Children with diarrhea should be cautious when using 5 types of drugs

Diarrhea is prevalent in summer, especially among children. It is often caused by excessive consumption of cold drinks and lack of hygiene. Some parents may give their children some antidiarrheal drugs casually. But for children, the following 5 types of antidiarrheal drugs should be used with caution:

Norfloxacin

It has good therapeutic effects on gastroenteritis and bacillary dysentery caused by pathogenic and toxigenic Escherichia coli, Salmonella, etc., is widely used in clinical practice, and is well known to people. However, because this drug and its similar drugs (quinolones) may cause bone lesions, they are not suitable for children under 12 years old.

Imodium (loperamide)

Suitable for acute and chronic diarrhea caused by various causes. However, its effects are strong and its use in young children can easily cause adverse drug reactions, such as affecting the central nervous system. In addition, there have been reports of deaths in newborns due to drug use. Therefore, its use in young children is restricted both at home and abroad. For example, the instructions for use of Imodium in my country stipulate that it is prohibited for use in children under 5 years old.

Compound diphenoxylate (compound diphenoxylate)

Suitable for the treatment of acute and chronic functional diarrhea and chronic enteritis. Each tablet of this drug contains 2.5 mg of diphenoxylate hydrochloride and 0.025 mg of atropine sulfate. The effect of diphenoxylate on the intestine is similar to that of morphine. It can directly act on the intestinal smooth muscle and has a very strong effect. Due to continuous reports of poisoning and even death of children caused by the use of this drug both at home and abroad (the death cases are concentrated in infants under two years old), and because there is no unified standard for the dosage of this drug for children, it is forbidden to use it in infants under two years old, and should be used with caution in children over two years old (strictly control the dosage).

tetracycline

It has a broad-spectrum antibacterial effect and is effective in treating infectious diarrhea. However, the use of tetracycline and similar drugs such as oxytetracycline, doxycycline (doxycycline), minocycline (minocycline) in children under 8 years old may cause permanent tooth infection, enamel hypoplasia and bone growth inhibition. Therefore, children under 8 years old should avoid the use of such drugs.

Medicinal charcoal

It can absorb a variety of toxic and non-toxic irritants that cause diarrhea and abdominal discomfort, reduce irritation to the intestinal wall, reduce peristalsis, and thus play an antidiarrheal effect. However, due to its strong and non-selective adsorption, the drug affects the growth activity of digestive enzymes such as pepsin and pancreatic enzymes. Long-term use can cause malnutrition in children. Therefore, long-term use is prohibited for children under 3 years old with diarrhea or abdominal distension.