Anti-viral drug for a child: advice of pediatricians

With drugs it’s generally worth being carefulespecially if we are talking about the selection of medicines for the youngest patients. It is necessary to understand that parents who have no special education should independently choose an antiviral drug for a child only in extreme cases - it is better to consult with an observant pediatrician (at least over the phone if you go to an appointment or call a doctor for some reason is impossible). He knows your baby well and will tell you which drugs are more likely to help, and which ones may not bring any benefit or even harm. However, we will tell you about the most popular drugs.

"Arbidol"

If you ask to recommend youAntiviral drug for the child, most likely, you will be called “Arbidol”. He really effectively fights with a large number of viruses that cause colds in babies. The spectrum of action of Arbidol is quite wide: it helps with the flu (A, B), and with adenoviral and respiratory scintial infections, and with parainfluenza. The drug is prescribed to children from 2 years (in the absence of individual intolerance) for both treatment and prevention. "Arbidol" helps to increase the production of its own interferon and immunoglobulins, in addition - it regulates the ratio of B-and T-lymphocytes, and also has an antioxidant effect.

"Remantadin"

This antiviral drug for a childyounger than 7 years will not work. However, as a treatment for flu and colds in younger schoolchildren, he has established himself very well. Nevertheless, "rimantadine" has a greater number of contraindications, which are joined by liver and kidney disease and thyroid hyperfunction.

"Kagocel"

"Kagocel" is usually prescribed for children from 6 yearsand older. It is effective not only for influenza, but also for other colds, as well as acute respiratory viral infections (ARVI). However, he also has his own peculiarity - this antiviral drug for a child must be given no later than the 4th day after the onset of the illness, otherwise the treatment will not be sufficiently effective.

"Viferon" ("Interferon Alfa")

Speaking of which antiviral drugscan children, it is worth telling about the popular among pediatricians "Interferon Alfa". The medicine is produced in the form of rectal suppositories, and its main advantage is that it can be applied from an early age. Nevertheless, some pediatricians believe that it prevents the decrease in temperature.

However, as it was said at the very beginning,You should be very careful when choosing antiviral drugs for children. Komarovsky - one of the most famous and reputable pediatricians these days - claims that practically everything that can be found in modern pharmacies is drugs with “unproven efficacy,” and therefore it is better to prevent the disease and help the child to cope with it more quickly with proven centuries and 100% safe folk methods.