Treating constipation is a delicate issue that your friends and doctors are in no hurry to tell. There are drugs that can be used without a doctor's prescription for episodic and chronic disorders of bowel movements. Duphalac, when taken orally, has a laxative effect and improves the composition of the intestinal microbiota.
Material Content:
- 1 Composition and release forms
- 2 Pharmacological properties and pharmacokinetics
- 3 What is the drug prescribed for?
- 4 How long does the remedy work?
- 5 Instructions for use Duphalac for children and adults
- 6 During pregnancy and lactation
- 7 Drug interaction
- 8 Contraindications, side effects and overdose
- 9 Analogs of Dufalac
Composition and release forms
When dissolving lactulose in water, a laxative Dufalac is obtained. The active ingredient was created as a result of the synthesis of galactose and fructose residues (milk and fruit sugar). By chemical structure it is a disaccharide. Lactulose has no natural analogues. The raw materials for the manufacture of the drug are whey processing products.
Duphalac for children in concentration of lactulose does not differ from the means for adults. You can give your child a syrup that contains plum flavor.
100 ml of syrup contains 66.7 g of lactulose. The volume of vials of Dufalac: 200, 500, 1000 ml. They also produce bags that contain 15 ml of syrup (dose for an adult and a teenager). The number of sachets in one cardboard package - 15 pcs. Produce the drug in Russia and the Netherlands.
Pharmacological properties and pharmacokinetics
The laxative effect of Dufalac is due to the properties of disaccharide molecules.Lactulose after taking the syrup helps to soften the processed food masses inside the colon. Content moves easier to the anal canal.
Lactulose, in addition to laxative, has other pharmacological properties:
- creates suitable conditions for lactobacilli and bifidobacteria in the microflora;
- suppresses pathogenic strains of salmonella and rotavirus;
- restores the natural rhythm of bowel movements;
- helps remove toxins.
The breakdown of lactulose occurs under the influence of microflora of the colon. Thanks to the work of bacteria, disaccharides and monosaccharides disintegrate, low molecular weight acids and other substances are released. The pH decreases, the osmotic pressure rises. The amount of digested food in the lumen of the colon increases, peristalsis becomes more active. The chair liquefies, the constipation goes away.
Duphalac does not reduce the absorption of vitamins, but increases the intake of important mineral components from the intestine. Lactulose protects the intestinal wall and systemic circulation from the toxic effects of ammonia.
In the stomach and small intestine of a person there are no enzymes that would decompose lactulose for its absorption, therefore, the active component of Dufalac reaches the colon without changes. A small amount of medicine is absorbed. Metabolites are mainly excreted through the kidneys.
What is the drug prescribed for?
Constipation is a violation of the act of defecation. Bowel movement occurs once every 2-3 days or less. The causes of constipation can be different: there is a violation of peristalsis, the natural mechanisms that normally regulate the change in food masses, their passage through the gastrointestinal tract do not work.
The main indications for taking syrup with lactulose are episodic or chronic constipation, rare stool, physiological disturbances in the bowel movement.
Dufalac helps timely bowel movements and eliminates abdominal discomfort. Often constipation is accompanied by pain, a feeling of tension below the waist. The drug is prescribed for hemorrhoids to soften the stool, reduce pain in the nodes. Also, Dufalac can be drunk before surgery on the colon.
Gastroenterologists recommend taking lactulose with dysbiosis and the inflammatory process in the intestine. The tool works better with an imbalance of microbiota that arose against the background of the growth of a colony of salmonella and shigella. Syrup is given to children with food poisoning, putrefactive dyspepsia.
Dufalac is used as part of the complex treatment of obstructive jaundice, cirrhosis. The effect of lactulose is useful in preventing the development of hepatic encephalopathy. Disaccharide inhibits the activity of microbes that release ammonia into the lumen of the colon during the process of vital activity.
Lactulose eliminates the penetration of this toxic gas into the bloodstream. The formation of ammonium ions, their binding and removal from the body with stool. After taking Dufalac, the concentration of ammonia in the intestine is almost halved. Putrefactive dyspepsia is less manifested.
How long does the remedy work?
The laxative effect does not occur immediately after taking Dufalac. How much lactulose acts on the colon depends on the nature of constipation, the duration of the defecation disorder, body weight and age of the person. The therapeutic effect after the start of treatment with Dufalac may appear after 2 or 3 days.
Lactulose acts differently than laxatives, causing chemical irritation of the intestinal wall and increased peristalsis. Bisacodyl, suppositories with glycerin - drugs that help with constipation most quickly. Dufalac is also a mild laxative.
Instructions for use Duphalac for children and adults
The syrup can be drunk undiluted, swallowed in one gulp so that the solution does not linger in the mouth and throat, but rather enters the intestines. Before taking the product, you can add a small amount of liquid. This option is best suited for infants and babies.
Duphalac Syrup, 200, 500, 1000 ml
Dosing for constipation and for softening the stool
| Age years | Initial doses | Maintenance doses |
|---|---|---|
| Until 3 | 5 ml | 5 ml |
| 3–6 | 5-10 ml | 5-10 ml |
| 7–14 | 10-15 ml | 10-15 ml |
| Over 14 years old | 15–45 ml | 10–25 ml |
You can drink syrup once a day or divide the daily dose indicated in the table by 2 times. Measure the desired amount of laxative using a measuring cup. Take the drug with food.
Duphalac in disposable sachets 15 ml
The dosage of the drug in sachets is no different from the use of a laxative in vials. A teenager or adult can take 1-3 sachets of Dufalac on the first day. If you need to drink the maximum amount of funds, then divide by two. In the morning, take the contents of one bag with breakfast, two more in the evening with dinner. After 2 days, you can switch to maintenance treatment (1-2 sachets / day). For students aged 7-14 it is enough to drink 15 ml / day, which corresponds to one sachet.
During pregnancy and lactation
Due to the low absorption of lactulose, the systemic effect of Dufalac is manifested to a small extent. The tool does not have a direct or indirect effect on the development of the fetus, does not penetrate into breast milk, therefore, does not affect the body of an infant. Duphalac during pregnancy, during lactation can be used without fear.
Drug interaction
The decomposition of lactulose is accompanied by an increase in the acidity of the intestinal contents. A more acidic environment affects drugs whose release is pH dependent. 5-aminosalicylic acid preparations, for example, sulfasalazine and mesalazine, may not be active. Means are used to treat inflammatory processes in the intestines, rheumatic diseases. The release of drugs occurs in the colon at certain values of acidity.
Contraindications, side effects and overdose
Duphalac is not taken with intolerance to lactulose and its components. Contraindications for treatment are deficiency of the lactase enzyme, galactosemia, gastrointestinal perforation, intestinal obstruction.
Taking Dufalac is rarely accompanied by side effects. Nausea, flatulence, allergic reactions, pains - abdominal, headaches may appear. Exceeding the dose is accompanied by diarrhea. The dangerous consequences of diarrhea are dehydration and an imbalance in electrolytes.
Analogs of Dufalac
In Russia, Lactusan syrup containing lactulose is produced. Indications for treatment are constipation, intestinal dysbiosis, and about 10 other serious health problems, including liver disease. The cost of a bottle with syrup is 145 rubles (100 g).
Complete structural analogues of Dufalac are Normase preparations (manufactured in Italy), Portalac (Croatia). The content of lactulose in syrups is the same - 667 mg / ml. If you want to determine which is better - Normase or Dufalac, then the scales may lean in favor of any of the drugs. Composition, indications and contraindications coincide almost completely.
Normase is recommended to be taken after meals. It is possible to treat constipation and dysbiosis in patients from birth. Dosages for the use of the drug for hepatic coma and encephalopathy are indicated. You should drink 30-60 ml of syrup after three main meals. The course is 3 months or longer. The price of a bottle of Normase syrup is 285 rubles (200 ml).
Dufalac and structural analogues of a laxative are used to gently cleanse the intestines. The dose is determined based on the calculation of 1 ml of syrup per 1 kg of body weight. With a weight of 60 kg, 60 ml should be taken, dividing this amount of the drug by half.
Lactulose is available in tablet form. The name of the Russian remedy is Poslabin Lactulose. Price - 125 rubles (30 tablets).
An incomplete analogue of Dufalac is the Dinolac emulsion. The combined preparation contains lactulose and antifoam simethicone. Due to the combination of drugs, Dinolak is not accompanied by bloating.
An analogue of Dufalac on the mechanism of action is Exportal.The cost of the drug is high enough for the products of domestic pharmaceutical concerns (520 rubles). Espaceal contains whey processing products. Lactitol and lactulose are changed by intestinal bacteria, metabolites have an osmotic effect. Water and other reaction products are released that soften and increase the volume of the stool.
If in doubt when choosing an analogue, it is better to turn to doctors. The doctor will choose the most effective laxative.
