The medicine is presented in tablet form for oral use. It belongs to the therapeutic group of antiviral drugs. "Remantadine" is used for treatment, which is aimed at eliminating the causes of viral infections, influenza.
The tablets have a rounded shape, white or yellow. On one side there is a risk for convenient bisection.
Structure
The main active ingredient of the antiviral drug "Remantadine" is the substance of the same name. Its concentration in one tablet is 50 milligrams. Also, the structure of the drug includes additional components:
- Starch.
- Salt of magnesium and stearic acid.
- Lactose Monohydrate.
- Silica.
The drug is packaged in blisters of ten tablets. There are twenty pieces in a pack.
Pharmacological properties
The main active substance of the antiviral drug "Rimantadine" is a derivative of adamantane. It inhibits the early phase of reproduction of the genetic material of the virus from the moment it enters the cell until the start of the process of transcription of ribonucleic acid.
The greatest pharmacological effect in relation to the suppression of strains occurs immediately after infection of the human body. The drug exhibits the maximum effect against influenza A viruses, as well as tick-borne encephalitis pathogens.
According to the instructions to Remantadin, the antiviral agent is almost completely absorbed from the intestine into the general bloodstream, where it partially binds to blood proteins.
It is evenly distributed throughout the body tissues, metabolism, as a rule, is carried out in the liver. The active substance of the drug is excreted mainly with urine. The elimination half-life varies from twenty-four to thirty-six hours.
Indications
According to the instructions for use with the antiviral drug Remantadin, etiotropic treatment of influenza (early stage) and use for prophylactic purposes to prevent influenza in adult patients and children over seven years of age, as well as eliminate tick-borne viral encephalitis, are considered the main medical prescription for the use of tablets.
What prohibitions does the drug have
The main restrictions on the use of the antiviral tablets under consideration are acute pathological processes in the liver, as well as kidney diseases and a marked increase in the functional activity of the thyroid gland.
In addition, you can not use the medication for pregnant women and women who breastfeed infants. Other contraindications: age younger than seven years, individual intolerance to any of the components of the drug. According to the instructions for the antiviral drug "Remantadine", before you start taking the drug, you must make sure that there are no contraindications to taking.
With extreme caution, the drug is used in the presence of the following conditions:
- Atherosclerosis of the cerebral vessels (a disease of the arteries of the brain in which foci of lipid deposits - atherosclerotic plaques) form on their inner membrane.
- Epilepsy (a chronic neurological disease, manifested in the predisposition of the body to the sudden onset of convulsive seizures).
- Arterial hypertension (persistent increase in blood pressure).
How to use an antiviral drug
"Remantadine" is intended for oral use after a meal. tablets are not recommended to chew. The dosage of the drug depends on the indications:
- To eliminate the flu, adult patients and adolescents from fourteen years of age should take up to six tablets on the first day of therapy, then four days a day for two days, two tablets once a day on the fifth day.
- For children from eleven to fourteen years of age, the concentration of the drug is halved, that is, up to three tablets per day (50 milligrams each), and for children aged seven to ten years — one pill twice a day (50 milligrams). The duration of treatment is five days.
Prevention
For preventive purposes, to prevent influenza, children from seven years of age and adult patients are prescribed one tablet per day. The duration of therapy varies from ten to fifteen days.
For the prevention of spring-summer tick-borne meningoencephalitis, adult patients are prescribed four tablets per day for three days (if necessary, it is allowed to take the medicine for five days). Such measures must be carried out, as a rule, after an insect bite.
If necessary, the duration of therapy and the frequency of use of "Remantadine" a medical specialist can adjust individually.
What adverse reactions can cause "Remantadin"
When using tablets, the following side effects may occur:
- Nausea.
- Intermittent gagging.
- Pain in the abdomen.
- Dry mouth.
- Loss of appetite.
- Migraine (neurological lesion, which is characterized by episodic or constant severe and excruciating pain in one half of the head).
- Vertigo (loss of balance, which is accompanied by a sensation of rotation of objects around the body).
- Tremor (fast, rhythmic movements of the arms, legs, or torso that are triggered by muscle contractions and are associated with a time delay in correcting afferent signals).
- Ataxia (a neuromuscular disturbance in motility, which is characterized by a failure in coordination of movements, as well as loss of balance both in a calm state and during movements).
- Cramps of striated skeletal muscle (involuntary convulsive contraction of a muscle or muscle group, usually accompanied by sharp and aching pain).
- Sleep disturbance, drowsiness.
- Depression (mental disorder, manifested by a steady decline in mood, motor inhibition, and impaired thinking).
- Increased nervous irritability.
- Irritability.
What other side effects can a medication cause?
"Remantadine" when dosed incorrectly causes the following unpleasant conditions:
- Arterial hypertension (a pathological predisposition to an instantaneous or gradual increase in blood pressure. Hypertension can occur as an independent disease, as well as be a symptom of another pathological process).
- Arrhythmia (a pathology that leads to a malfunction of the frequency, as well as the rhythm and sequence of excitation and contraction of the myocardium).
- The occurrence of heart failure.
- Transient ischemic attacks (acute transient ischemic disturbance of the blood circulation of the brain, an episode of neurological disorders caused by ischemia of a part of the brain or spinal cord).
- A stroke of the brain (acute violation of blood circulation. It immediately causes the death or partial damage to nerve cells).
- Cough Syndrome.
- Shortness of breath (respiratory failure, accompanied by a change in its frequency and depth).
- Bronchospasm (a condition accompanied by a narrowing of the lumen of the bronchi that occurs against the background of the action of the stimulus on their mucous membrane).
- Rashes on the skin.
- Itching
- Urticaria (the name of a group of diseases characterized by the appearance of acutely itchy, inflamed rashes on the skin, mucous membranes).
- Changes in taste.
- Noise in ears.
- Hyperbilirubinemia (a disease in which an excess of bilirubin level without functional impairment is recorded in human blood).
- Anorexia (a disease based on neuropsychic disorder, manifested by an obsessive desire for weight loss).
- Insomnia (sleep disturbance, delayed onset or premature waking).
- Flatulence (excessive accumulation of gases in the intestines).
The use of a drug can lead to an exacerbation of the concomitant chronic process. If adverse effects occur, tablets should be discontinued and consult a doctor.
Advice
Before starting therapy with the inexpensive antiviral drug Remantadine, you should thoroughly familiarize yourself with the instructions for use. To obtain the maximum pharmacological effect and for preventive purposes to prevent complications, you need to pay attention to several features, which include:
- The drug is used with extreme caution with arterial hypertension, as well as epilepsy.
- The use of the drug for patients of retirement age with concomitant arterial hypertension greatly increases the likelihood of a stroke of the brain.
- To obtain the maximum pharmacological effect in the elimination of influenza, the use of a drug should begin with the onset of the first symptoms of infection.
- The medication does not have any effect on influenza B viruses, but its use helps to reduce the severity of intoxication.
- For preventive purposes, to prevent influenza, it is advisable to take the medication during a seasonal increase in the incidence.
- Virus resistance to the active component is sometimes possible.
- Some non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (Aspirin, Paracetamol) reduce the effectiveness of Remantadine.
- Remantadine-based antiviral drugs (active substance) inhibit the pharmacological effects of antiepileptic drugs.
- During therapy, it is necessary to abandon the use of alcohol.
- During the use of the drug, one should refrain from driving a car and performing other dangerous work.
In pharmacies, Remantadine tablets are dispensed without a prescription by a medical specialist. If in doubt regarding the use of the drug, consult a doctor. The cost of the drug varies from 70 to 450 rubles. such a difference in price is due to the number of tablets in the package (10 or 20) and the manufacturer. Domestic drug is cheaper.
Analogs
The generic "Remantadine", effective, but inexpensive antiviral drugs are the following drugs:
- "Orvirem" - from 250 to 430 rubles.
- "Rimantadine" - from 40 to 300 rubles.
- "Polirem" from 40 to 190 rubles.
- "Algirem" from 280 to 320 rubles.
The following drugs are considered analogues in pharmacological action:
- Arbidol - from 200 to 1100 rubles.
- "Kagocel" - from 200 to 300 rubles.
- Tamiflu - from 1200 to 1400 rubles.
Before replacing the drug with another, it is recommended to consult a doctor.
Storage time
The shelf life of Remantadine is thirty-six months. The medication must be kept in its original packaging, away from children, at an air temperature of no more than twenty-five degrees.
Patient opinions
This drug inhibits the spread of the virus. According to reviews of the drug "Remantadine", antiviral tablets are effective as a preventive measure to prevent influenza and eliminate tick-borne encephalitis. The drug does not have any therapeutic effect in other respiratory viral diseases. The virus is resistant to it, which provokes an epidemic of swine flu.
According to medical experts, it is not recommended to use Remantadine if the causative agent is not known.
Some ladies use Remantadine for weight loss. One of the side effects of the drug, that is, loss of appetite, contributes to weight loss. Of course, doctors are categorically against such use of the medication.
It should be noted that the indications for the use of "Remantadine" do not provide for its use for these purposes, except for those indicated in the instructions. The presence of negative phenomena, including kidney and liver diseases, as well as neuropsychiatric disorders, anemia does not justify its use for weight loss.
Inexpensive, but effective antiviral drugs with remantadine (the active component) will help defeat the flu, but they must be used after consulting a doctor.