Parasitic diseases are very dangerous for children. Worms, once in the intestines, begin to multiply, disrupting the work of many organs and poisoning the body with toxins. As a result, the child's digestion is disturbed, immunity is reduced. He often gets sick, loses weight, feels unwell. Helminthiases are highly contagious, and young children are especially susceptible to these diseases. And in order to rid the child of worms, special medicines are needed. There are many such drugs, but broad-spectrum antihelminthic drugs are most often used for children. In most cases, the doctor prescribes them, focusing on the symptoms. After all, even the tests carried out do not provide 100% information about the presence and types of parasites.
Symptoms of parasitic diseases
Every child can become infected with worms, even if parents monitor his hygiene. Particularly susceptible to infection are children attending kindergarten, often communicating with animals, vacationing in the summer in the country or in the countryside. Dirty hands, poorly washed vegetables - everythingit can become a source of infection. Moreover, it is impossible to determine exactly when it happened, since the first symptoms of infection may appear in a few days or even weeks. The child may become lethargic or, conversely, too irritable, he eats poorly and loses weight. He has headaches, nausea, intestinal upset. In children infected with worms, immunity is reduced, so they often get colds.
Features of the treatment of helminthiases
After the parents go to the doctor about the child's illness, he is prescribed an examination. The presence of worms is best determined by coprogram or scraping from the anus. But even this analysis does not give a 100% guarantee of the reliability of the result. If symptoms are present, broad-spectrum antihelminthic drugs for children are prescribed, even if the test is negative. These funds are aimed at the destruction of many types of parasites and are effective even with mixed helminthic invasions.
Treatment with such drugs should be prescribed only by a doctor. In many cases, complex therapy is required, and dosage or duration of treatment often needs to be adjusted. Many of these remedies have contraindications and serious side effects. Therefore, parents are not recommended for every suspicion of infection to give children antihelminthic drugs. Prevention is possible, but only by some, less toxic means.
Complex treatment of helminthiases includes not only antihelminthicdrugs. Usually, doctors first prescribe enterosorbents, in some cases - intestinal antimicrobial agents, for example, Enterol. Then a course of one antihelminthic drug for children is carried out. After that, sorbents are again prescribed to remove toxins and waste products of parasites, antihistamines to prevent an allergic reaction, as well as prebiotics to restore intestinal microflora. In addition, the treatment will not be effective without observing the rules of hygiene and special nutrition. This will help prevent re-infestation and create a hostile environment for parasites.
Varieties of antihelminthic drugs for children
All such products are available in tablets, suspensions or rectal suppositories. But, the last form of release has a drawback - these drugs are effective only for enterobiasis, as they act in the lower rectum. Therefore, tablets and suspension are most often used. Preparations in the form of tablets can be given to children who can already swallow it. After all, it is undesirable to break or grind them. Therefore, for children who have difficulty swallowing tablets, it is better to buy a suspension for treatment. In this form, almost all antihelminthic drugs for children are produced. The suspension is easy to dose, it has a pleasant taste and is liked by all children. In addition, drugs are better tolerated in this form.
Such medicines also differ in the active substance. The most common and effective drugs are considered to bebased on mebendazole, albendazole, levamisole, pyrantel or piperazine.
Albendazole-based drugs
This is the basis of the most effective broad-spectrum antihelminthic drugs for children. Albendazole, in addition to the most common helminthiases, helps with toxocariasis, necatoriasis, trichhelia, echinococcosis and mixed helminthic infestations. But for that reason, it is more toxic, so it can only be used for children after 2 years.
Albendazole is part of the popular preparations "Nemozol", "Aldazol", "Sanoxal", "Gelmodol" and others. They are prescribed for infection with pinworms, ascaris, Giardia, tapeworms or helminthiases of unknown etiology. The action of albendazole is directed for violation of biochemical processes in parasite cells. In mild cases, 1 tablet of the drug is prescribed. But for serious parasitic infections, drugs based on albendazole are prescribed 1 tablet twice a day for a month.
Mebenzdazole
This is the main active ingredient in some popular broad-spectrum antihelminthic drugs for children. Many mothers know such medicines as Vermox or Vormin. They are often prescribed by pediatricians for the treatment and prevention of helminthiasis. Mebendazole is also part of such products as Termox, Mebex, Vermakar. These drugs have a wide spectrum of action, but are very well tolerated by young patients. Apply thesedrugs from 2 years, as they almost do not cause side effects. But they are used most often with mixed helminthic invasions or with an unclear diagnosis.
Levamisole
On the basis of this active substance, the drugs Levamisole and Decaris are produced. Their convenience is that they need to be taken only once. But they are more toxic than other similar drugs, so you should not use these antihelminthic drugs for children under 3 years old. Moreover, they are effective mainly in enterobiasis and ascariasis. Levamisole has a paralyzing effect on parasites, contributing to their natural excretion from the intestines with feces. A doctor should prescribe drugs based on this substance, since the dosage is calculated according to the age of the child.
Pirantel
This is the most common deworming drug for children. Its advantages include low cost, as well as good tolerance. "Pirantel" is a low-toxic drug, but it is effective only for the most common parasitic diseases: enterobiasis, ascariasis and hookworm. Pirantel can be used by children from 6 months. This tool is also available under other names. Pyrantel pamoate is part of the following drugs:
- "Helminthox";
- Combantrine;
- Nemocide.
All these drugs are detrimental to adult parasites, paralyzing their muscular system and facilitating their rapid removal from the intestines. But they also destroy eggs and larvae.worms. You need to take "Pirantel" once, in the amount of 1-3 tablets.
Piperazine
The safest and cheapest deworming drug for children is Piperazine. It has been used for many years, but its disadvantage is that it acts only on pinworms and roundworms. In addition, "Piperazine" paralyzes adult worms without affecting their eggs and larvae, so treatment with it lasts several days. After 2 weeks, the course of treatment is repeated. But the drug is absolutely harmless to the child's body, it is only important to correctly calculate the dosage, which depends on the age of the baby.
Anthelmintics for children under one year old
Babies are shown taking such funds only from 6 months of age. Up to 2-3 years, not all drugs can be taken. Therefore, if a helminthic invasion is detected in a baby, treatment should be prescribed by a doctor. Most often at this age, Piperazzin and Pirantel are used. These are the safest remedies, effective in case of infection with pinworms and roundworms. The dosage and duration of treatment is determined by the doctor based on the age of the child and the severity of the infection.
Rules for the use of such funds
When treating children for helminthiases, you should not rely on the advice of friends or pharmacists. The medicine must be prescribed by a doctor. Particular care should be taken with the use of broad-spectrum antihelminthic drugs. For children, such drugs sometimes have side effects:
- nausea, vomiting;
- stool disorder;
- flatulence, intestinal colic;
- dizziness, headaches;
- increased body temperature;
- urticaria, dermatitis;
- sleep disorder;
- toxic liver damage.
Most often, such funds are given to the child once. They destroy adult helminths, some also act on larvae and eggs. After that, every other day the child needs to be given an enterosorbent 2-3 times to cleanse the intestines of toxins. On the recommendation of a doctor, you can also give a laxative or an enema so that the dead parasites are more easily removed from the body. After that, usually after 2 weeks, a second course is carried out, since self-infection with parasite eggs is possible. To prevent this from happening, at this time it is advisable to carefully observe the rules of hygiene, change the child's linen daily.
