10 best antiviral drugs for children

Antiviral drugs affect pathogens of herpes, cytomegallovirus, influenza and others. You can often hear that they have no proven clinical effectiveness. But this only speaks of the absence of official expensive studies and conclusions on most of them. Most people, based on personal experience, have been able to verify their effectiveness more than once.

Children's medications in this category deserve special attention. First of all, they are relevant for those who are often ill, have overactive bronchi, and when any ARVI/ARI occurs with complications. Their effectiveness depends on the accuracy and timeliness of diagnosis. And the appointment should be made only by a specialist, taking into account objective evidence. We suggest that you familiarize yourself with the Top 10 best antiviral agents for children.

There are contraindications. Consult your doctor.

Analogs

Kagocel

Nearmedic Plus, Russia Price from 200 to 230 rubles

Kagocel is a modern antiviral and immunomodulatory medicine that is widely used in the treatment of children and adults. Produced in tablet form. One tablet contains 12 mg of kagocel. The main indications for taking Kagocel according to the instructions for use are the treatment and prevention of influenza and other colds.

Pros:

• Prevents the further development of colds
• Effective for prevention
• Treats herpes.

Minuses:

• May cause allergies
• Contraindicated during pregnancy.

Arbidol

Pharmstandard-Tomsk, Russia Price from 175 to 400 rubles

Arbidol actively fights viruses, while simultaneously increasing the body's resistance to infections. The manufacturer offers the medicine in the form of tablets, capsules and powder for suspension, where the active ingredient is arbidol. According to the instructions, it is indicated for colds; it is also prescribed in complex treatment for pneumonia, chronic bronchitis, and to normalize the immune system.

Pros:

• Wide range of exposure
• Convenient release forms
• Fast action.

Minuses:

• There are some side effects
• Considerable cost.

Contraindications for use

Orvirem syrup for children, reviews of which say that it is well tolerated, still has a certain list of contraindications. It cannot be used in such categories of patients as:

• infants;
• women during breastfeeding;
• pregnant women;
• people suffering from thyrotoxicosis;
• persons with kidney and liver diseases, especially during exacerbation;
• people with sensitivity to substances included in the drug;
• patients with epilepsy.

General recommendations

It is important for parents of two-year-old children to know that frequent use of antiviral medications at such a young age can cause an imbalance in the child’s immune system. In other words, the more you treat him with antiviral pills, the more often he gets sick. It is better if the body’s natural defenses “remember” the viruses on their own and learn to recognize and resist them. To do this, you should not get carried away with medications.

Giving a child antiviral drugs when the temperature rises to 37-38 degrees is a sure way to destabilize the immune system.

This temperature is a physiological reaction to the body’s fight against viruses. It makes sense to talk about taking an antiviral drug only in cases where the temperature above 38.5 degrees cannot be reduced for three days, in case of intoxication, or in case of a severe viral infection.

Most antiviral drugs combine well with antibiotics, but only a doctor can prescribe antibacterial drugs if the baby has developed a bacterial complication of a viral infection. In addition, you can no longer buy antibiotics in pharmacies without a prescription, so you should not postpone a visit to the doctor.

Undoubtedly, antiviral drugs must be in the medicine cabinet of a family in which children are growing up. But check the expiration dates of your medications from time to time. An expired antiviral drug can seriously harm the baby.

Antiviral drugs are available in a wide variety of dosage forms. When choosing a product for a two-year-old child, remember that at this age convenient forms are considered ideal - syrups, suspensions, in some cases - dispersible tablets that can dissolve under the tongue.

Tablets are an undesirable form for a 2-year-old child; they are quite difficult to swallow, so such medicines are more suitable for children over 5 years of age. Manufacturers recommend capsules for teenagers over 12 years of age.

List of antiviral drugs for children 2 years old

Anaferon for children

Although these are homeopathic tablets, a 2-year-old child will not have to swallow or dissolve them. The product dissolves perfectly in ordinary boiled water. 1 tablet requires a tablespoon of liquid. If the baby has all the signs of an acute respiratory viral infection or flu, Anaferon should be given every half hour. After four such doses, the child should be given the dissolved tablet three more times at equal intervals. From the second day of illness, the medicine is taken 1 tablet three times a day.

The only contraindication for this drug is congenital galactosemia and lactose intolerance.

Oscillococcinum

These are homeopathic granules that can be placed under the child’s tongue a quarter of an hour before meals or dissolved in a small amount of boiled water. In the first three days after the onset of flu symptoms, you need to take three doses of the drug per day, then one dose until complete recovery.

There are no side effects indicated for the drug, but there is information about extremely rare cases of an allergic reaction.

Aflubin

Homeopathic drops "Aflubin" are excellent for treating the acute stage of ARVI and influenza, and for prevention during seasonal morbidity. If the disease has already begun, two-year-old children can be given 5 drops as a single dose several times a day. Typically, the number of techniques starts from three, and the maximum multiplicity is 8.

When the flu is in full swing, a two-year-old is prescribed the same dosage, but only three times a day. When taken prophylactically, the dosage is reduced by half, and the drug will only need to be given once a day.

Interferon

This antiviral drug for two-year-old children is available in the form of ointments, drops, and rectal suppositories. There is also a dry substance for preparing the solution. It is recommended to take it for prevention, diluting it with saline in a ratio of 2 ml. liquid per bottle of powder. You need to drip the resulting solution five drops into each nostril twice a day. If the virus has already affected the child, then a dose greater than the prophylactic dose is needed. Five drops are instilled every two hours. The course of treatment should not exceed three days.

Cytovir 3 syrup for children: reviews and instructions

Protecting your child from colds and viral infections is the primary task of every mother. Fortunately, today she doesn’t have to feed her child garlic until he drops or steam his feet after every walk, because the modern pharmaceutical market offers many products for effective prevention of influenza and other acute respiratory viral infections.

One of these drugs is the powerful immunostimulating drug Cytovir 3 . What is the antiviral syrup Cytovir 3 , is it effective for children, what is stated in the instructions for use, what analogues are available, and what reviews customers leave about it - read on.

Composition and release form

The immunostimulating drug Cytovir 3 is available in two dosage forms: in the form of gelatin capsules and syrup. However, in this article we will look specifically at syrup, since pediatricians prefer it.

Capsules for children are used much less frequently, since, firstly, they are approved for use only from 6 years of age, and secondly, it is much more difficult to “treat” a child with them than with sweet syrup.

Cytovir 3 syrup has a yellowish color, is pleasant to the taste and is placed in 50 ml glass bottles. Each bottle comes with a convenient dispensing spoon.

The drug we are considering contains three active components: thymogen (0.15 g in 1 ml), bendazole (1.25 mg in 1 ml) and ascorbic acid (12 mg in 1 ml).

Excipients are: water and sucrose.

Operating principle

The therapeutic effect of taking this drug is achieved due to the action of its active components. So:

1. Bendazole stimulates the production of interferon (a specific substance that is released by the body's cells when the virus "invades" and makes them immune to it).
2. Thymogen enhances the effect of bendazole, activates macrophages and cytokines responsible for the destruction of pathogenic antigens.
3. Ascorbic acid reduces inflammation by improving capillary permeability and reducing the effect of acid radicals that accompany any inflammatory process, and also increases the body's overall resistance to viral infections.

Indications

Taking the drug we are considering is indicated for the prevention and treatment of the early stages of influenza types A and B, adenoviruses, rhinoviruses and other common acute respiratory viral infections.

It should be noted that the use of this drug for preventive purposes significantly reduces the risk of contracting a viral infection, and taking it when the first painful symptoms appear significantly reduces the duration and severity of the disease.

At what age can it be prescribed to children?

According to the instructions for use, Cytovir 3 syrup is allowed to be prescribed to children starting from 1 year.

Contraindications and possible side effects

The drug we are considering is contraindicated for:

• individual intolerance to its constituent components;
• diabetes mellitus (due to the presence of sugar in its composition);
• pregnancy;
• under 1 year of age.

You should take this medicine with caution if you have problems with the cardiovascular system, since Cytovir 3 syrup in some cases can provoke a decrease in blood pressure.

Possible side effects include:

• short-term decrease in blood pressure;
• allergic reactions (itching, urticaria).

But, as a rule, Cytovir 3 is well tolerated by patients, and the side effects listed above are extremely rare.

Directions for use and dosage

Tsitovir 3 should be taken directly orally half an hour before meals. This syrup is taken 3 times a day for 4 days, and its single dose is:

• from 1 to 3 years – 2 ml;
• from 3 to 6 years – 4 ml;
• from 6 to 10 years – 8 ml;
• over 10 years old – 12 ml.

For preventive purposes, a second course of administration can be repeated after three to four weeks.

Overdose

To date, no cases of overdose with this drug causing any negative manifestations have been known.

Drug interactions

It is not recommended to use Cytovir 3 simultaneously with:

• non-selective beta-blockers (since they help increase peripheral vascular resistance, and bendazole prevents it);
• antihypertensive drugs and diuretics (bendazole enhances their effect);
• tetracycline antibiotics and benzylpenicillin (ascorbic acid increases their concentration in the blood plasma);
• heparin and indirect anticoagulants (ascorbic acid reduces their effect);
• oral contraceptives (ascorbic acid reduces their content in the blood);
• acetylsalicylic acid (it reduces the absorption of ascorbic acid);
• isoprenaline (ascorbic acid reduces its effect);
• neuroleptics (ascorbic acid reduces their therapeutic effect);
• barbiturates and primidone (they promote faster removal of ascorbic acid from the body).

Analogs

Agents that have a composition and therapeutic effect similar to Cytovir 3 are:

• Orvirem (indicated for children from 1 year);

• Immunoflazide (indicated for children from birth);
• —Aflubin— (indicated for children over 2 years of age);

• Ergoferon (indicated for children from 6 months);
• Anaferon (indicated for children from 1 month);
• Kagocel (indicated for children over 3 years old);

• —Arbidol— (indicated for children over 2 years old), etc.

Reviews

• Angela: “I have three children.
  Last fall, the eldest went to kindergarten for the first time, and it started: ARVI, snot, etc. And the other two constantly caught it from him. It was an endless circle of hell! Until we changed the doctor, and he prescribed us Cytovir 3 syrup as part of the complex treatment. Indeed, things went much better. Diseases began to reach us less and less, but now everything, in principle, has returned to normal. It’s a good drug, but the price is steep, that’s true.”
• Lilia: “I tried giving Cytovir to my 3rd daughter for the first time a couple of weeks ago.
  As a rule, treatment of any ARVI in our country began with a whole bunch of antiviral drugs, but ended with antibiotics anyway. But thanks to this syrup, we began to recover for the first time already on the 3rd day after taking the medicine, and after the 4th and last day we were completely healthy. I was very pleasantly surprised. I recommend it, it’s a good antiviral!”
• Oksana: “Tsitovir 3 is a vivid example of how a real antiviral agent should work! The course of taking it is 4 days, and during these 4 days this medicine puts you completely back on your feet. Now I would never exchange Cytovir 3 for all sorts of Arbidols, Viferons and other antiviral analogues for children, even if they are cheaper.”
• Olga: “I take this drug as a preventive course in the midst of influenza epidemics. And I’ll tell you honestly, I haven’t had enough viruses for 3 years now! An effective remedy!
• Valentina: “This remedy was recommended to me by a very reputable general practitioner in our city.
  Therefore, I did not doubt for a second that it was actually good, since he would not have advised nonsense. And so it turned out: Cytovir 3 put my child on his feet in 4 days. There was no trace left of the disease. Now the whole family is treated with it. Always a great help."