Lavacol and Fortrans have minor differences and any of these medications, after consulting a doctor, can be taken to cleanse the intestines in adults before colonoscopy. Children over 15 years old are allowed to use Fortrans only.
Colonoscopy is a method of examining the intestine using an endoscope that is inserted through the anus. An image of the internal organs is presented on the screen, and the doctor can examine the condition of the epithelium of the digestive tract, identify the presence of a pathological process, for example, hemorrhoids, benign and malignant tumors.
Colonoscopy requires prior preparation. Three days before the study, you need to abandon foods rich in fiber, as well as causing increased gas formation. In addition, the intestines need to be cleaned with the help of special medicines, such as Lavacol and Fortrans. Given the large price difference, for many patients the question is which laxative is better.
Lavacol
Lavacol is available in powder form, to which water is added, so that a solution for oral administration is obtained. As the main component, the medication contains a macrogol.
The powder itself is white, a yellowish or grayish tint is allowed, and the finished solution may be colorless or slightly colored, with weak opalescence.
The composition of the medication includes the following inactive ingredients:
- E514.
- E500.
- E508.
- Sodium chloride.
Lavacol refers to osmotic laxatives. Macrogol is by its nature a long linear polymer; it has hydrogen bonds that hold water molecules. Due to the use of a laxative, the osmotic pressure rises and the amount of fluid in the intestine and the volume of the chyme increase, which leads to increased peristalsis. The drug normalizes the evacuation reflex, while not changing the pH in the digestive tract and prevents the loss of salts with feces.
Macrogol interferes with the adsorption of water from the digestive tract and helps to cleanse the intestines due to increased bowel movements. The electrolytes included in the composition prevent the violation of the water-salt balance.
When taken orally, the medication is not absorbed and excreted in its original form.
Fortrans
The drug is available in white powder for the preparation of a solution for oral administration.
As the main component, the medicine contains macrogol. In addition to it, the following indifferent substances are part of the laxative:
- Sodium chloride.
- E508.
- E550.
- E954.
- Sodium sulfate anhydrous.
Fortrans, a laxative medication, which is part of macrogol, is a linear polymer that retains water due to its hydrogen bonds. This leads to an increase in osmotic pressure and an increase in the volume of intestinal contents.
Salts that are part of the medication prevent the violation of water-electrolyte balance in the body.
The laxative in the digestive tract is not absorbed, it is not metabolized.
What are the similar means
Lavacol and Fortrans have the following similarities:
- Medications are used to prepare the colon for endoscopic and radiological examination. They are recommended to drink before surgery, in which the colon should be clean.
- Drugs can cause abdominal pain, nausea, indigestion, vomiting, strong urge to cleanse the intestines, fecal incontinence, feelings of stretching of the anterior abdominal wall, bloating, irritation of the area near the anus. Due to the use of medications, it is possible to develop allergies, including urticaria, itching, rashes, angioedema, anaphylaxis, swelling of the face and lungs.
- It is forbidden to drink laxatives with hypersensitivity to their composition, dehydration, chronic heart failure, gastric ulcer, bowel obstruction, violation of the integrity of the intestinal wall or predisposition to this, colitis, problems with gastric emptying, for example, due to gastroparesis. With caution, they should be taken with dysphagia, reflux esophagitis, renal and musculoskeletal dysfunction, risk of aspiration and water-salt balance disturbance, neurological disorders, in old age.
- While taking both drugs, care must be taken by motorists and people who work with potentially dangerous mechanisms.
- Both laxatives can cause malabsorption of medicines that are taken with them at the same time. Therefore, when you need to drink other medicines while taking Lavacol or Fortrans, you need to take laxatives 2 hours after taking them.
- Laxative medications are allowed for patients in position and supporting breastfeeding.
Comparison and differences
Lavacol and Fortrans have the following differences:
| Lavacol | Fortrans | |
| Price | The cost of the medication is about 200 rubles. | The price of the drug is about 500 rubles. |
| Producing country | Russia. | France. |
| Pediatric Use | Contraindicated in persons under 18 years of age. | Fortrans can be drunk from 15 years. |
| Terms of sale | Over the counter. | On prescription. |
| Storage rules | You can store at temperatures up to 25 degrees. | The medication does not lose its therapeutic effect at an air temperature of up to 30 degrees. |
| Overdose | If the recommended dosages are exceeded, indigestion and disturbance of the water-salt balance may develop. In case of an overdose, the laxative is canceled and within 48 hours everything is normalized independently. | To date, there have been no cases of overdose of a laxative. |
| Indications for use | For the treatment of constipation in adults. | |
| Release form | Powders of 14 g, in a package of 15 pieces. | Powders of 64 g, in a package of 4 pieces. |
