"Levomycetin" is considered a drug with antimicrobial activity. Tablets are used to treat various infectious diseases that are provoked by pathogenic microorganisms sensitive to this antibiotic.
Pills are small, round and yellow in color. The main component of the drug is chloramphenicol. Its concentration in the drug is 0.25 and 0.5 grams. In addition, the composition of the drug includes additional substances, which include:
- calcium stearate;
- stearic acid;
- potato starch.
Pills are packaged in blisters of 10 pieces.
Eye drops are medicine for external use. They are used in ophthalmic practice to eliminate infectious lesions of the eyes and their appendages provoked by pathogens sensitive to Levomycetin.
Eye drops are a colorless liquid. As the maincomponent is chloramphenicol. The solution is contained in a dropper bottle with a volume of 5 or 10 milliliters. In addition, the drug is produced in the form of an ointment and powder for infusion.
Pharmacological properties
The main component of "Levomycetin" chloramphenicol is an antibiotic. It can inhibit the growth and spread of sensitive microorganisms by inhibiting the synthesis of certain proteins within their cells. The drug has the greatest activity against several groups of bacteria:
- Staphylococci.
- Streptococci.
- Neisseria.
- E. coli.
- Salmonella.
- Shigella.
- Klebsiella.
- Yersinia.
- Proteus.
In addition, the active component of the drug "Levomycetin" inhibits growth and reproduction:
- Ricketsium.
- Spirochete.
- Some big viruses.
Chloramphenicol has sufficient activity against pathogens resistant to the effects of streptomycin, as well as semi-synthetic penicillins and sulfonamides.
With external use of the "Levomycetin" ointment in ophthalmology, the pharmacological accumulation of the drug prevails:
- in the iris;
- vitreous body;
- cornea;
- aquatic moisture.
Indications
Tablets "Levomycetin" are prescribed for infectious diseases,which are provoked by microorganisms sensitive to the active component. These diseases include:
- Typhoid fever (acute intestinal infection, which is characterized by a cyclical course with damage to the intestinal lymphatic system).
- Paratyphoid (acute infectious pathological processes that are provoked by paratyphoid salmonella and occur with the appearance of intoxication symptoms, rashes and damage to the lymphoid apparatus of the intestine).
- Dysentery (an infectious lesion, which is characterized by a general infectious intoxication and a syndrome of damage to the stomach and intestines).
- Tularemia (an acute infectious disease that affects the lymph nodes, as well as the skin, sometimes the mucous membranes of the eyes, throat and lungs).
- Brucellosis (a zoonotic infectious disease that is transmitted from sick animals to humans and is characterized by damage to organs and systems of the human body).
- Meningitis (an inflammatory lesion of the meninges of the brain, which occurs after a bacterial, as well as a viral or fungal infection).
In addition, Levomycetin tablets can also be used for other infectious diseases that are provoked by microorganisms sensitive to chloramphenicol.
The use of eye drops is indicated for infectious processes of various eye structures provoked by chloramphenicol-sensitive pathogens. Infectious pathological eye lesions include:
- Conjunctivitis (an inflammatory lesion that develops onmucous membrane of the organs of vision).
- Keratitis (inflammation of the cornea, which is characterized by its clouding, as well as ulceration, pain and redness of the eye).
- Blepharitis (bilateral inflammation of the ciliary edge of the eyelids).
In addition, the drug is used to prevent certain infectious lesions of eye structures.
Contraindications for taking medication
Taking "Levomycetin" is prohibited under certain pathological and physiological conditions of the body, which include:
- Individual intolerance.
- Pathological processes that are accompanied by impaired hematopoiesis in the red bone marrow.
- Psoriasis (a chronic non-communicable disease that mainly affects the skin).
- Fungal diseases of the skin.
- Eczema (an acute or chronic inflammatory lesion of the skin, which is characterized by a variety of rashes, burning sensations, itching and a tendency to relapse).
- Pregnancy at any stage of its course.
- Children under one month of age subject to topical medication.
Before therapy with Levomycetin tablets, you need to make sure that there are no restrictions.
How to use pills and drops
"Levomycetin" is taken orally, regardless of the meal. Tablets should be taken with water. Dosing the medicine is individual,it depends on the type of pathology. Average recommended dosages for patients of different ages are as follows:
- Children under 3 years old - 15 milligrams of the drug per 1 kilogram of weight.
- Children 3 to 8 years old - 150-200 mg thrice daily.
- Little Patients aged 8+ 400 milligrams four times daily.
- Adults - 500 mg four times a day.
If necessary, depending on the source of the infection and the severity of its course, the doctor may adjust the dosage. The average duration of treatment with Levomycetin can vary from 7 to 10 days, if necessary, it can be prolonged.
According to the instructions for "Levomycetin" for the eyes, the medicine is instilled into the conjunctiva, 1 drop three times a day. Do not use the drug for more than three days without consulting a medical specialist.
Before applying the drops, disinfect hands. Treatment with the drug can only be started after the permission of the pediatrician.
According to the instructions for Levomycetin drops, children are also prescribed 1 drop in each eye three times a day. The therapeutic effect occurs after about two hours.
How to use "Levomycetin" in the form of injections
Children are injected intramuscularly. Up to one year, twenty-five to thirty milligrams per kilogram of body weight. Children from one year old need to inject the drug intramuscularly at 50 mg per 1 kg of weight. This dosage is divided into two doses. The drug should be administered with a time interval of twelvehours.
For adult patients, the drug is administered intravenously or intramuscularly. For intramuscular injections, "Levomycetin" from 0.5 to 1 gram is diluted in two to three milliliters of water, then filled into a syringe and injected deep into the muscle.
For intravenous use, a single dose is diluted in ten milliliters of water for injection, Levomycetin should be injected slowly over five minutes.
In case of eye diseases, the drug is used for injections and for drip use, and it is also possible to apply chloramphenicol ointment. During the injection, 0.5 or 0.3 milliliters of a twenty percent solution are administered twice a day.
Pills and eye drops "Levomycetin": side effects
Pills and solution can provoke the following negative effects from different organs and systems:
- Nausea.
- Periodic vomiting.
- Flatulence (a common disease, the essence of which is an increased accumulation of gases in the organs of the gastrointestinal tract).
- Diarrhea.
- Optical neuritis (optic nerve damage of inflammatory origin).
- Inflammation of peripheral nerves.
- Migraine
- Insomnia.
- Confusion.
- Visual and auditory hallucinations.
- Delirium (a mental disorder that occurs with clouding of consciousness, andalso impaired attention, thinking and emotions).
- Leukopenia (decrease in the number of white blood cells in the blood).
- Thrombopenia (reduction of red blood platelets in the circulating blood).
- Aplastic anemia (damage to the hematopoietic system, which is characterized by suppression of the hematopoietic function of the bone marrow and is manifested by a small formation of red blood cells, as well as white blood cells and platelets).
What other side effects does Levomycetin cause? Eye drops and tablets can cause the following conditions:
- Eruptions and itching of the skin.
- Urticaria
- Angioedema angioedema.
- Reticulocytopenia (a disease in which the number of immature red blood cells increases in the blood).
- Erythropenia (decrease in the number of red blood cells in the blood).
- Agranulocytosis (a clinical and hematological disease, which is based on a sharp decrease or absence of neutrophilic granulocytes among the cellular elements of the blood).
- Yarish-Herxheimer reaction (a reaction that appears several hours after the start of therapy with specific antimicrobials in patients with spirochetosis, as well as syphilis, borreliosis, meningococcal meningitis).
In addition, there are also the following side effects from "Levomycetin" (eye drops and tablets):
- Cardiovascular collapse (heart failure,which occurs due to a sharp decrease in capillary tone).
- Encephalopathy (damage to the brain in various diseases and disruption of its functions that are not associated with inflammatory processes).
- Glossitis (a pathological inflammatory lesion of the tissues of the tongue, which is considered a sign of general diseases of the body, but in rare situations acts as an independent disease).
- Stomatitis (a dental disease that manifests itself in the form of catarrhal, aphthous, ulcerative, necrotic lesions of the oral mucosa).
- Enterocolitis (acute and chronic lesions of the digestive system, which are characterized by inflammation of the intestinal mucosa).
The occurrence of side effects from "Levomycetin" (tablets and drops) is considered the basis for dose adjustment or cancellation.
Features
Before taking pills, you need to be well acquainted with the annotation to the drug. There are several recommendations:
- The use of the drug for newborns is excluded, which is associated with an increased risk of severe bloating, as well as diarrhea, bluish staining of the skin, and cardiovascular insufficiency.
- With extreme caution, "Levomycetin" is used in patients who, in the recent past or at the time of the use of the medication, underwent radiation treatment or cytostatic therapy.
- Combining alcohol and the drug is prohibited, since this is likely to cause severe nausea, vomitingurge, redness of the skin, stenosis, reflex cough.
- With prolonged use of the drug "Levomycetin" it is necessary to carry out regular monitoring of peripheral blood.
- With special care, the drug is used for concomitant pathological liver lesions, which are accompanied by a decrease in its functional activity.
- The drug does not have a direct effect on the functional state of the cerebral cortex, but due to the likely occurrence of adverse reactions from the nervous system, it is necessary to abandon activities that involve the need to concentrate.
Pills in pharmacies are dispensed only by prescription from a medical specialist. You cannot use them yourself on the recommendations of third parties.
Exceeding the recommended pharmacological dosage is accompanied by the manifestation of the following side effects from Levomycetin tablets: nausea and vomiting.
Analogues
Similar in pharmacological action to "Levomycetin" are:
- "Monural".
- "Amoxiclav".
- "Cefuroxime".
- "Gentamicin".
- "Roxithromycin".
- "Nolicin".
Storage and price of the drug"Levomycetin"
The shelf life of tablets is 60 months. They must be kept in a dark, dry place inaccessible to children at an air temperature of no higher than 25 degrees.
The shelf life of eye drops is 24 months. After opening the vial, the drug can be used for 30 days. Keep the medicine away from children, at an air temperature of no more than 30 degrees.
The cost of the drug varies from 10 to 130 rubles.
Opinions
Reviews about Levomycetin tablets are usually positive. The drug can be used in many situations, so it is recommended by medical specialists. People especially like the fact that the drug works quickly and is inexpensive. There are almost no reports of negative reactions. So in general, the feedback about the drug characterizes it as an effective and economical remedy for various diseases.
No less positive reviews about Levomycetin eye drops. Side effects after their use are very rare. Despite its low price, the drug gives an instant effect and in the vast majority of cases provides a 100% result.
