"Folic Acid" is a vitamin water-soluble medicine. Tablets are used as part of complex therapy, are prescribed for preventive purposes or with a deficiency of folic acid in the body. Be sure to prescribe a drug when planning pregnancy and expectant mothers in the first trimester.
The drug is available in tablet form. Pills have a yellow tint, rounded shape. What analogues of "Folic Acid" during pregnancy can be taken, consider below.
Structure
The main active trace element of the drug is folic acid, its concentration in one tablet is one milligram. In addition, the structure of the drug includes additional substances, which include:
- Carboxylic acid.
- Sucrose.
- Talc.
- Glucose.
"Folic acid" is distributed in contour cells of ten pieces or in plastic jars of fifty pieces. A package can have two, five or ten contour cells.
What is folic acid needed for?
This trace element is considered the main active substance of the drug, belongs to the B vitamins. The active component takes an active part in the process of combining amino acids, the exchange of purine bases, nucleotides.
In addition, folic acid affects the division of various cells, since it helps the formation of nucleotides, which are considered the main active substance of genetic material.
After taking the pill, an orally active trace element is completely absorbed into the plasma from the intestinal lumen. Folic acid is evenly distributed throughout the tissues with predominant accumulation in the liver cells. The substance is actively involved in metabolic processes in cells. With an excess in the body, folic acid is excreted unchanged with urine.
Indications
The main medical purpose for taking folic acid is considered to be a decrease in the number of red blood cells. In addition, it is prescribed in the following cases:
- In order to prevent the occurrence of neural tube formation disorders during pregnancy.
- Folic acid deficiency, including malnutrition, pregnancy.
- Elimination of tropical and non-tropical sprue (enteritis, which occurs with diarrhea, impaired absorption in the intestine, complicated by dystrophy).
- Anemia and leukopenia (a decrease in white blood cells).
- Intestinal tuberculosis (a chronic ailment in which bacteria progress in the stomach and intestines).
- Chronic gastroenteritis (an inflammatory process in the mucous membrane of the stomach and small intestine).
Contraindications
The use of folic acid in certain pathologies or physiological conditions of the human body is prohibited, they include:
- B12-deficient anemia - a decrease in the number of red blood cells in the blood, which is considered the result of a lack of cyanocobalamin in the body.
- Lack of sucrose (a digestive strain that is responsible for eliminating sucrose in the intestines).
- Individual intolerance to any of the microelements of the drug.
- The pathology of the absorption of certain carbohydrates in the intestine.
- Age to three years.
With extreme caution, the medication is used for anemia, which is accompanied by a deficiency of cyanocobalamin. Before using the tablets, the healthcare professional must ensure that there are no prohibitions on use.
How to take folic acid?
The drug is intended for oral administration. The tablets are not chewed and washed down with water. The dosage and regimen of folic acid use depend on the doctor's prescription:
- Anemia - the average pharmacological dosage is one milligram per day.
- Folic acid hypovitaminosis - the dose for adult patients is five mg of folic acid per day, for children it decreases depending on age and weight.
An increase in the dosage of folic acid may be accompanied by the appearance of resistance, which is associated with a decrease in the pharmacological effect. For certain pathologies (chronic alcoholism, decreased liver function, cirrhosis, chronic infection, stress), an increase in the dose of the drug is required. The duration of folic acid treatment is determined by the medical specialist purely individually.
Adverse reactions
Folic acid is a natural compound. Sometimes when using the medication, an allergy may occur:
- Rashes on the skin.
- Itching
- Urticaria (a skin disease of predominantly allergic etiology, which is characterized by a sharp appearance of itchy blisters).
- Quincke's angioedema (an acute ailment, which is characterized by the instantaneous appearance of local edema of the mucous cavity, subcutaneous tissue).
- Bronchospasm.
With the development of symptoms of negative phenomena, the use of tablets must be stopped and consult a doctor.
Features
Before starting therapy, you should thoroughly familiarize yourself with the instructions for using folic acid, pay attention to certain features, which include:
- It is not used to eliminate folic acid B12 deficiency, as well as for pernicious anemia, because in these situations, with an improvement in blood counts, the drug masks neurological diseases. If there is B12-folic acid deficiency anemia, then the medication is used in a minimum concentration.
- For prophylactic purposes, in order to prevent a deficiency of an active microelement before starting therapy, it is necessary to balance the diet by including foods rich in folic acid products (for example, fresh liver, beans, lettuce, spinach, cheese, beets, eggs, cereals, nuts).
- People who are on hardware-based blood purification require a higher dosage.
- With the use of certain drugs (Methotrexate, Colestyramine), the absorption and absorption of folic acid may vary.
- Anticonvulsants, oral contraceptives may increase the need for folic acid.
- It is recommended to use a water-soluble vitamin when planning pregnancy, as well as in the early stages, since it ensures the normal functioning of the nervous system in the fetus. The dosage and dosage regimen in this case is set by the medical specialist purely individually.
- The medication does not affect the state of the central nervous system, reaction rate and concentration.
In drug stores, folic acid is sold over the counter by a doctor. Before using them, it is still recommended to consult a medical specialist.
Overdose
Dosage of tablets up to four to five milligrams per day is well tolerated. The highest doses can lead to a malfunction of the digestive and nervous system. In this case, a comprehensive treatment is carried out.
Analogs of "Folic Acid" for pregnant women
The following drugs are similar in composition and therapeutic effect:
- "Folacin".
- Foliber.
Folacin
The drug belongs to vitamin medicines. "Folacin" is used to replenish reserves and eliminate the deficiency of folic acid in the body.
The medication is in the form of tablets. The folic acid analogue (according to the instructions) has a rounded shape, a flat-cylindrical surface with a risk for breaking in half. The main active trace element is folic acid, its concentration in one capsule is five milligrams. The cost of the drug is one hundred twenty rubles.
Foliber
The drug is considered a complex vitamin preparation, which contains water-soluble trace elements of group B. Foliber is used for prophylactic purposes in case of deficiency of folic acid and cyanocobalamin, including in pregnant women.
The folic acid analogue is produced in tablet form for oral administration. The structure of the drug includes two active substances - folic acid and cyanocobalamin. The cost of the drug is three hundred rubles.
Storage conditions
The shelf life of folic acid is thirty-six months. They should be kept in a dark, inaccessible place for children at an air temperature of no more than twenty-five degrees. The average price of tablets in pharmacies depends on their quantity in the package:
- twenty tablets - fifty rubles;
- fifty tablets - seventy rubles;
- one hundred pills - ninety rubles.