Berodual for laryngitis in children
Among medical prescriptions for children with laryngitis, you can sometimes notice a drug called Berodual. It is often prescribed for false croup - a serious complication in which the child has a laryngeal spasm and there is marked shortness of breath. But does Berodual help with laryngitis in children? To understand this issue, you need to learn more about this medicine and its effect on the body of a small patient.
The action of the drug and indications for use
The main effect of this medication is the elimination of spasm and related dyspnea, arising from obstruction of the lungs and bronchial asthma. The active components of Berodual (ipratropium bromide supplemented with fenoterol) affect the smooth muscles of the small bronchi and cause them to relax. In addition, they reduce the swelling of the walls of the bronchi, stimulate breathing and relax the walls of blood vessels.
This causes the demand for Berodual when:
- Bronchial asthma.
- Spasm of the bronchi due to chronic bronchitis with obstruction.
- Emphysematous change of the lungs.
How it looks and how it is applied
Such a drug is available in two forms - vials with 20 ml of solution (it is intended for inhalation in a nebulizer) and pocket cans with an aerosol (inside one package contains 200 doses of the medicine). For inhalation therapy solution Berodual diluted with saline to obtain a volume of 3 or 4 ml, followed by inhalation with diluted medication for 6-7 minutes.
The dosage of the drug is determined by the age and severity of bronchospasm. Inhalations with Berodual are not recommended for children under 6 years old. If there are indications for their implementation, the need for such treatment is assessed by the doctor in each case individually. Only a pediatrician can prescribe Berodual to a child who is not yet six years old.
Children 6-12 years old per inhalation use from 10 to 60 drops (0.5-3 ml), depending on the severity of the condition. A child over 12 years old is prescribed in a dose of 10-80 drops (0.5-4 ml). The procedure can be carried out up to four times a day.
If you use a can, then a child over 6 years old is prescribed 2 doses of the drug. If, after inhalation of this amount of Berodual, breathing is not relieved, it is recommended to reapply it after 5 minutes. If the child has re-inhaled 2 doses of Berodual in an aerosol, but there is still no effect, you need to consult a doctor.
Features of the use of laryngitis
Reviews of doctors and many parents confirm the high efficacy of this drug for bronchospasm. However, such a bronchodilator cannot provide the desired therapeutic effect in inflammation of the larynx. This disease is manifested by sore throat, dry rough cough, hoarse voice, fever, shortness of breath and other signs. But none of the symptoms of laryngitis Berodual does not affect, therefore, it is more preferable to treat with other drugs depending on the cause of the inflammation.
Note that in childhood laryngitis is often complicated by false croup. With such a rather dangerous state, the larynx swells, and its lumen narrows, which is why the air passes with difficulty. The child has difficulty in breathing, and the mother from the side hears very noisy breathing.Because of such symptoms, many kids and parents are frightened by false croup, which can only complicate this condition.
It is this which most often causes the desire to inhale with drugs that relieve spasm. And the choice often falls on Berodual, although in fact such a drug affects only the small bronchi, and at the level of the larynx it simply “does not work”. In addition, croup is a common problem for children under 5 years of age, and many doctors, including Dr. Komarovsky, do not recommend inhalation with Berodual at this age.
In addition, the drug can provoke various side effects, including rapid pulse, headache, trembling of the limbs, nausea, allergic rash and other negative symptoms. Inhalation with Berodual is dangerous, and the fact that some children experience a paradoxical reaction to it, in which the bronchospasm increases. For these reasons, do not use Berodual in children with laryngotracheitis.
Analogs
If a child has developed laryngitis and is complicated by stenosis, instead of Berodual, it will be more expedient to make inhalations with saline or alkaline mineral water. Such agents will soften the larynx mucosa and will have an anti-inflammatory effect on it.
Also, children with laryngospasm are often advised to inhale with Pulmicort. Such a drug has anti-edema and anti-inflammatory effects. It belongs to glucocorticoid hormones and is used for asthma, allergic rhinitis, laryngitis and obstructive pathologies of the respiratory tract. Suspension Pulmicort is allowed from 6 months of age, and for inhalation it, like Berodual, is diluted with saline.
In the next video, Dr. Komarovsky will tell you how to inhale the baby and with what drugs.
