand how it acts in the human body.
Pharmacists claim that the drug is absorbed very quickly in the digestive tract. Usually it is prescribed after a meal, since its digestion significantly slows down the effect of the drug. In the period from one to four hours, the maximum concentration of the substance in the body is achieved. It is noteworthy that after a single dose of isoniazid is active in human blood for up to a day. All this time he fights with Koch’s wand, and therefore is very effective after the first pill.
It should be borne in mind that the drug penetrates perfectly into all body tissues. It is also able to overcome the placental barrier and get into breast milk. Many patients attribute this to the side effects of Isoniazid tablets.
Contraindications to the drug
Before taking the pills, it is worth considering not only the possible side effects of Isoniazid, but also its contraindications. Unfortunately, this list is quite wide, so the medicine is not in the pharmacy in the public domain. You can buy it only with a prescription from your doctor, which means after his consultation.
So, first of all, tablets should not be taken by people with the following problems:
- intolerance to the components of the drug;
- diseases of the nervous system, including epilepsy;
- various mental illnesses;
- kidney and liver diseases;
- childhood polio;
- exacerbation of eczema;
- thyroid problems;
- hypertension
- heart disease;
- asthma and other lung problems.
In especially severe cases, persons with these diseases are still prescribed Isoniazid. However, the dosage is minimal. If you have a diagnosis such as phlebitis on your medical card, then the drug is used only intravenously.
A few words about the course of treatment
Judging by the reviews, the instructions for Isoniazid indicate that it can be used in different ways. The attending physician, assessing the course of the disease, himself determines what course of treatment to prescribe to the patient. Most often, the drug is taken orally. You can also put it intravenously and intramuscularly in the form of injections. In addition, there is a way to be treated by inhalation. In especially severe cases, when the disease develops rapidly, specialists introduce Isoniazid into the cavity. This cavity is formed in the lungs as a result of the action of Koch's bacillus in the patient's body.
If after the first days of taking "Isoniazid" side effects in adults (we will give reviews about them a bit later), then during the entire course of treatment he will drink pills. Otherwise, the doctor may exchange them for injection. After the injection, it is recommended not to get up for an hour and a half, this reduces the risk of unpleasant side effects.
It is worth sticking to a special diet, which patients are prescribed with Isoniazid. Usually it consists in the exclusion of certain foods from the diet. This list includes cheeses and certain types of fish.
Dosage for adults
When prescribing a prescription, the doctor always proceeds from a dosage of no higher than fifteen milligrams per kilogram of body weight. With this approach, the daily dose is from 600 to 900 mg of the active substance. This amount is distributed 3 times. At one time, you can not exceed a dose of 600 milligrams.
During the treatment, the doctor carefully monitors the patient's condition. Depending on its metabolism, the presence of chronic diseases and his well-being, the dose may vary.
If you are prescribed an injection, then the specialist proceeds from a dosage of 15 mg per kilogram of weight. In some cases, this concentration can be reduced to 5 mg. The course of treatment with Isoniazid injections lasts from two to five months. Moreover, it is worth considering that after each injection it is necessary to take vitamin B6 and glutamic acid.
If the doctor has prescribed prophylaxis with the drug, then the course of treatment lasts no more than three months. In this case, side effects of Isoniazid in adults are practically not observed. After all, the dosage of the active substance does not exceed 10 mg per kilogram of body weight.
Prescribing the drug to children
Due to the side effects of Isoniazid in children, parents quite often refuse to take it. However, this is fundamentally the wrong decision. After all, the first months the disease can be asymptomatic, and later it will fully manifest itself. Therefore, it is better to stop it at the initial stage than in the future to take more serious drugs in high dosage.
Isoniazid is prescribed for children based on 15 mg per kilogram of the child’s weight. The maximum concentration of the drug per day should not exceed five hundred milligrams. Since the dose is always determined individually, a single dose can be reduced to five milligrams per kilogram.
If the baby is prescribed injections, then after them it is also customary to take vitamins, as well as adult patients. In the case of injections, the dose is calculated in the amount of ten to fifteen milligrams per kilogram of the child’s weight.
"Isoniazid": side effects in children
The instructions for use indicate a lot of negative consequences of taking the drug. However, children react in their own way to this drug. They develop pain in the right hypochondrium, cramps, sleep disturbances, nausea, and allergic reactions.
If your child has a similar symptom for more than two days, then you should consult a doctor. He examines a small patient and, if necessary, reduce the dosage. If the situation does not change, then the drug can be replaced by a similar drug.
General list of adverse reactions
Doctors are not always able to choose the right dosage of medication the first time, so the patient may encounter a number of unpleasant consequences. How do they manifest?
Most often, patients are allergic to the active substance. It manifests itself in the form of severe skin itching, rashes of a different nature and an increase in body temperature. Sometimes an allergic reaction is accompanied by joint pain that does not go away for several days.
The nervous system also reacts rather sensitively to Isoniazid. On her part, reactions can be extremely diverse. Many face depression and insomnia, which lead to increased irritability and headaches. In some cases, weakness, seizures, and even epileptic seizures can be observed.
Some patients note that while taking the pills, they constantly experienced nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and pain in the gastrointestinal tract.
Patients who had previously observed high blood pressure during their course of treatment noticed angina pectoris, attacks of hypertension, and heart rhythm disturbances.
Taking the drug during pregnancy
We already wrote that the active substance easily crosses the placental barrier and passes into breast milk. Therefore, the baby in the womb will also experience the effects of the drug. However, according to certain indications, doctors can prescribe Isoniazid during pregnancy and during lactation.
Usually, a specialist calculates the dosage based on ten milligrams per kilogram of a woman’s weight. In no case should you increase the concentration of the drug. In some cases, the doctor even reduces it, focusing on the well-being of his patient.
"Isoniazid": reviews of side effects and the use of the drug
Many of the patients who left reviews on the Internet noted that in the early days they suffered very much from side effects of the drug. Most experienced nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. However, after a few days, the body adapted to taking the pills and all the negative reactions disappeared. Some were helped by vitamins, which the attending physician prescribed to reduce side effects.
If we talk about the effectiveness of the drug, then its patients rate it rather high. Many managed to cope with the disease in a few months, and later on they took the drug once a year as a prophylaxis. Therefore, we can say that in cases of tuberculosis, Isoniazid should be taken immediately at the first instruction of a doctor. This will avoid more serious complications, as well as reduce the risk of a chronic form of the disease.