A healthy newborn baby pleases with the appearance of parents, but often it happens that on 2-3 day of life the baby's skin turns yellow and doctors talk about physiological jaundice. This state of the baby is caused by the peculiarities of bilirubin metabolism. It happens that normalize the level of bilirubin in the blood serum is not obtained by frequent application to the chest, then the doctors prescribe special preparations for children including phenobarbital.
In modern pediatrics, there are long discussions about the advisability of using the drug for infants, but phenobarbital does not cease to be prescribed for jaundice, therefore in this article we will consider the features of the use and pharmacological actions of the drug.
Phenobarbital application
The drug phenobarbital has a synthetic origin and has a calming, hypnotic and anticonvulsant effect. In addition, the drug increases the detoxification activity of the liver, helping to free the body of toxic substances. The drug is used to treat:
- tetanus;
- acute seizures, including in infants;
- epilepsy (as the main drug);
- Hyperbilirubinemia or jaundice of newborns.
Phenobarbital Dosage
The drug is produced in powder, tablets and elixir. The wide range of diseases that can be treated with the drug, phenobarbital is prescribed individually by a doctor, and when treating infants, treatment with this drug in stationary conditions is supposed.
Phenobarbital for newborns with jaundice is prescribed
- children up to 6 months - a single dose of 0.005 g (daily - 0.01 g);
- from 6 months to a year - 0.01 g (daily - 0.02 g).
Further, a single dose is increased by 0.01 g for children of each year of life. The allowable daily dosage is calculated, increasing the single dose by 2 times. It will be useful for parents to know that the standard teaspoon contains 0.01 g of the preparation, the dessert spoon is 0.02 g and the dining room 0.03 g of phenobarbital.
The drug phenobarbital has some contraindications to use, including liver and kidney disease, bronchial asthma, pregnancy and child age. Despite the stated contraindications to use in childhood, the manufacturer gives a clear dosage of phenobarbital for children of different age groups, including newborns.
What is dangerous about phenobarbital?
Like any other synthetic drug, phenobarbital can cause serious side effects: allergic reactions, general weakness and drowsiness, increases the susceptibility of the organism to bacterial infections. When there are side effects, it is not advisable to abruptly discontinue the use of the drug, for this you need to consult a doctor who will draw up a detailed scheme. Most often, the removal of phenobarbital is done by lowering the dosage.
Use phenobarbital should be very carefully, carefully following the recommendations and instructions to avoid an overdose that causes serious intoxication of the body.
The use of phenobarbital for babies can adversely affect the activity of sucking and overall well-being, therefore according to statistics in Europe, this drug has not been used to treat jelly for 15 years.