Cycloferon and Remantadine are used to treat viral infectious diseases. Each drug is used in the treatment of those infections that it copes more effectively. The virus is not a complete organism. To multiply, he needs a cell of the human body. Penetrating inside and infecting it, the virus forces its offspring to be produced, which infects other healthy cells.
The mechanism of exposure to viruses by cycloferon is that getting into the body of a sick person:
It pushes a person’s own immunity to the additional production of interferons, cell protectors. A peculiar barrier is created near healthy cells, through which the virus cannot penetrate. There will not be an overabundance of them, since there is a regulatory mechanism.
At the same time, the drug penetrates into infected cells, blocking and inhibiting the reproduction of viral particles. The result of such actions is getting rid of the cell from viral “slavery.” Defective virus particles, which have become safe due to exposure to the drug, are removed from it. The body utilizes them.
The effect on the viral infection of Remantadine is effective only in the early stages of the disease. Since rimantadine blocks the virus in vacuoles (the shells surrounding the virus particles), it does not allow it to connect to the cytoplasm of the cell. It inhibits the exit from the cell with the penetrated virus, interrupts the transcription of the viral genome. By the common efforts of immunity and medicine, the virus is destroyed.
If the virus managed to start intensive reproduction, more than 24-48 hours have passed since the disease, then the initial treatment with this antiviral agent is useless.
Since rimantadine, due to its structural structure, can circulate for a long time in the body, increasing the activity of lymphocytes, provoking the synthesis of its own interferons, it can be used for administration for prevention.
Diseases caused by viruses require treatment with special antiviral agents. Such medicines are cycloferon and remantadine. In Russia, cycloferon is a vital medicine. In 2007, the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences assigned Remantadine to obsolete drugs, but it is used in the Russian Federation.
Release forms, composition of cycloferon
Cycloferon is produced in Russia, has antiviral, immunomodulatory, anti-inflammatory activity. Being a low molecular weight inducer of interferon, in the early stages inhibits the reproduction of the virus, enhances the protective properties of the sick person’s organism against viral, bacterial and fungal infections.
The active substance of this drug is methylglucamine acridone acetate – acridonoacetic acid. The drug is available in tablet form. One yellow coated tablet contains 150 mg of active ingredient and auxiliary excipients.
Cycloferon is available in the form of a solution in ampoules for intramuscular and intravenous injection. The concentration of acridonoacetic acid in a yellow solution of one ampoule is 125 mg / ml; excipient is water for injection. Also, a liniment with a 5% content of acridonoacetic acid, in 30 ml tubes, for external use was released.
The shelf life of the drugs is: tablet form – 2 years. ampoules – 5 years. liniment – 2 years. The price range, on average, from 300 to 400 rubles for 20 tablets, for 5 ampoules, for 30 ml of liniment.
Remantadine
The antiviral drug Remantadin is produced in Russia and Latvia. It is effective in the treatment of influenza type A in the early stage, herpes viruses type I and II, tick-borne encephalitis viruses. Used for preventive purposes. It has an immunomodulatory effect. When used with type B flu, it has an antitoxic effect.
The active ingredient of Remantadine is rimantadine hydrochloride.
Russian medicines are produced in the form of white tablets with a concentration of rimantadine 50 mg. Latvian preparations are presented in the form of capsules and tablets with an active substance concentration of 100 mg, 50 mg, respectively. Excipients play a formative role. In other forms, remantadine is not produced.
The shelf life of the drug is 5 years. The price for 20 tablets of the Russian manufacturer is 50-100 rubles. The same Latvian medicine costs from 150 to 300 rubles per 10 capsules or 20 tablets.
Antiviral Comparison
What are the same cycloferon and remantadine:
- Common diseases that treat both antiviral drugs are: early type A flu, acute respiratory viral infections, herpes infection, tick-borne encephalitis. These medicines are also used to prevent disease.
- Contraindications for which both drugs cannot be used are: individual intolerance to the components of the drugs, pregnancy and lactation, cirrhosis or acute liver diseases. Use with caution in diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. With thyrotoxicosis, prescribe drugs under the supervision of an endocrinologist.
- It is possible to use both drugs together, at the same time, in the treatment of severe viral infections.
Cycloferon has its own additional list of viral, bacterial, fungal infections, the treatment of which takes place with the mandatory use of the drug in complex therapy or monotherapy:
- HIV diseases in adults, children in stages 2A-2B.
- Viral hepatitis A, B, C, D in adults, children.
- Cytomegalovirus infections.
- Neuroinfections, such as serous meningitis.
- Chlamydial infections.
- Rheumatic and systemic disorders, these include systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis.
- Diseases of the joints of a degenerative-dystrophic nature.
Antiviral agents differ in the form of release. Cycloferon, in addition to tablets, is represented by ampoules with a solution for injection and liniment. The doctor has the opportunity to make a replacement if the patient’s body does not accept one of the forms. Remantadine is available only in pill form.
The difference in age restriction in Cycloferon is children from 4 years old. Remantadine can be treated in children from 7 years.
Cycloferon has no additional contraindications, side effects, except for those indicated in the general list. When treated with a drug, driving is allowed.
Admission of Remantadine is contraindicated in acute kidney diseases, can provoke an increase in bilirubin in the blood, worsen the concentration of attention. Therefore, driving is prohibited.
Patients with arterial hypertension, epilepsy, cerebral arteriosclerosis at risk. When using an antiviral drug, negative consequences are possible.
The simultaneous administration of Remantadine with adsorbents, paracetamol, astringents and enveloping agents, aspirin, reduce its absorption by the body. This interaction makes the use of this tool useless.
Antiviral medication
Antiviral drugs are taken according to the schemes prescribed by the doctor. Only a specialist will take into account all the individual characteristics of the patient: concomitant diseases, age, contraindications, drug interaction with other prescribed drugs, the severity of the viral infection.
Instructions for use of antiviral drugs give general dosage regimens. So, Remantadine should be taken after a meal with water.
Scheme:
- The first day of taking the medicine is 300 mg. Can be taken at one time or divided by 3.
- The next three days – 100 mg in the morning and evening.
- The fourth and fifth day – 100 mg once.
For children, the dosage and regimens are prescribed by the doctor depending on age.
When using a drug for the prevention of type A influenza, 1 tablet is prescribed once a day for 30 days. For children from 7 years, it is enough to take 15 tablets 1 tablet once a day. With a tick bite, taking 2 tablets in the morning and evening for 3 days will help.
Cycloferon is taken orally once a day half an hour before meals.
Standard circuit:
- Adults, children from 12 years old – 3-4 tablets at a time.
- Children from 7 to 12 years old – 2-3 tablets at a time.
- Children from 4 to 7 years – 1 tablet once.
The course of treatment is not more than 10 days. It all depends on the type and severity of the viral infectious disease. The doctor may prescribe a different dosage of the medicine and take it not every day. He will select the most effective treatment regimen for cycloferon.
Injections of the drug according to the basic scheme are done once a day every other day, but with a specific disease only another scheme can be effective. Therefore, only a medical specialist can prescribe the correct dosages and treatment regimens.
The use of liniment is carried out 1-2 times a day in the form of instillations, applicators, tampons or applying it to the affected areas of the skin, mucous membranes. Course duration up to a crescent. Repeated use is possible after a two-week break.
What to choose for treatment
In summary, it should be noted that cycloferon is preferable for the treatment of viral infections. It has no side effects, the list of contraindications is standard, less than that of Remantadine, does not enter into interaction with other drugs taken. Age restrictions from 4 years old, versus 7 years for the opponent. The use of the drug for treatment in the most safe form (replacement of tablets with injections for gastrointestinal problems).
It will be more reliable to trust the choice of a medicine by a doctor, since he will be able to correctly assess the type and severity of a viral infection, the individual characteristics of the patient, concomitant diseases, and contraindications. An improperly selected drug, at best, can be useless, at worst, it will harm the patient.
