Remedies for spasms in children are antispasmodic drugs (antispasmodics). Antispasmodics for children are a group of drugs that can eliminate excessive contraction of smooth muscle cells, that is, they can eliminate spasm. Spasms are quite common during early childhood. As a rule, they manifest themselves in pain, as a result of which the baby begins to cry. The severity of pain varies. Children can often be restless during the day and especially at night.
The main causes of spasms in children
The diseases and causes that can lead to this problem are quite extensive. It is worth noting that in children, spasms and pain are most often observed in the gastrointestinal tract and accompany various organic and functional diseases of the stomach and intestines. The difference between organic and functional diseases lies in the presence of structural or biochemical changes in organs and tissues. Organic diseases have them, but functional ones do not. Functional pathology is caused by changes in the regulation of these organs, which can also cause symptoms similar to organic ones. In young children, spasms are more often observed against the background of functional pathology. With age, the incidence of organic pathology increases. The most common causes of excessive contraction and abdominal pain in children are:
- Intestinal colic.
- Functional diarrhea and constipation.
- Acetonemic syndrome.
- Biliary dyskinesia, inflammation of the gallbladder.
- Gastritis, peptic ulcer.
- Diseases accompanied by malabsorption syndrome. Malabsorption is a malabsorption of substances in the small intestine.
- Inflammatory bowel diseases.
- Chronic colitis, intestinal infections, parasitic infestations.
There are also many other diseases that are accompanied by excessive contraction of muscle cells and pain. We list only the most common of them. Often spasms are accompanied by inflammatory diseases of the urinary tract (cystitis, pyelonephritis). In this case, they occur in the urinary tract. Often, during the formation of the menstrual cycle, teenage girls may experience severe cramps and pain in the lower abdomen. This problem is called dysmenorrhea. Vascular spasms often develop when the temperature rises in children, which is characterized by the appearance of “white fever”. In this article we will briefly talk about the main causes of spasms in children, as well as the diseases that lead to them. Let us explain the basic principles of use and the mechanism of action of drugs used for this pathology.
There are many other diseases that are accompanied by excessive contraction of muscle cells and pain.
Sabril (Vigabatrin)
pharmachologic effect
Antiepileptic drug. Irreversible selective inhibitor of GABA aminotransferase. Increases the concentration of GABA in synapses, thereby increasing inhibitory effects. Suppresses the increased excitability of neurons, which underlies the occurrence and spread of epileptic seizures.
Indications for the active substance VIGABATRIN
Partial seizures, West syndrome.
Dosage regimen
Orally for adults, 500 mg 2 times a day, if necessary, increase the dose to 1.5 g/day.
For children, an initial dose of 40 mg/kg/day is recommended; if necessary, the dose can be increased to 80-100 mg/kg/day.
Side effect
From the central nervous system and peripheral nervous system: anxiety, irritability, aggressiveness, psychotic disorders; rarely - headaches, nystagmus, tremor, paresthesia, impaired ability to concentrate, increased fatigue, visual field impairment; in isolated cases - an increase in the frequency of epileptic seizures, including status epilepticus.
Other: rarely - mild dyspeptic symptoms, weight gain; in isolated cases - swelling.
Contraindications for use
Pregnancy, lactation (breastfeeding), hypersensitivity to vigabatrin.
Use during pregnancy and breastfeeding
Contraindicated for use during pregnancy and lactation (breastfeeding).
Use for renal impairment
In elderly patients, especially with impaired renal function (creatinine clearance less than 60 ml/min), adjustment of the dosage regimen is required.
Use in children
Application is possible according to the dosage regimen.
Use in elderly patients
In elderly patients and especially with impaired renal function (creatinine clearance less than 60 ml/min), adjustment of the dosage regimen is required.
special instructions
Use with caution in patients with mental illness, a history of psychosis and behavioral disorders.
During treatment, careful medical monitoring is required to identify possible adverse reactions from the nervous system.
If it is necessary to discontinue treatment, it is recommended to gradually reduce the dose over 2-4 weeks. Sudden cessation of treatment may result in a recurrence of seizures.
Before starting and during treatment, periodic consultations with an ophthalmologist are required. If visual field defects are detected, the question of further use of vigabatrin is decided depending on the risk-benefit ratio of the therapy. In cases where the detection of visual field defects cannot be adequately performed (for example, in young children), the decision to treat with vigabatrin should be based on an analysis of clinical indicators that allow the risk-benefit ratio of treatment to be assessed.
In elderly patients and especially with impaired renal function (creatinine clearance less than 60 ml/min), adjustment of the dosage regimen is required.
Experimental studies have shown that vigabatrin causes reversible swelling of myelin sheaths. There is currently no evidence of the same phenomenon in humans.
Impact on the ability to drive vehicles and machinery
Use with caution in patients whose activities require high concentration and rapid psychomotor reactions.
Drug interactions
With simultaneous use, a decrease in plasma concentrations of phenytoin, phenobarbital, and primidone is possible.
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Symptoms of spasms in children
As mentioned above, the most common cause of spasms in children is pathology of the gastrointestinal tract.
Below we consider the main symptoms of gastrointestinal diseases accompanied by spasms in children:
- Intestinal colic. This pathology is characterized by sudden and severe bouts of crying in the baby. Colic appears during the neonatal period. Intestinal colic is associated with immaturity of the nervous regulation of intestinal activity and increased gas formation against the background of intestinal dysbiosis.
- Functional diarrhea and constipation. Spasms in these pathologies are not the main symptom. They can only appear periodically. The diseases are functional disorders of young children, which are accompanied by diarrhea or constipation, respectively. At the same time, an in-depth examination does not reveal any other pathology.
- Acetonemic syndrome. Often occurs in children, especially during early childhood. As a rule, the cause of its development is an error in diet. Other reasons include ARVI, harmless excitement (birthdays, etc.), stress. In this case, the pain is no longer caused by spasm, but by irritation of the mucous membrane with ketone bodies (those substances that cause acetone syndrome). Characteristic symptoms of this disease are the smell of acetone in the exhaled air, nausea, vomiting, lethargy, and drowsiness.
- Biliary dyskinesia, inflammation of the gallbladder . Dyskinesia is a functional disorder of the gallbladder and bile ducts, which may be accompanied by spasms in these organs. As a result, children experience pain, often in the right hypochondrium. In addition, children feel heaviness in the right hypochondrium, bitterness in the mouth, and yellowness of the skin and eyes appears.
- Gastritis and peptic ulcer. The causes are often Helicobacter pylori. Children experience: nausea, often vomiting, abdominal pain, heartburn, tendency to constipation, bad breath.
With gastritis, children often experience nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain.
- Malabsorption syndrome . Among the pathologies in this group, it is worth highlighting celiac disease and lactase deficiency. Celiac disease is a gluten intolerance that is accompanied by a variety of symptoms, including abdominal pain. Lactase deficiency is an intolerance to dairy products, after consuming which occurs bloating, abdominal pain and diarrhea.
- Inflammatory bowel diseases. These include Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. It is most often characterized by the appearance of blood in the stool and abdominal pain. Subsequently, symptoms intensify and other signs appear.
- Intestinal infections. Acute intestinal infections are manifested by fever, often vomiting and diarrhea, which is characterized by persistent progression. As a rule, it can develop after eating bad foods or after contact with a sick person.
In addition to pathology of the gastrointestinal tract, other diseases can lead to the development of spasms and pain. Urinary tract infections are quite common, especially in girls. This is due to the short and wide urethra, through which pathogenic bacteria can quickly penetrate. The development of cystitis is accompanied by the appearance of symptoms such as pain when urinating, pain, frequent urination, burning and pain in the urethra and bladder. Teenage girls often develop dysmenorrhea, which is characterized by pain and heaviness in the lower abdomen.
The court ordered the issuance of Sabril, unregistered in Russia, to three girls
The Ryazan district court ordered the regional Ministry of Health to issue the drug Sabril, unregistered in Russia, to three seriously ill girls, the Ryazan Memorial society reported.
“For more than a year, the girls’ mothers, together with our lawyer Petr Ivanov, sought the issuance of the drug Sabril, which is needed to reduce the frequency of epileptic seizures. Due to the fact that in order to purchase a medicine that is not registered in Russia, a complex procedure must be launched, the Ministry of Health refused to parents under various pretexts, but the court considered this position of the ministry illegal,” the statement says.
As Miloserdiy.ru was told by the Ryazan Memorial Society, one package of Sabril lasts a patient 25 days. Its cost reaches 7,000 rubles. You need to take the drug constantly.
According to the court decision, the ministry must begin purchasing the medicine immediately, since delay poses a threat to the health of children, local media reports. “For parents, such a court decision is a big victory, but the decision is important for the Ryazan region and Russia as a whole. For a long time, the Ministry of Health ignored the law and refused to recognize that these children have the right to free Sabril provision. We hope that now seriously ill people who are prescribed drugs unregistered in Russia for medical reasons will be able to receive medications in a timely manner according to the legal procedure, and not spend several months on prosecutors’ offices and courts, as in this case,” noted Petr Ivanov , who represented interests of parents in court.
Earlier, Pyotr Ivanov explained to Miloserdiyu.ru what regulations parents of seriously ill children rely on when seeking to provide them with unregistered medications. “After a law was passed at the end of 2014 that introduced articles into the Criminal Code and the Administrative Code prohibiting the import of unregistered drugs into Russia, parents for some time could not receive such drugs at all, fearing suspended sentences and huge fines. Then the Ministry of Health gave an explanation and said that you can import it for personal use. That is, parents can go abroad on their own, buy medicine and bring it back for their child. Naturally, only a few have that kind of money,” Ivanov said.
However, there is an order of the Ministry of Health dated August 9, 2005 No. 494 “On the procedure for using medicines in patients for health reasons.” “This document says that if a drug is needed for health reasons (without it there will be a serious deterioration in health or even death), then a council of doctors can prescribe it,” the lawyer explained.
“If the council prescribed such a drug, then another norm will apply here - Article 80 of the federal law “On the fundamentals of protecting the health of citizens,” he continued. – This article clearly states that drugs that are not included in the list of vital and essential drugs are not subject to payment at the expense of citizens’ personal funds if they are replaced due to individual intolerance for health reasons.
That is, if it is impossible to prescribe a drug included in the list of free drugs, and this drug is needed for health reasons, then it is provided free of charge.”
If a medicine is prescribed to a child for health reasons, even if it is not registered in Russia, it can be prescribed, and the state is obliged to provide it, summarized Pyotr Ivanov.
Only last one year!
