Smecta is a drug that is considered universal. Adults take it for a variety of digestive disorders, but its use in pediatrics is also appropriate. The medicine is suitable even for newborns, provided that the parents strictly follow the instructions for the use of Smecta for children.
Material Content:
The composition (active substance) of the drug
The action of the drug is based on the presence of smectite in the main substance. This inorganic compound has a unique quality. It is capable of absorbing other substances with its surface. It is this principle that underlies the work of the medication.
Smecta is a powder that has a light shade. In addition to the active component, additional ingredients are introduced into the composition - vanillin, sodium saccharin, dextrose in the form of a monohydrate. Immediately before use, the powder is dissolved in water, and the resulting mixture is drunk.
Pharmacological action, pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics
The active substance in the composition of the drug is of natural origin. This is aluminosilicate, which helps to establish the digestion in the child as soon as possible.
In fact, it is an enterosorbent, that is, a compound that absorbs toxins with its surface and displays them in a neutralized form.
The tool works quickly, since it does not need to enter the bloodstream and move along the channel to those parts of the body where it is needed.The fluid moves through the initial sections of the digestive tract, not lingering in the stomach. Further, the active substance enters the intestines and already there neutralizes toxins that are dangerous for the child's body.
The active components of the drug do not enter the bloodstream, but are excreted from the intestine along with the remains of the digested food in an unchanged form.
On a note! The drug does not kill any bacteria or viruses that may be present in the intestine and provoke its disorder.
However, smectite neutralizes toxins produced by pathogenic microorganisms in the course of life, so unpleasant symptoms when using Smecta will disappear.
Doctors point to another positive quality of the drug. The drug has a beneficial effect on the quality of mucus produced by the intestinal walls. Its quantity is returning to normal, it is becoming viscous and resistant to the effects of pathogenic viruses, bacteria, and fungi.
What helps Smecta to children
Intestinal disorders are characteristic of children of different ages. Their etiology may be different. Most often these are commonplace poisoning, but often the problem arises due to a viral or bacterial infection, as well as for helminthiases. In all these cases, you can give your child Smecta, but it is important to remember that this medicine will play the role of an auxiliary element in the general scheme of complex therapy.
Typically, pediatricians prescribe a medicine when a number of symptoms appear that indicate digestive upset.
These include:
- nausea;
- vomiting
- abdominal pain;
- severity
- feeling of bloating and overcrowding;
- increased gas formation;
- diarrhea.
Important! The sooner the child is given medicine, the faster his well-being stabilizes. But you can’t do without medical help.
Only a specialist can correctly determine the cause of a digestive disorder and choose an adequate treatment regimen, as well as calculate further dosages of the sorbent, since Smecta can be used differently for rotavirus, poisoning or helminth infections.
Instructions for use and dosage for children
The doctor who prescribed the drug to the child will tell you how to breed Smecta. The same information can be found in the annotation to the medicine.
How to breed powder
If the baby is less than a year old, then the medicine in dry form is injected into the infant formula or the suspension obtained by dissolving in water is added to the writing - in porridge or mashed potatoes.
Older children drink powder mixed with water. 200 ml of liquid is enough for one bag. It is important that it is at room temperature or a little warm. Stir the product quickly so that no lumps form.
How to give Smecta to a child
Dosage "Smecta" for children is always calculated individually. The symptoms and age of the patient are taken into account.
So, with acute diarrhea, which persists for several hours, they are guided by the following scheme:
- Kids up to one year old will need 2 sachets per day for three days. Next, the dose is reduced to one sachet per day.
- If the child is more than a year old, then the amount of medicine is increased to 4 sachets per day.
In all other situations, the child needs to be given Smecta powder in a reduced amount.
Dosage is determined by age:
- up to a year - 1 sachet per day;
- 1 - 2 years - 1 - 2 sachets per day;
- older than 2 years - 2 - 3 sachets per day.
Important. The drug is best taken between meals except in situations where the child is worried about esophagitis. In this case, the suspension is drunk immediately after eating according to the scheme discussed above.
Drug interaction
Smecta, like all sorbents, is prescribed to quickly stabilize the condition and treat diarrhea that occurs against the background of poisoning, viral diseases, and bacterial infections. However, doctors warn that this medicine should not be used simultaneously with any others.It is important to withstand at least 2 to 3 hours between taking enterosorbent and other drugs.
Undesirable concomitant use is associated with the adsorption capacity of smectite. This compound absorbs with its surface not only dangerous toxins, but also drugs that move along the digestive tract before being absorbed into the bloodstream. This means that the effectiveness of medications will be significantly reduced.
Contraindications, side effects and overdose
"Smecta" with vomiting in a child or other symptoms of a digestive disorder is prescribed quite often, since this is a relatively safe medication. Nevertheless, do not forget about possible contraindications.
These included:
- hypersensitivity;
- sucrose deficiency;
- bowel obstruction;
- fructose intolerance.
There are no age restrictions for this medicine. You can give Smecta to babies from birth.
Side effects may occur during therapy, but this happens infrequently. The most common of these is constipation. Diarrhea is eliminated, but the normal stool frequency can only be restored 1 to 2 days after the cancellation of the enterosorbent. This situation can be avoided if the dose of the drug is adjusted in time.
In rare cases, a child may be allergic to the components of the drug.
This condition manifests itself with the following symptoms:
- rash;
- itchy skin;
- skin redness;
- edema.
Antihistamines, as a rule, are not required, but the enterosorbent will have to be canceled or replaced by another, which will include other components.
In case of an overdose, possible side effects are amplified. Most often, against the background of excessive medication, constipation develops. Sometimes it can be eliminated only when using specialized drugs with a laxative effect.
Analogues of antidiarrheal drug
Pharmacies offer a wide selection of sorbents of different price categories. All of them can be used to eliminate dangerous poisons in the intestinal cavity.
- Activated carbon. This is the simplest and most well-known analogue of Smecta. The popularity of the product is due to its low cost, but its use is usually fraught with a number of difficulties. A medication is produced in the form of black tablets, the amount of which is calculated individually, taking into account body weight. For each kilogram, one tablet is taken, so older children have to take a lot of medicine at once. Kids should not be given it, since it is not possible to completely dissolve the coal in water to obtain a suspension.
- Polysorb. This tool is the closest analogue of Smecta. It is also a white powder from which a suspension is prepared. In the composition of the medication is an inorganic sorbent. This is silicon dioxide, which, like smectite, is able to absorb toxins. The drug begins to work quickly, after 4 - 5 minutes. The active substance does not enter the bloodstream, but is excreted unchanged. The tool can be given to children. Its dosage is calculated taking into account body weight. With a weight of less than 10 kg give 0.5 - 1.5 tsp. dry powder, previously dissolved in 30-50 ml of water, while children with a body weight of 30 to 40 g can take 2 tsp. medicines (for breeding you will need about 100 ml of water).
- Enterosgel. This is a thick paste for oral administration. It has detoxifying properties. The composition of the drug - a kind of molecular sponge of organosilicon nature. Like all sorbents, Enterosgel is not metabolized in the human body, but is excreted unchanged after about 12 hours. The tool has no age restrictions, and its dosage is calculated individually: newborns are given 0.5 tsp. gel, having previously dissolved it in milk or a mixture; kids under 5 years old are entitled to 0.5 tbsp. l the drug; children under 14 receive a tablespoon of funds.Regardless of age, children are given medicine three times a day.
Analogs of "Smecta" can replace this drug, but they must be selected with caution. It is important to take into account the general state of the child’s health, a list of contraindications and the baby’s reaction to the chosen medicine. You should not risk your health, therefore it is better to immediately show the child to a pediatrician.
