Lactobacterin side effects in children. How to take Lactobacterin: effective dosages

Beneficial bacteria are an essential component of our gastrointestinal tract, and often problems in this organ system arise precisely because of their lack. Then those containing such bacteria come to the rescue. One of them is “Lactobacterin”, in particular it is used for newborns from and, we will read its instructions further.

Composition and pharmacological actions

The drug contains lactobacilli acidophilus and belongs to the group of drugs that normalize intestinal function. Each dose contains at least 2*109 CFU of Lactobacillus fermentum and Lactobacillus plantarum.

It has an antibacterial effect, balances the microflora in the intestines, normalizes the activity of the gastrointestinal tract, and also has an immunomodulatory effect.

Did you know? Breast milk contains about 700 species of bacteria.

Release form

The drug has several different release forms:

vaginal;
pills;
liquid concentrate in ampoules of 10 ml;
dry powder in ampoules for 3, 5 and 10 doses.

For newborns, a ready-made solution or powder is suitable for further preparation. Tablets can be given to children over 3 years of age. Suppositories are not used in pediatrics.

Indications for use

Lactobacterin is prescribed to newborns with the aim of populating their intestines with beneficial bacteria. Naturally, they get there with mother's milk, but this process occurs gradually, so newborns often experience constipation and colic; when taking Lactobacterin, this process accelerates. The natural process can be slowed down by antibiotic or hormonal therapy, artificial feeding, or lack of breast milk.

Important!Before you start taking it, be sure to consult your doctor!

Sometimes the drug is prescribed for prophylactic purposes, but The main indications for its use are as follows::

intestinal colic;
dysbacteriosis;
chronic colitis;
Crohn's disease;
rehabilitation therapy after intestinal infections;
the presence of pathogenic microorganisms in the body.

Diluting Lactobacterin for newborns is quite simple, since lukewarm boiled water must be added to the dry preparation before use. One teaspoon of liquid is added to one dose of the drug. The ampoule must be shaken thoroughly; there should be no lumps left in the solution. Before taking, leave the suspension for 5 minutes to completely dissolve the powder. The prepared solution cannot be stored.

Important!It is forbidden to dilute with hot water, as this will lead to the death of lactobacilli and the drug will lose its effectiveness.

How to give to babies

The medicine is given before, about an hour. The individual dosage is prescribed by the doctor and depends not only on the age of the child, but also on the nature of the pathology.

The instructions for use provide the following dosage of Lactobacterin for children under one year of age:

from birth to 6 months - 1–2 doses;
6–12 months - 2–3 doses;

These doses are divided into two doses. The duration of treatment is also determined by the doctor and can range from 3 to 8 weeks.

Precautionary measures

How to give Lactobacterin to a newborn to minimize possible side effects? Firstly, you must strictly adhere to the doctor’s recommendations and instructions. Give the drug strictly before meals, wash it down with milk. Secondly, it would not be amiss to simultaneously take

Very often, in infants, the intestinal microflora is subject to dysbacteriosis. This is a change in the number of special microorganisms that are simply vital for a person, especially such a small one. The norm of such bacteria per 1 gram of feces is about 1000. Their deficiency can especially be caused in babies who do not eat mother's milk, but are artificially fed. In this case, you need to select food with the presence of such bifidobacteria directly in it. If dysbiosis is detected, doctors recommend taking Lactobacterin for newborns or similar drugs.

What can cause a lack of necessary microorganisms in the baby’s body?

Lack of food, exhaustion. This happens when the quality of mother's milk is unsatisfactory.
Exposure of a child to radiation.
Taking antibiotics and other chemicals.
Treatment with hormones.

As mentioned earlier, artificial feeding can have a very negative effect on the intestinal microflora. Moreover, sometimes even expressed milk that has been heat-treated loses its beneficial properties.

Lactobacterin not only helps restore microflora, but also helps the body fight inflammatory processes in the respiratory and urinary tract, and in girls it fights fungal vaginal diseases.

Purpose and dosage when treating with this drug

Very often, children are prescribed antibiotics without caring about the well-being of the intestines. This is a very big mistake. With this treatment, you should definitely take Lactobacterin or its analogue. How to dilute and drink Lactobacterin for newborns should be found out from your doctor. But usually the dosage of the medicine is as follows - this is a fifth of a capsule or, if the drug is in liquid form, a quarter of a teaspoon.

If the drug is in liquid form, then you will not have a question about how to dilute Lactobacterin - it must be given to the baby in its existing form. Lactoberin capsules usually contain 10 ampoules per package, 5 doses in one ampoule. It should be diluted with warm water, 1 dose (that is, just a fifth of the capsule) with 1 teaspoon of water. You can dilute 5 doses with 5 spoons at once and take 1 teaspoon of the resulting product 2 times a day. It should be stored in a closed bottle.

No matter how safe this drug is, there are still side effects, albeit in small quantities. This may include vomiting and nausea, as well as diarrhea. If symptoms do not go away within 24 hours, you should stop taking the drug and immediately contact your pediatrician.

Lactobacilli are one of the main components of normal intestinal microflora. It is these beneficial microorganisms that facilitate the digestion of nutrients in the child’s intestines. Since there is no microbial flora in the gastrointestinal tract of a newborn, pathogenic microorganisms may penetrate the mucous membrane or the presence of an insufficient number of normal microbial strains. In this case, lactobacilli are used as a component of complex treatment to restore the natural balance of intestinal microflora.

When the drug is prescribed and its mechanism of action

It is important to understand that the lactobacilli in the composition of the drug "Laktobacterin" are a medicine, and not just an additional useful additive to the milk formula. The prescription of the drug "Lactobacterin" must be agreed with the doctor, and not just purchased at the nearest pharmacy after reading comments on one of the women's forums.

In order for lactobacilli to really bring benefits, it is necessary to comply with the dosage, as well as the duration of the course of treatment. The information on the drug packaging may differ from the doctor's recommendations.

The eubiotic Lactobacterin consists of lactobacilli, which are necessarily present in the intestines of children of any age, including infants. It is lactobacilli in the human body that are distinguished by a number of important properties:

they are an obligatory component of the digestion processes in the distal gastrointestinal tract;
only these microorganisms are in the gastrointestinal tract in accordance with the principle of antagonism, that is, they do not allow a variety of pathogenic flora to spread over the surface of the mucosa;
These microorganisms help maintain the immune system of a child of any age at the required functional level.

The last 2 points are especially important for the newborn’s body. Factors of a systemic nonspecific response in the body of a very young child are at the initial stage of their development. There is practically no need to talk about a specific immune response at such an early age. Therefore, the gastrointestinal tract performs the main barrier function in the battle with the microbial world, largely thanks to lactobacilli.

Lactobacilli simply cannot cause any harm to the body of even a very small person. Their safety has been confirmed by numerous clinical studies for infants and children with congenital developmental anomalies.

Indications

On the one hand, they are quite extensive, on the other hand, they are quite specific. The use of the drug "Lactobacterin" is justified in the following situations:

as part of complex therapy after various bacterial infectious diarrhea, in particular salmonellosis, dysentery, escherichiosis;
with severe functional disorders of the gastrointestinal tract, which are manifested by repeated regurgitation, bloating and a tendency to constipation;
in the case of severe somatic diseases, which require long-term use of medications (antibiotics, antitumor chemotherapy drugs) and, accordingly, the likelihood of developing dysbacteriosis increases;
long-term lesions of the large intestine (nonspecific ulcerative colitis, chronic colitis).

Reviews of children's doctors and young mothers whose children were prescribed the drug "Lactobacterin" in some sources may contradict each other.

On the pages of women's forums, young mothers speak exclusively positively and almost enthusiastically about lactobacilli. For many children, it was the drug “Lactobacterin” that helped them quickly forget about painful colic, pain in the small tummy and the problem of regurgitation. In most cases, young parents emphasize that the effectiveness of Lactobacterin is combined with an affordable price in most pharmacies.

Some children's doctors, including the famous children's doctor Evgeniy Komarovsky, are quite skeptical about dysbiosis in general and drugs based on lactobacilli in particular. Dr. Komarovsky emphasizes the extremely insignificant information content of stool culture for dysbacteriosis and the need to clearly clarify the cause of functional disorders of the gastrointestinal tract. His books describe in detail the system of microbial flora of the digestive canal, explain in detail the term “dysbacteriosis” and the general principles for understanding the results of stool testing for dysbiosis.

Contraindications

The only and extremely rare contraindication to the use of Lactobacterin is hypersensitivity and individual intolerance.

Release form

The drug "Lactobacterin" is available in the form of dry powder (lyophilisate) or tablets. Detailed information on how to dilute the product and dose it correctly is contained in the instructions.

Dosages

The doctor should tell you how to give the drug (with what frequency and for how long). In most cases, the effective course of treatment is at least 4 weeks. The traditional frequency of taking Lactobacterin is 3 times a day, 3-5 doses, in accordance with the age of the small patient. Infants and newborns are usually given no more than 3 doses at a time.

Side effects

Currently not described, so there is no need to draw up a specific algorithm of action in case of an overdose of this probiotic.

Analogs

There are a lot of drugs that contain lactobacilli. The following are deservedly popular:

dry acylact and regular acylact;
lactonorm;
biobacton;
acidophilic dry lactobacilli;
ecofemin;
dry biomass from acidophilic lactobacilli.

It is better to choose a specific form of the drug based on lactobacilli on the advice of a doctor or, in extreme cases, a pharmacist.

How to store the product

High and low temperatures are detrimental to living microbial cultures. The product should be stored in the refrigerator at a temperature not exceeding 6°C. It is absolutely impossible and impractical to store an already diluted drug; it simply will not have its effect.

The newborn's body gradually adapts to an autonomous life outside the mother's body. The digestive system takes a particularly long, and sometimes difficult, time to rebuild. Due to the fact that the child previously received all the nutrients through the umbilical cord from the placenta, the newborn baby has no enzymes or bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract. During the first weeks after birth, microflora is formed in the digestive system, and this process is accompanied by intestinal colic and gas formation, which brings considerable concern to the baby and his parents. As they grow, any disturbances in the composition of the bacteria in the intestines cause dysbiosis, which can lead to significant problems in the health and development of the baby.

Lactobacterin for children

Lactobacterin for newborns will help speed up the process of colonizing the gastrointestinal tract with beneficial microorganisms and adjust the composition of the microflora, especially if the baby is bottle-fed or has been treated with antibiotics. The drug contains a set of bacteria necessary for the human body.

Indications for the use of Lactobacterin are as follows:

intestinal colic;
irritable bowel syndrome:
inflammatory processes in the small and large intestines;
urinary tract infections.

In addition, the drug helps prevent infectious and colds and strengthen the immune system.

How to dilute Lactobacterin for newborns?

The pharmacological industry produces Lactobacterin in the form of powders in ampoules, tablets and suppositories. Tablets can be given to children from the age of three. Suppositories are used in gynecology. Powdered Lactobacterin is used for therapy starting from the birth of a child. For newborns, dry Lactobacterin is diluted with warm boiled water at the rate of one teaspoon per ampoule (this is considered one dose of the drug).

How to give Lactobacterin to a newborn?

The dosage of Lactobacterin for newborns depends on age:

from birth to six months, 1 – 2 doses per day are given;
from six months to 1 year – 2 – 3 doses.

It is better to divide the daily dose into several doses. After completing the course of treatment with antibiotics, the baby is given ¼ of the contents of the capsule diluted in water per day. Parallel use of antibiotics and Lactobacterin is also practiced, but in this case the interval between taking the drug and antibacterial agents must be at least 2 hours so that living microorganisms are not destroyed by antibiotics. Lactobacterin is given to the baby 30 - 50 minutes before meals. The duration of therapy ranges from 3 weeks to 3 months. How long to give a child Lactobacterin is determined only by a doctor. At the same time, depending on the characteristics of the baby’s body and the severity of the disease, the specialist may change the dosage of the drug.

It should also be taken into account that some medical food products contain Lactobacterin. These are Biolact, Vitalakt and a number other products. Then the dosage of the drug is reduced.

Lactobacterin has no contraindications, but in case of birth injuries in a newborn and in case of prematurity, the drug is used with extreme caution. Sometimes, as a result of using Lactobacterin, side effects may occur: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea. There are cases of allergic manifestations due to individual intolerance to the drug. In such cases, the doctor stops the drug and prescribes an analogue that is more suitable for the baby’s body.

Dysbacteriosis (dysbiosis) occurs in many children during the period of colonization of the digestive tract with various microorganisms. At risk are premature, debilitated or infants who consume formula milk. The child becomes restless, he is bothered by abdominal pain, bowel disorders, skin rashes, etc. These symptoms indicate a violation of the natural bacterial flora of the intestines. To restore it, drugs based on beneficial bacteria are used.

Lactobacterin is a popular probiotic preparation that contains lactobacilli. The drug is used for the prevention and treatment of dysbiosis. The medication eliminates pathogenic bacteria and normalizes the functioning of the digestive tract.

Disturbance of intestinal microflora in infants

A child is born with a sterile stomach and intestines, which after birth are populated by microorganisms. The intestinal flora contains lactobacteria, bifidobacteria and opportunistic microbes. Beneficial bacteria keep harmful bacteria at bay so they don't cause harm. is a condition that is manifested by the proliferation of pathogenic microbes.

It is important to identify the disorder in time and go to the doctor.

Dysbiosis is manifested by the following symptoms:

excessive gas formation, paroxysmal abdominal pain;
pale and dry skin;
weakness;
decreased appetite;
dermatitis of allergic origin;
oral candidiasis;
stomatitis;
bowel disorders;
nausea, vomiting;
slow weight gain;
green stool with mucus.

Dysbacteriosis is often confused with other diseases, and therefore, if symptoms appear, you should consult a doctor.

Causes of intestinal microflora disorders:

maternal diseases during pregnancy;
childbirth with complications;
infectious diseases;
immaturity of the digestive tract;
congenital disorders of the immune system;
early introduction of complementary foods, transfer to artificial nutrition;
a course of antibacterial and other drugs;
frequent stress in a child.

To identify dysbacteriosis, laboratory tests of stool are performed. After making a diagnosis, the doctor determines a treatment regimen. As part of complex therapy, drugs with live bacteria are used, for example, Lactobacterin.

Lactobacterin: basic information

Lactobacterin is a probiotic that restores the balance of intestinal microflora. The drug is effective against staphylococci, enteropathogenic Escherichia coli, Proteus, etc. The medication consists of lactobacilli, which are representatives of the natural intestinal flora. Lactobacilli colonize the gastrointestinal tract, normalize its functioning and strengthen the immune system.

Dosage forms of Lactobacterin:

The tablets are prescribed to children over 3 years old, packaged in blister packs. The drug can be swallowed, chewed or dissolved.
Liquid concentrate in a bottle is used for infants. The medicine does not need to be diluted, but it has a limited duration of action (about 3 months).
Intravaginal suppositories are prescribed to adult patients.
Lyophilisate in ampoules or bottles is used for children from the first days of life. The powder is diluted with water, and the resulting suspension is given to the baby.

Lactobacilli enter the intestines, after which they are activated and multiply. They produce lactic acid, which improves digestion. When beneficial microorganisms decrease, problems arise: allergic reaction, colic, flatulence, etc. Medicines with lactic acid bacteria compensate for the deficiency of beneficial bacteria.

Lactobacilli normalize intestinal microflora and improve the functionality of the digestive system. They are effective against harmful microbes that are negatively affected by the lactic acid environment. The probiotic strengthens the body's defenses and prevents infectious intestinal diseases. Thanks to its action, stool is normalized, motor skills are improved, and food allergies are leveled.

Lactobacterin for newborns is used in the following cases:

Disturbance of intestinal microflora;
Paroxysmal abdominal pain due to excessive gas formation;
Infectious bowel diseases;
An increase in the number of pathogens in the gastrointestinal tract;
Chronic inflammatory damage to all parts of the digestive system;
Inflammation of the mucous membrane of the small and/or large intestine;
Functional immaturity of the digestive tract in infants;
Allergic reactions;
Enzyme deficiency;
Oral diseases.

The probiotic is combined with antibacterial drugs to prevent disruption of the intestinal microflora, which is disrupted by strong medications.

Application and dosage

To achieve the maximum therapeutic effect, the following rules must be observed:

Lactobacterin in powder form is more suitable for infants.
The medicine is consumed 40–60 minutes before feeding.
It is necessary to strictly observe the dosage, because the dose of medicine depends on the age of the child.

To dissolve the powder, use cooled boiled water (5 ml of water per 1 dose of medicine). Therefore, if the recommended dose is 5 doses, then all the powder from the ampoule is dissolved in 25 ml of water. If the doctor has prescribed 2 or 3 doses, then the recommended portion should be measured and mixed with water.

Before consumption, the suspension must be thoroughly stirred so that the powder is completely dissolved. Lumps dissolve within 3–5 minutes of stirring. The medicine has a pleasant aroma of kefir; it is used immediately after preparation. It is not recommended to prepare the suspension in advance, as it quickly loses its medicinal properties.

The decision on the choice of dosage is made by the pediatrician, who takes into account the nature of the disease, the general condition of the patient, the specifics of nutrition (some mixtures contain lactobacilli), age, etc.

Daily dose of the drug depending on age:

from 0 to 6 months – 1 or 2 doses;
from 7 to 12 months – 2 or 3 servings;
from 1 to 3 years – 3 or 4 doses;
from 4 years – 4 or 10 servings.

The duration of the therapeutic course depends on the symptoms. Treatment of chronic diseases of the digestive system lasts from 6 to 8 weeks. To restore the bacterial balance of the intestines, the drug is used for 3 to 4 weeks. Therapy for inflammation of the intestinal mucosa lasts about 8 weeks. To normalize the bacterial flora after infectious intestinal diseases, Lactobacterin is used for 4 to 6 weeks.

Precautionary measures

According to the instructions for use, the probiotic drug is contraindicated in the following cases:

Hypersensitivity to the main or auxiliary components;
Children under 3 years of age (tablets);
Patients under 17 years of age (vaginal suppositories).

Before using an oral suppository in newborns, it is recommended to conduct a sensitivity test. To do this, the child is given 2 drops of the drug and monitored. If there is no reaction 4 hours after administration, then the medication is taken according to the instructions.

Hypersensitivity is manifested by nausea, weakness, vomiting, and allergies. If such symptoms appear, you should stop using Lactobacterin and consult a doctor about replacing the drug.

Prevention of dysbiosis in newborns

To prevent dysbiosis in an infant, the mother must follow the following rules:

Put your baby to the breast early, so his digestive tract is populated with beneficial bacteria.
Natural feeding is the best prevention of dysbiosis.
A nursing mother should monitor her diet and exclude gas-forming foods from it.
A woman must take a responsible approach to pregnancy planning, put her health in order even before conception, and cure chronic diseases.
It is important to give up bad habits and lead a healthy lifestyle.

But if dysbiosis has already overcome the baby, then probiotics based on beneficial bacteria, for example, Lactobacterin, will come to the rescue. Parents must follow the dosage and other instructions of the pediatrician regarding the use of the drug. You should not experiment with your child’s health, because only a qualified specialist knows how to defeat dysbiosis.