The human liver serves as a barrier to toxins and other toxic substances daily. If it were not for the protective functions of this organ, the human body would constantly be exposed to the destructive effects of poisons coming from outside and produced by its own organs. "Karsil" refers to a class of drugs with hepatoprotective action that preserve functions and heal liver cells. From this article you will learn the information from the instructions for use for "Carsil", reviews and analogs-substitutes for this drug.
What are hepatoprotectors?
Due to the daily workload due to improper food, alcohol and smoking, the following types of physical liver damage develop over the years:
- fatty degeneration of liver cells (hepatoses);
- an increase in the proportion of connective tissue (fibrosis);
- cirrhotic changes in the liver (irreversible processes of tissue destruction inherent in cirrhosis);
- violation of the outflow of bile, in a medical language called cholestasis.
Drugs with hepatoprotective properties stop all these processes. In some cases, with timely treatment, it is possible to fully maintain the health of the liver and gall bladder. Instructions for use with "Carsil" confirms that this drug has hepatoprotective properties.
Classification of hepatoprotectors
All drugs for the liver can be divided into several large classes on the basis of the effect on the cells of the liver and gall bladder:
- Preparations with a homeopathic principle of action. These are plant extracts of Milk Thistle (Karsil), yarrow and artichoke.
- Preparations whose main active ingredient is synthesized from the liver of cattle, as well as from bear bile (ursodeoxycholic acid - “Ursosan”).
- Phospholipids. The source for the main active ingredient of these preparations are soybeans (Essentiale).
- Amino acid drugs.
Composition, release form and dosage
The instructions for use with Karsil capsules indicate that the preparation is made in the form of a dragee in an oblong form of dark raspberry color. One tablet contains 35 mg of silymarin.
In one package with the drug, ten blisters. Each blister packs 10 tablets. As a result, in one package 80 tablets "Karsila". The optimal dosage for the prevention of liver diseases and the treatment of some existing diseases is two tablets after each meal (three times a day). Given this amount, the packaging lasts an average of two weeks. The cost of one package varies from seven hundred to a thousand rubles. The high price of hepatoprotective drugs is due to the fact that synthesizing a pure active substance (flavonoids) is a very expensive event.
There is also "Carsil Forte", one tablet of which contains 90 mg of silymarin. This version of the drug is almost twice as expensive, but given that the active substance in one tablet is 55 mg more, it’s more profitable to buy Karsil Forte.
The principle of the drug
What determines the regenerative effect of this drug on the liver? Instructions for use with "Carsil" reports that the main active ingredient silymarin contains artificially synthesized flavonoids. These are antioxidants that are most similar in structure to natural ones. They have a neutralizing effect on radiation, and also neutralize toxins that enter the liver cells. Flavonoids also increase the elasticity of blood vessels. Instructions for use for dragees "Carsil" reports that the drug has an anti-inflammatory effect on liver cells, prevents their fatty degeneration and neutralizes allergens.
In addition, they act on the cells of her vessels, increasing their elasticity. Hepatoprotector "Carsil" has an anti-inflammatory effect, neutralizes allergens.
Indications for use
Instructions for use and reviews of "Carsil" report that the drug is effective in the treatment and prevention of the following conditions:
- steatosis - the appearance of fatty deposits in the liver tissue due to malnutrition and regular abuse of alcoholic beverages;
- toxic hepatitis;
- pre-cirrhotic condition;
- prevention of liver cell damage when using drugs, alcohol and highly toxic drugs;
- chronic hepatitis;
- hemangiomas in organ tissues.
Contraindications and side effects
Instructions for use with "Carsil" reports that the drug is well tolerated and has a minimum of contraindications. You should start taking small doses to people with a high degree of allergic reactions to plant components.
Use during pregnancy should be agreed with the attending physician, warns the instructions for use for "Carsil". Doctors' reviews about the drug are positive: this is an excellent prevention of liver cell damage with a minimum of side effects and contraindications. In the first days of administration, slight nausea is possible - but after a week of daily use of dragees, it passes.
If the patient has chronic cholecystitis or cholestasis, the use of "Karsil" is possible only under the supervision of a treating gastroenterologist. Cholestasis is a violation of the circulation of bile. This condition often appears with gallstone disease, chronic cholecystitis and pancreatitis, infection with parasites, some complicated inflammatory diseases, when taking drugs with a toxic effect on the body, with chronic alcoholism. With the parallel use of "Karsila", cholestasis is most often exacerbated, since there is too sharp an outflow of bile.
Use by children and adolescents
Instructions for use with Carsil reports that children under the age of twelve are not allowed.
Adolescents from twelve to sixteen years of age should receive a lower dose of the drug than adults. They should take one tablet after each meal (three times a day). Adolescents over sixteen should consult a gastroenterologist - switch to a dosage for adults or reduce it a little. A lot depends on the purpose of the treatment and the weight of the teenager. The more weight - the, respectively, more silymarin will be required to protect liver and gall bladder cells.
List of drugs with a similar effect
As mentioned above, hepatoprotectors differ from each other in principle of action due to different components in the composition. Instructions for use with the drug "Karsil" reports that it is the most effective hepatoprotector with flavonoids in the composition. Here is a list of drugs with other active substances that also have a therapeutic effect on liver cells:
- Heptral is an expensive but extremely effective drug. It is sold both in tablet form and in the form of ampoules for intravenous administration. The main active ingredient is ademethionine. It has not only hepatoprotective effect, but also antidepressant properties. This drug is ideal for the treatment of hangover and withdrawal symptoms, and relieves cholecystitis and cholestasis. Unlike “Karsil”, which causes only harm in case of cholestasis.
- "Hepa-Merz" - a hepatoprotector, the effect of which on the liver is due to amino acids in the composition. The cost of the drug varies from a thousand to two thousand rubles (depending on the pharmacy network and the number of capsules in the package). The ability of the Hepa-Merz hepatoprotector to repair liver cells has been proven during laboratory and clinical studies.
- Hofitol acts by extracting an artichoke from a plant. It contributes to the outflow of bile, helps with cholestasis (which Karsil is not able to provide).
- Essential Forte is a drug around which there has been much debate in the medical world. Doctors did not believe in the results of laboratory and clinical studies, which proved the effectiveness of the healing effect of the drug for cirrhosis and hepatitis. This hepatoprotector, we can say, has made a real revolution in the pharmacological market. Moreover, its cost is very affordable - packaging costs about a thousand rubles, depending on the number of capsules, the price may increase.
Testimonials of people taking Carsil for toxic hepatitis
Many patients begin to take the drug on their own, following the information from the instructions for use with Carsil. Reviews are mixed. Often people with toxic hepatitis (which most often develops with obesity, alcohol and drug abuse) are embarrassed to see a doctor, start taking Carsil themselves and write negative reviews, as their health is rapidly deteriorating.
In fact, choosing a hepatoprotector is not an easy task. It is necessary to conduct a lot of research, take tests and establish an accurate diagnosis - hepatitis, hepatosis, fibrosis, cirrhosis, cholestasis or cholecystitis. The treatment for each of these diseases will be fundamentally different. If the patient is sure that he does not have any chronic diseases of the liver and biliary tract, and he wants to take the Karsila course as a prophylaxis, then he can take a chance. But in this case, do not leave negative reviews on the sites. It is worth considering that Karsil is a medicine (instructions for use confirm this fact), and not a harmless dietary supplement.
Karsil or Heptral - which is better?
Patients often wonder which drug to prefer. First you need to visit a gastroenterologist and make sure of your diagnosis. For cholestasis, cholecystitis, toxic hepatitis appoint "Heptral", "Ursosan", "Essential Forte".
In the presence of hemangiomas, hepatitis, with an enlarged liver, the doctor may prescribe at his discretion "Carsil" or a similar drug with silymarin as the main active substance.
Karsil or Essential - what to choose?
If there is such a choice, then the preference should be given to Essential Forte. Its main active ingredient is essential phospholipids. They normalize the process of metabolism of fats and proteins, restore liver cells and help reduce general intoxication of the body. "Carsil" is not able to provide such an action, because it does not contain essential phospholipids.
In cost, these drugs are about the same, and both of them are hepatoprotectors. But Essential Forte has a wider spectrum of action.
Advantages and disadvantages of the drug "Karsil"
The main advantage of the drug is its ability to prevent the deterioration of liver cells and stop the growth of fatty tumors inside this organ. Patients feel better, and hepatic parameters return to normal in a biochemical blood test.
Among the disadvantages, it is possible to note the impossibility of using the drug for cholestasis, cholecystitis. Instructions for use with Karsil 35 mg warns that unauthorized use of the drug can lead to blockage of the bile ducts and provoke an acute condition.
Medical advice on taking "Karsila"
Gastroenterologists warn that Karsil is completely compatible with alcohol and helps the liver in the process of processing ethanol toxins. So, this is one of the few hepatoprotectors that can be taken with alcoholism. Instructions for use with "Carsil" confirms this fact.
Doctors advise to clean up their meals against the background of taking “Karsil”: reduce the proportion of fatty and spicy foods in the general diet. This will reduce the load on the liver and make taking the hepatoprotector as effective as possible.
Karsil is poorly compatible with certain antimycotic (antifungal) drugs. Most often, everything goes smoothly. But when used together with the tablet form of "Ketoconazole", stomach upset and diarrhea are possible. Also, “Karsil” is undesirable to combine with “Diazepam". In general, Karsil often reduces the effects of tranquilizers and antidepressants, as it interferes with their absorption in liver cells. Doctors before an appointment always warn of such a possible effect.
You should drink at least one and a half liters of clean (boiled or settled) water per day while taking “Karsil” to help remove toxins from cells and tissues.