Everyone knows about antibiotics, which are used to fight bacterial infections, including intestinal ones. However, not everyone knows that there is another category of medicines - intestinal antiseptics. One of these tools, which we will consider in this article, is Enterofuril. For instructions on how to use this drug, whether it has side effects and what are the reviews of patients, read on.
"Enterofuril" is a broad-spectrum antimicrobial drug capable of destroying pathogenic microflora in several doses. It is safer than antibiotics. In acute intestinal infections, as a rule, it is not used due to insufficient antibacterial activity.
In what form is issued
You can buy this remedy in the form of capsules or syrup. By the name of the drug on the package, it is easy to guess the dosage variability- depending on age, weight, individual characteristics, patients are prescribed "Enterofuril 100" or "Enterofuril 200". The main active ingredient is nifuroxazide. It is present in both oral solution and capsules.
The contents of the capsules is a homogeneous yellow powdery mass with small grains. Sometimes the medicine is compressed into a solid formation, but when pressed, it easily crumbles. The instructions for use of "Enterofuril" in capsules say that their gelatinous shell and excipients are harmless. Meanwhile, in case of an allergic reaction to any of the components, you should not take the medicine.
Suspension "Enterofuril" is sold in dark glass bottles of 90 ml. It is a thick syrup of a dense consistency, having a yellow color. According to reviews, the antiseptic solution is drunk without discomfort and is easily tolerated even by children, because it has a banana flavor and aroma.
How this remedy works
Often "Enterofuril" is prescribed at the first symptoms of diarrhea. Nifuroxazide in the composition of this drug is an antimicrobial substance that acts on pathogens of intestinal infectious diseases. This component suppresses especially actively:
- staph;
- streptococci;
- clostridia;
- Klebsiella;
- proteus;
- shigella.
In the instructions for the use of "Enterofuril" for diarrhea or other dyspepticdisorders provoked by the activity of pathogenic microorganisms, it is recommended to use it for both adults and children.
In addition, experts explain the effectiveness of nifuroxazide by the fact that microbes are not able to adapt to it. Unlike antibiotics, "Enterofuril" does not suppress he althy microflora, due to which the use of this agent does not provoke the development of intestinal dysbacteriosis. On the contrary, course treatment with this drug helps to restore the normal balance of microorganisms in the gastrointestinal tract.
Another advantage of capsules and suspension is the action of nifuroxazide exclusively in the intestinal lumen. The substance is practically not absorbed into the blood and does not affect other systems and internal organs. At the same time, Enterofuril does not interact with other medicines and chemical compounds. Despite this, it is undesirable to take the drug together with sorbents, since the latter partially neutralize the therapeutic effect.
For what diseases is Enterofuril prescribed
Suspension and capsules are prescribed for the treatment of patients diagnosed with any of the following pathologies:
- intestinal infection with a long sluggish course;
- recurrent diarrhea of infectious origin, except for helminthiasis;
- chronic gastrointestinal disease, accompanied by flatulence, belching, bloating.
It is important to understand that the action of the drug is aimed solely at combating pathogensmicroorganisms. In addition to the destruction of bacteria, it is also important to replenish the fluid and electrolyte reserves in the body, and for this you need to use not only Enterofuril 100. You cannot find such information in the instructions for using this medicine - patients will learn about it from a doctor who, in combination with nifuroxazide, will prescribe Regidron, Trisol or other means.
Schedule of taking: before meals or after?
The indisputable advantage of the drug is regardless of meals. Drinking syrup or capsules "Enterofuril 200", according to the instructions for use, is not prohibited either before, during or after meals. Here the patient is given complete freedom to choose how to take the medicine. In reviews, patients often mention this nuance and consider it a huge advantage of the drug.
And if it is not difficult to combine treatment with meals, then if it is necessary to take enterosorbents (activated carbon, Filtrum, Enterosgel, Smecta, Polyfepen) it is necessary to take a suspension or capsules with nifuroxazide separately from them. "Enterofuril" should be drunk either an hour before taking sorbents, or two hours after.
Suspension
If any drug is available in liquid and tablet form, syrup is made mainly for the treatment of children, and capsules for adults. The instructions for use of "Enterofuril" noted that not only babies can be treated with a suspension, but it is important to correctly calculate the dosage.
Before taking the medicine, shake the bottle thoroughly to mix it homogeneouslycontent. For ease of dosing, it is advisable to use the attached tool - a plastic spoon with divisions. In the absence of such, you can use a regular syringe. Having measured the required amount of the drug, it is poured into a tablespoon and drunk. Drinking "Enterofuril", according to the instructions for use, is not necessary.
The optimal course of treatment for diarrhea caused by an intestinal infection is about a week. If after 5-7 days there is no positive dynamics, it is necessary to stop taking the drug and consult a doctor. Based on the instructions for use for adults, Enterofuril (200 mg of nifuroxazide is contained in 5 ml of suspension) should be discontinued if diarrhea has not returned for at least 12 hours. In turn, the dosage and number of doses of the syrup are determined by the age of the patient:
- Even babies can take medicine. Children aged one to six months are recommended to give 2.5 ml of the drug 2-3 times a day.
- Babies older than six months and younger than two years old are given the same dosage, but the frequency of administration is increased - 4 times a day.
- Children over 7 years old and adults - 5 ml of syrup four times a day.
- Preschool children aged 3 to 7 years are prescribed one full scoop (5 ml) of the suspension three times a day. At this age, the suspension can be replaced with Enterofuril 200 capsules.
In the instructions for use, the manufacturer advises taking the medicine at regular intervalstime. For example, if the medicine is taken 2-3 times a day, then the interval between doses should be 8-12 hours. It must be remembered that an open suspension, unlike an opened package with capsules, can be stored for no more than two weeks. If the drug has not been used completely, then it is thrown away after the expiration date.
How to take capsules correctly
As already noted, the instructions for the use of Enterofuril capsules indicate the possibility of prescribing them to children over three years old. Only by this age, babies are already able to swallow a pill without chewing.
Capsule should be consumed whole. It is not necessary to open it and pour out the contents. It is advisable to drink the medicine with water, but children can be given juice or compote. Treatment of diarrhea caused by an intestinal infection usually lasts at least two days. It is recommended to stop taking the capsules if there have been no more episodes of loose stools within the last 12 hours. Despite the fact that the drug is available without a prescription, which is allowed in the instructions for the use of Enterofuril capsules, it is advisable for adults to consult a doctor before using it. You should also contact a specialist if the proper therapeutic effect does not occur after a week of taking Enterofuril.
As for the dosage, it is calculated according to the following principles:
- children from 3 to 7 years old should take 200 mg of nifuroxazide three times a day (according to the instructions for use"Enterofuril", capsules of 100 mg can also replace one with 200 mg, if you take two of them at once);
- Adults and children over 7 years of age should take 200 mg 4 times a day.
As with suspension treatment, it is important to observe certain time intervals of 6 to 8 hours between doses of capsules.
Can I use the drug for vomiting
The instructions for the use of "Enterofuril" do not say anything about the advisability of using this drug for vomiting, but pediatricians quite often prescribe this remedy for babies. Parents' fears are related to the fact that only intestinal infection and diarrhea are officially classified as indications. Or maybe the incompetence of specialists takes place here?
In fact, doctors are doing everything right. Sometimes the first manifestation of an intestinal disorder is often not diarrhea, but vomiting. If the human body reacts to the pathogenic microflora in this way, it is urgent to start antimicrobial therapy. All qualified therapists are aware of this physiological feature, so they prescribe drugs based on nifuroxazide immediately, without waiting for diarrhea to appear.
At the same time, Enterofuril itself is not an antiemetic. To suppress severe vomiting, you need to drink "Motilium", "Cerucal" or "Haloperidol", and only when you manage to tame the urge to vomit, take "Enterofuril" and other drugs to replenish the level of electrolytes in the body.
With rotavirus infectionthis tool is useless. In the instructions for use "Enterofuril"; there is not the slightest mention of such a testimony. Despite the similarity of the symptoms of intestinal and rotavirus infection, in the case of the latter, the drug will be meaningless. It will not cause any harm, however, just as it will not bring any benefit. This disease is caused by a virus, and Enterofuril can only affect microbes. In case of rotavirus infections, it is desirable to use bacteriophages and probiotics in combination with enterosorbents.
Side effects and contraindications
About negative reactions in the instructions for the use of "Enterofuril" for children or adults, there is a meager amount of information. As adverse reactions, allergic manifestations are possible (skin rash, urticaria, Quincke's edema, up to anaphylactic shock). But according to patient reviews, both the suspension and the capsules can cause nausea, especially with prolonged use.
As for contraindications, Enterofuril is banned for newborn babies. Suspension can be taken from the second month of life, and capsules - only from three years. Doctors do not recommend the use of "Enterofuril" (in the instructions for use it is said about this) for patients with individual hypersensitivity to one or more components of the drug. An intestinal antiseptic is not suitable for people suffering from fructose intolerance and glucose-galactose malabsorption syndrome. It is undesirable to take the drug with a deficiency of sucrase and isom altase.
Popular analogues
In the domesticThere are many intestinal antiseptics on the pharmaceutical market, not only having a similar principle of action, but also containing the same active ingredient. So, on the basis of nifuroxazide, the following analogues of Enterofuril are created:
- Nifuroxazide.
- Nifuroxazide-Richter.
- Ersefuril.
- Ecofuril.
- Stopdiar.
Some probiotics and bacteriophages act similarly to nifuroxazide. These include "Baktisubtil" in capsules, tablet "Ftalazol", powder "Enterol". The cost of all these drugs in Russian pharmacies does not exceed 400 rubles.
Opinions of pediatricians
The instructions for the use of "Enterofuril" for children indicate clear restrictions. You can give a suspension to a child after the first month of life, since the drug is very effective in fighting pathogens, but it does not affect the internal organs and does not change the composition of beneficial bacteria. The advantage of the drug is that it is not absorbed into the blood and does not have a systemic effect. In this sense, "Enterofuril" is completely safe for babies.
However, in foreign practice, this remedy is not used to treat intestinal infections in babies under two years of age. It is known that in Western countries the refusal to use "Enterofuril" for children (in the instructions, we remind you, restrictions apply to babies of the first month) is not due to the toxicity of the drug. Alternative drugs based on nifuroxazide thereare the probiotics "Enterol", "Baktisubtil" and others. It is believed that these drugs are more effective and can bring real benefits to the child's intestinal tract. Consequently, the non-use of "Enterofuril" in early childhood is due to the emergence of modern, less harmful drugs.
However, this does not mean that "Enterofuril" is forbidden to be used to treat intestinal infections at an early age. In the territory of the CIS countries, this drug is still used for children. The instructions for use of "Enterofuril" indicate which dosage is considered safe for the child. In addition, probiotics are more expensive or not available at all in pharmacies. Therefore, the use of "Enterofuril" is the only rational treatment option.
What patients say, reviews
In almost all cases of use, patients leave positive feedback about this tool. Experts believe that this is due to the great effectiveness of Enterofuril, its excellent tolerance and the almost complete absence of side effects, including dysbacteriosis. In reviews of the drug, patients note that it is very convenient to drink it, regardless of the form of release. The suspension has a pleasant banana flavor, which is liked not only by children, but also by adults. Most users who treated diarrhea with nifuroxazide had symptoms of the disorder resolved after the first dose of the medication.
Before using Enterofuril capsules for children, the instructions for use should be carefully studied forthe likelihood of side effects. Despite isolated cases of allergic reactions, the possibility of their occurrence cannot be completely ruled out. If parents have never given a child preparations based on nifuroxazide before and do not know how the child's body will react to this substance, it is advisable to start treatment with Enterofuril 100 capsules. This is especially true for kids 3-4 years old. The drug quickly stops diarrhea and destroys the infection.
Although capsules can be given to children at this age, suspension is the preferred form of release for babies. Its consistency and aroma do not cause disgust in children, which is very important. In the reviews, many parents often refer to "Enterofuril", call it "real salvation" and "lifesaver" for poisoning and diarrhea.
Analysis of negative reviews about this drug shows that they are usually caused by the development of allergies and the lack of effectiveness of the remedy. In their responses, dissatisfied patients indicate that it took 3-5 days to stop diarrhea, and this is a very long time, in their opinion. Users also do not like the fact that after opening the vial, the suspension must be used within two weeks, after which the remainder of the drug should be discarded. People with individual intolerance to the components of "Enterofuril" experienced negative reactions from the body, which subsequently forced them to refuse further intake and leave a negative feedback about their experience of using this drug.funds.
How much does the drug cost in pharmacies
In the instructions for the use of Enterofuril, the country of origin indicates Bosnia and Herzegovina. The drug is imported from Europe to the countries of the former USSR, so the price differences of the drug in pharmacies are caused by reasons not related to the quality of the drug (for example, exchange rates, customs duties, trade margins, supplier costs for transportation and savings). In fact, there are no fundamental differences between drugs sold at a higher and lower cost.
Today, a suspension and capsules of 200 mg "Enterofuril" (in the instructions for use it is noted that the drug is produced in a lower dosage, this has already been said) are released in Russian pharmacies at approximately the following prices:
- suspension in a bottle of 90 ml - from 400 to 600 rubles;
- capsules 200 mg (16 pieces per pack) - within 300-400 rubles;
- A pack of 30 Enterofuril 100 capsules costs about the same.
Store the capsules and the unopened vial of the suspension at room temperature not higher than + 25 ° C, in a place where there is no access to direct sunlight and children. It is impossible to freeze the drug, so open syrup should be kept in the refrigerator on the shelves with the highest temperature.
