Is it possible for pregnant women to have activated carbon?

In pregnancy, pathological processes may occur, requiring the appointment of activated charcoal. These are any diseases in which intestines start fermentation or decay (intestinal infections of any etiology, indigestion), intoxication, poisoning with chemicals (for the absorption of toxic agents), allergic diseases. Activated charcoal during pregnancy is also prescribed to prepare a woman for ultrasound examination when bloating.

Activated carbon - action and instruction

Activated charcoal is produced from ordinary and charcoal or peat after heat treatment. Activated carbon has a huge number of pores, thereby increasing its area, on which toxic substances can be adsorbed. One gram of coal can have a suction surface area of ​​500 to 1500 square meters, which makes it an invaluable tool in medicine. It is used to absorb toxic substances in the intestine, when a small mass of the substance can be distributed over a huge area and bind a large number of toxins.

Activated charcoal in pregnancy - dosage

The dose of activated carbon is from 100 to 200 mg for acute poisoning per day. Coal works like an enterosorbent, binding intestinal toxins, but it is not digested at the same time, and a corresponding dosage is needed to bind a large number of toxins. If necessary, the coal can be ground or dissolved, thereby increasing the suction area. When acute poisoning occurs during pregnancy, activated charcoal is prescribed ground and dissolved after washing the stomach and intestines, since the fetal health depends on the rate of binding and excretion of toxins, and the drug itself does not act on it. The course of treatment with coal is from 3 to 14 days.

Activated charcoal - contraindications in pregnancy

Contraindications to the use of coal - increased sensitivity to the drug. It is forbidden to take the drug for ulcerative lesions of the stomach and intestines, bleeding from the gastrointestinal tract, intestinal atony. It is not recommended to take the drug along with other medicinal substances that are bound with coal and do not act because of it. Although in pregnancy, and can be assigned to activated charcoal, but often women take it themselves and uncontrollably, which can lead to hypovitaminosis and constipation .

Side Effects of Activated Carbon

The change in color of feces is the most frequent and safe effect - coal simply blackens them. But other side effects, such as constipation or diarrhea, a violation of absorption of vitamins useful for the body, trace elements, especially calcium, can negatively affect not only the health of the mother, but also the future child. Therefore, the appointment of activated charcoal during pregnancy can only be a doctor, and its use should be strictly dosed.

Activated carbon: reception without control

Pregnant women often decide for themselves what they can and can not do. And in such a seemingly harmless drug, like coal, they do not see danger. And for some women the reception of coal in general becomes a harmful habit: when pregnancy is worse, the intestine works, nausea often occurs, and coal seems to alleviate these symptoms. But to take any chemical substance, even if it is not absorbed in the intestines and seems useful, it is impossible: coal itself disrupts the process of digestion, removes from the body not only harmful but also useful substances. And without an appropriate examination, you can not take into account contraindications for prescribing the drug and cause irreparable harm to a woman's health.