Acyclovir in pregnancy

Pregnancy is a special period in a woman's life, when the expectant mother is responsible not only for her own health, but also for the life and well-being of the unborn baby. Many medications taken during pregnancy can cause irreparable harm to the child, so the choice of medications should be approached very carefully. Can acyclovir be taken during pregnancy? Let's try to answer this question in detail.

[ 1 ], [ 2 ]

Is it possible to use acyclovir during pregnancy?

Acyclovir is a popular antiviral drug that has a detrimental effect on the herpes simplex virus, shingles syndrome and chickenpox. It is used mainly by dermatologists for infectious lesions of the skin and mucous membranes.

The drug can be administered into the body by injection (intravenously), orally (through the gastrointestinal tract) and externally (ointment or cream).

Most medications are most dangerous in the first trimester of pregnancy. This is due to the fact that the most important organs and systems of the baby are formed before the 8-9th week, and the action of some medications can provoke anomalies in their development. In addition, at this very time, the developing embryo does not yet know how to independently protect itself from various toxins and harmful substances, relying on the expectant mother in everything.

The use of any medications during pregnancy must be agreed upon with a doctor, in particular, this applies to acyclovir.

During lactation, the use of acyclovir is highly undesirable, since the active substance of the drug easily enters breast milk.

As for the possibility of using acyclovir during pregnancy, doctors’ opinions differ somewhat.

Is acyclovir harmful during pregnancy?

Most doctors resort to the use of acyclovir during pregnancy only in extreme cases, when the mother's viral disease can harm both her and the future baby. Experimental scientific studies on animals have determined that the drug has the ability to penetrate the placenta into the blood of the embryo, but its effect on the fetus, according to the results of recent studies, does not pose a danger.

Many experts tend to believe that the harm caused to a child by a viral infection is many times more dangerous than the effect of a drug on the fetus, and there is some truth to this.

Viral diseases have a rather unfavorable effect on the course and outcome of pregnancy and labor, can provoke premature termination of pregnancy, fetal death, and lead to various pathologies and developmental anomalies of the child.

During pregnancy, special attention should be paid to the treatment of genital herpes: the consequences of this viral disease are extremely negative for the child, so the disease must be treated without waiting for the child to be born.

Acyclovir instructions during pregnancy

Acyclovir is a synthetic drug that has broad antiviral activity and stimulates the body's defenses to fight infection. It is quite effective against all types of herpes.

During pregnancy, the most common use of acyclovir is in the form of a cream: it is applied to the skin and mucous membranes depending on the location of the infectious focus: on the lips, genitals and other affected areas. The cream is recommended to be applied every 3-4 hours for a week continuously.

You should consult your doctor regarding the use of acyclovir cream in the first trimester of pregnancy.

Intravenous use of acyclovir during pregnancy is not practiced.

Tablet forms of the drug can be used in the third trimester of pregnancy according to indications with mandatory consultation with your gynecologist and in the absence of an allergic reaction to this antiviral drug.

Acyclovir tablets are prescribed for viral lesions of the skin and mucous membranes in a dosage of 0.2-0.4 g five times a day. The duration of treatment is usually 5-7 days.

Acyclovir eye ointment is used for corneal herpes; the ointment is placed under the conjunctiva every four hours.

Acyclovir is fairly well tolerated by pregnant women, but some side effects may sometimes occur:

• Oral administration of the drug may be accompanied by digestive disorders, pain in the epigastric region, dizziness, increased fatigue, insomnia, deterioration in the functioning of the liver and urinary system, erythrocytopenia and leukopenia;
• external use of ointments or creams can provoke superficial tissue irritation, signs of an inflammatory reaction (hyperemia, swelling of the skin), and dry skin;
• Any form of acyclovir administration may cause an allergic reaction in patients with hypersensitivity to certain medications.

Despite the seriousness of the reported side effects, they are rare, and the drug acyclovir is recognized as a fairly safe antiviral agent.

Due to recent research, acyclovir is no longer a contraindication during pregnancy, but the prescription of the drug should be reasoned and it should be taken under the supervision of a physician.

[ 3 ], [ 4 ]

Acyclovir ointment during pregnancy

The development of herpetic keratitis during pregnancy is a sufficient indication for the prescription of acyclovir eye ointment, which accelerates the healing of the affected cornea and reduces the possibility of complications and dissemination of the herpes virus in the body.

Acyclovir ointment penetrates the epithelial tissue of the cornea without any particular difficulty and determines the medicinal concentration of the drug in the ocular cerebrospinal fluid.

At the same time, the concentration of acyclovir in the blood remains negligible, so the negative impact on the fetus is minimal.

Local application of the eye ointment involves applying it to the cavity of the lower conjunctival sac at equal intervals (every 4 hours). The preparation is applied in a layer no more than 1 centimeter long.

In case of significant decrease in the body's immune forces (protracted chronic diseases, autoimmune pathologies, critical nutritional disorders), the use of eye ointment can be supplemented by oral administration of acyclovir. Such a decision should be made by a doctor based on the results of laboratory tests.

[ 5 ], [ 6 ], [ 7 ]

Acyclovir cream during pregnancy

Acyclovir cream is used to lubricate herpetically damaged skin and mucous membranes. The drug does not have a toxic effect on the body of a pregnant woman, and such a small amount of it is determined in the blood that it is hardly worthwhile to claim that Acyclovir cream is significantly harmful to the future baby. Much greater harm to the fetus can be caused by untreated herpes, especially genital and total localization.

The cream is usually applied to the area of skin or mucous membrane damaged by herpes, repeating the application every four hours. In case of large and extensive lesions, it is better to use the ointment with gloves.

The earlier the treatment with antiviral cream is started, the more favorable the prognosis of the disease. Treatment should be carried out until the inflamed blisters completely disappear: completed treatment will protect against the appearance of rapid relapses of herpes.

Acyclovir is available as a 3% cream for treating mucous membranes, and a 5% cream for treating herpes of the skin.

[ 8 ], [ 9 ], [ 10 ]

Acyclovir tablets during pregnancy

The drug acyclovir in tablets is available in dosages of 200 mg, 400 mg or 800 mg.

The dosage of the drug is determined by the doctor, as well as the duration of treatment and the form of the drug taken.

The effects of acyclovir tablets on the course and outcome of pregnancy have been tested in several studies.

During the first testing, more than a thousand pregnant women were monitored, 700 of whom used acyclovir in the first half of pregnancy.

Based on the results of this study, acyclovir was found to be a safe antiviral drug that does not affect the risk of any developmental abnormalities in newborn children.

2010 was marked by another study of acyclovir in Denmark, which examined the histories of pregnancy and childbirth in 800 thousand mothers, of whom about 2 thousand used acyclovir tablets in the first half of pregnancy. During this experiment, it was found that women who took the antiviral drug had a lower percentage of developmental abnormalities in children than those who did not take acyclovir.

The results of the latest studies have finally proven the effectiveness and safety of acyclovir in both ointment and tablet form.

Acyclovir-acri during pregnancy

Acyclovir-acri is a type of the drug acyclovir, which we are familiar with, produced by the Russian pharmaceutical company Akrikhin, founded in 1936. It is a highly selective active antiviral ointment, consisting of five grams of the active substance acyclovir, as well as additional substances: propylene glycol, vaseline oil, wax, polyethylene oxide.

The drug is used externally only, lubricating with a thin layer the areas of the skin with visible manifestations of herpes, simultaneously capturing a little healthy skin to prevent the spread of infection. For rapid healing of lesions, acyclovir-acri is recommended to be taken at the first barely noticeable symptoms of the disease, without waiting for the appearance of blisters on the skin.

If the healing of herpes is delayed, dry skin, redness, and burning appear, you should consult a doctor: sometimes the use of ointment can provoke the appearance of allergic drug dermatitis.

Acyclovir hexal during pregnancy

The drug acyclovir hexal is an antiviral soft cream, which is produced by the German pharmaceutical company Hexal AG. The cream contains 50 mg of active acyclovir, with the addition of arlaton, dimethicone, cetyl alcohol, vaseline, paraffin, propylene glycol and water.

Acyclovir hexal inhibits the activity of viral cells of herpes simplex, Varicella, Epstein-Barr, cytomegaloviruses. Usually the drug is prescribed for primary herpes infection during pregnancy. If the pregnant woman has previously suffered from the same type of infection, the appropriateness of prescribing acyclovir hexal is determined by the attending physician.

The drug is sufficiently absorbed by the affected skin and is excreted through the kidneys, so the drug is prescribed with caution to patients with severe problems of the urinary system.

When treating genital herpes with acyclovir hexal during the therapeutic period, one should abstain from sexual intercourse, even in cases of absence of clinical symptoms.

The method of administration and dosage of acyclovir hexal do not differ from the use of similar drugs from other companies.

[ 11 ], [ 12 ]

Acyclovir when planning pregnancy

The stage of pregnancy planning is a very important period in the life of a married couple. It is worth mentioning how important the physical and psychological health of future parents is for successful conception and full development of the fetus. It is necessary to properly prepare the body of both the mother and the father of the child for the period of conception.

When preparing for pregnancy, it is important to give up all bad habits, eat right, avoid all kinds of low-calorie diets during the planning period, and lead a healthy lifestyle.

It is equally important to treat all chronic and acute diseases in the body before planning. As for the herpes infection, unfortunately, it is not possible to get rid of it completely: if you once "caught" the herpes virus, you will remain its carrier for life. That is why it is recommended to undergo a preventive course of treatment for a viral infection before the planned pregnancy, so that at the time of pregnancy, when the body's immune forces are weakened, the chances of a herpes exacerbation are reduced.

When planning conception in patients with frequent recurring manifestations of herpes, it is recommended to use acyclovir for prophylactic purposes, accompanying treatment with the intake of immunostimulants and vitamin complexes.

[ 13 ], [ 14 ]

Acyclovir in early pregnancy

The appearance of herpes in pregnant women in the early stages is a fairly common phenomenon, because the woman's immunity is significantly reduced along with significant hormonal changes in the body. Herpetic rashes in a pregnant woman are especially dangerous if they appear for the first time in life, and this happens precisely during pregnancy. In this situation, the viral infection can penetrate directly into the embryo, causing various pathologies in the future baby, as well as seriously affecting the process of bearing itself. Therefore, acyclovir in the early stages of pregnancy can be irreplaceable, and its use is justified.

Since taking acyclovir ointment and cream can be considered safer during pregnancy than tablets or injections, the use of external applications of the drug is recommended in the first trimester. The use of tablet forms of acyclovir can be prescribed after consultation with a doctor: changing the standard dosage and duration of taking the drug is carried out according to indications.

Reviews of acyclovir during pregnancy

Among the numerous reviews of taking acyclovir during pregnancy, the majority of women welcomed the use of the drug during this period. Many pregnant women believe that the harm of viral pathology to the embryo is more dangerous than the use of an antiviral drug, especially in the form of a cream. Numerous cases of using acyclovir in tablet form have been described, which did not have negative consequences for the course of pregnancy and normal intrauterine development of the fetus. In isolated cases, women noted problems with bearing and their own well-being, but later, as a rule, it turned out that these conditions were caused by some other reasons, but not by taking acyclovir.

A significant number of pregnant women are afraid of taking any medications at all during the period of gestation, including acyclovir. However, as practice shows, the use of antiviral antiherpetic drugs can often be justified and appropriate for the prevention of dangerous consequences of herpes infection.

If it so happens that you are a carrier of a herpes infection, you should not neglect the disease, but you should not be afraid of it either. Yes, the fight against the herpes virus is unpleasant and can continue throughout life, but the right approach to treatment, regular preventive courses of immunity stimulation, therapeutic procedures carried out at the slightest signs of the disease are a guarantee that herpes will manifest itself in your body less and less often.

Pregnancy is a responsible condition for every woman. After weighing all the pros and cons, choose the option that is safest for you and your future child. Remember, you can take acyclovir during pregnancy, but you should definitely consult a good doctor.