"Naphthyzinum" for children

Naphthyzinum is one of the popular medicines for the common cold, which adults often choose for its effective action and low price. But is it worth using such a remedy in the treatment of rhinitis in a child, in what dosage Naphthyzinum is prescribed to children and what analogs can it be replaced with?

Naphthyzinum is produced by many Russian pharmaceutical companies (Slavic pharmacy, Lecco, Dobromed, Renovation, Synthesis, etc.) exclusively in liquid form. The medicine is a slightly colored or colorless solution. It is completely transparent and does not include any suspended particles.

Most manufacturers produce Naphthyzinum in the form of droplets in polymer bottles-droppers with a capacity of 10 ml in two dosages - 0.05% and 0.1%. Also in pharmacies there are smaller packages (1.3 ml droplet tubes, 2 ml and 5 ml) and more (15-20 ml bottles). Some pharmaceutical companies also produce Naphthyzinum in the form of a 0.05% or 0.1% spray, packaging the solution in 5-15 ml plastic bottles with a spray.

The main ingredient of Naphthyzinum, due to which the product effectively fights nasal congestion, is naphazoline, presented in solution in the form of nitrate. In the 0.05% preparation it is contained in a dose of 0.5 g per 100 ml. If the concentration of the drug is 0.1%, then the amount of naphazoline in 1 milliliter is 1 mg. Additionally, the solution includes purified water and boric acid.

Naphazoline is an alpha adrenergic agonist, that is, it is capable of stimulating alpha-type adrenergic receptors. At the same time, it also affects alpha-1 receptors, stimulation of which causes spasm of arterioles, decreases vascular permeability, exudative inflammation, and alpha-2 receptors, which are responsible for reducing blood pressure.

Getting on the nasal mucosa, naphazoline very quickly and for a long period narrows the blood vessels, resulting in the elimination of nasal congestion and a decrease in the amount of secretions during rhinitis. Under the action of the drug, hyperemia and swelling disappear, making breathing through the nose easier or restored. The effect of the solution begins within 5 minutes after use and lasts up to 6 hours.

The drug is used:

• In the acute form of rhinitis caused by a viral infection.
• With hay fever.
• With laryngitis and stenosis of the larynx.
• With allergic rhinitis.
• With acute eustachitis.
• With nosebleeds.
• When performing rhinoscopy (drug drip before the procedure).

Abstract Naphthyzinum prohibits the treatment of such a means of children under the age of one year. A child older than a year can prescribe medication, but most pediatricians prefer the treatment of rhinitis with more selective adrenomimetics, for example, with xylometazoline or oxymetazoline.

It is not recommended to drip an agent even in a children's dosage (0.05%) without a doctor's prescription. The drug with a concentration of 0.1% is not prescribed to children, since it is contraindicated at the age of 18 years.

0.05% Naphthyzinum cannot be used in children:

• With hypersensitivity to naphazoline or boric acid.
• With tachycardia and other disorders of the heart.
• With hypertension.
• With hyperfunction of the thyroid gland.
• With chronic runny nose (medication can not be prescribed for a long time).
• With diabetes.
• With severe eye pathologies.

Be alert and pay attention to the following points:

• After using drops mucosal irritation may occur and other side effects, such as headache, nausea, or increased heart rate.
• In Naphthyzin, a gradual decrease in the therapeutic effect, which is called tachyphylaxis. This means that in the first days after the instillation of the medicine, the vasoconstrictor effect will be more pronounced, and on the third or fourth day the body will get used and the reaction of the vessels to the medication weakens.

• Long-term treatment with Naphthyzinum not only provokes addiction to such a drug, but can also cause swelling of the nasal mucosa or atrophic rhinitis.
• A bottle of medication opens so easily that increases the risk of solution poisoningif a small child accidentally finds it and drinks it.

In some patients, the use of the drug may lead to addiction. As naphazoline is discontinued, the vessels in the nose expand more than before the introduction of drops / spray into the nose. This is manifested by nasal congestion and inability to breathe through the nose. Because of this, the drug must be instilled or sprayed again, so that the vessels narrowed again and it became easy to breathe, and without the use of a medicine, the patient suffers from a completely stuffed nose, which is often accompanied by headaches.

At the age of 1 to 15 years, only 0.05% Naphthyzinum is used in such a single dose:

• For children 1-6 years old - one drop at a time (very rarely 2 drops are dripped at once).
• For children 6-15 years old - two drops.

This number of drops is introduced first into one nostril, placing the child on a flat surface and turning his head slightly so that the medication falls on the outer wall of the nasal passage. Further, the manipulation is repeated for the second nostril. The frequency of use of the drug is from 1 to 3 times a day.

If you use a 0.05% spray, then it is used 1-3 times a day, injecting the medicine into each nostril with one touch. For children under 15, it is often recommended to dilute the solution with distilled water to a concentration of 0.025%.

With tracheitis, obstructive bronchitis, stenosis of the larynx and severe laryngitis, the doctor may prescribe inhalations with Naphthyzinum. The procedure is performed using a nebulizer, and the drug at a concentration of 0.05% is mixed in a ratio of 1 to 1 with saline. The duration of inhalation should be about three minutes, and the frequency - 2-3 times a day.

If you exceed the dose of Naphthyzinum, note:

• The occurrence of dizziness and drowsiness.
• Increased blood pressure.
• Refusal of the child to eat.
• The appearance of nausea and pain in the abdomen.
• Reduced temperature.
• Reduced heart rate.

Naphthyzinum can not be used simultaneously with drugs that belong to the group of MAO inhibitors. If Naphthyzinum is used together with local anesthetics, their absorption slows down, which leads to a longer local anesthetic effect.

Naphthyzinum and any other vasoconstrictive drugs (Xymelin, Otrivin, Nazivin), because it will increase the risk of their side effects.

To purchase Naphthyzine at a pharmacy, you do not need to get a prescription from a doctor, but before treating a child it is strongly recommended that you first show a small patient to an ENT specialist, a pediatrician, or another specialist. The cost of the drug depends on the volume of solution in the package and the manufacturer. Price Naphthyzinum can be from 5 to 45 rubles.

Keep the medication at home should be at room temperature, not allowing it to freeze or overheat. The bottle should be placed in a place where the sun will not act on the solution. It is very important to make sure that the storage place of Naphthyzin is inaccessible to small children in order to prevent overdose of such a medicine.

The shelf life of the drug is usually 3 years and is marked on the package. To use an expired solution for the treatment of children is unacceptable.

On the treatment of children Naphthyzinum respond differently. The drug is called affordable and cheap, so it is often used for a cold. According to moms, the drug acts very effectively and quickly helps eliminate the symptoms of rhinitis for 4-6 hours.

However, such a non-lasting action is attributed to the disadvantages of the drug. Because of him, parents often prefer other vasoconstrictor agents that eliminate nasal congestion for up to 12 hours. In addition, in many reviews complain about the gradual addiction to Naphthyzinum, which is manifested by a decrease in effectiveness after several days of treatment.

Among the shortcomings of Naphthyzin is noted and its packaging. Parents say that it is inconvenient to drip the medicine out of the vial (you have to pipette separately), and this medicine does not have protection against children, which represents an overdose danger. But on the use of medications in the form of inhalations speak mostly well, noting that with the exacerbation of bronchitis and laryngitis, the procedures help to get rid of coughing episodes and prevent stenosis.

In the treatment of rhinitis in children instead of Naphthyzin often used:

• Galazolin. This tool in the form of a gel and nasal drops contains xylometazoline. The drug in liquid form is used in children from 2 years (0.05%) and from 6 years (0.1%), and the gel is allowed from 3 years (0.05%) and from 12 years (0.1%) .
• Xylen. This tool also includes xylometazoline and comes in drops and spray. At a concentration of 0.05%, they are discharged to children 2-6 years old, and a child over six years old is prescribed a 0.1% solution.

• Sanorin. The effect of such drops is provided, as in Naphthyzinum, naphazoline nitrate. At a concentration of 0.05%, it is prescribed from 2 years of age, and 0.1% solution is discharged from 15 years. The drug is also produced in the form of a 0.1% spray, approved from 15 years of age.
• Nazivin. Such a medicine containing oxymetazoline is released in drops and spray with different dosages, so the drug is used at different ages (even in infants).
• Nazol Baby. Such nasal drops contain phenylephrine and are used at any age, but for babies under 6 years old they are dripped with caution and only after a doctor's prescription. For children older than 4 years old, Nazol Kids spray is available, which also contains phenylephrine, but at a higher dosage.

In addition to drugs that act on alpha-adrenoreceptors, children with rhinitis are prescribed medications based on seawater, antiseptics (for example, Miramistin), oil drops (for example, Pinosol), antibacterial drugs in the nose and other medications. However, their use, as well as the treatment of vasoconstrictor drugs, must be agreed with the doctor.

For information on when vasoconstrictor drops are needed, see the following video.