Furacilin for eye wash: how to dissolve and dilute tablets

Inflammatory eye diseases are a problem that many people face in early childhood. And no matter what the nature of these diseases is, they are almost always accompanied by lacrimation and purulent discharge from the eye. Therapy for these pathologies can be carried out using antibacterial or antiviral drops and ointments that are applied to the affected eye. However, before using these drugs, doctors recommend carrying out a certain preparatory procedure - washing the eyes with Furacilin, a weak solution of manganese, black tea or other antiseptic solutions that cleanse the eyes of pathogenic microorganisms. Moreover, Furacilin is used for washing the eyes more often than other solutions with a similar effect, especially when it comes to conjunctivitis.

Ophthalmologists have a particular weakness for Furacilin, and for good reason. Firstly, it is a pharmacy drug, not a dubious folk remedy. Secondly, Furacilin has high antimicrobial effectiveness, which complements the action of other drugs and reduces the risk of infection penetrating the eye. Thirdly, Furacilin tablets for washing eyes are easier to dilute in water than potassium permanganate, which even with a slight overdose can cause overdrying or even a burn of the mucous membrane of the eye.

What is furacilin?

"Furacilin" belongs to the category of pharmaceutical drugs that are widely used in the therapy of adults and children. Usually, this external remedy is used in cases where an inflammatory process is expected or already exists in some part of the body. The use of the drug helps to reduce the symptoms of inflammation and stop its progression.

The main active ingredient of the drug is nitrofural. It is to it that the medicine owes its effective antimicrobial action, slightly inferior to antibiotics.

The spectrum of action of the antiseptic called "Furacilin" is not limited to the ubiquitous staphylococci. It is also effective against streptococci, E. coli, salmonella, bacilli, and pathogens of dysentery and gangrene. Resistance to it is developed in microorganisms quite rarely.

Let's see what benefits the eyes get from using the Furacilin solution:

• reduces symptoms of inflammation and relieves swelling of the conjunctiva and eyelids,
• helps remove small particles of foreign bodies from the mucous membrane of the eye, as well as from under the eyelids, and prevent eye infection,
• has a disinfecting effect and prepares the eye for the main treatment procedures,
• accelerates the restoration of eye tissue after the inflammatory process has been stopped.

Furacilin tablets and powder have a rich yellow color, which is subsequently transferred to the solution, which is practically odorless and has a mild taste. The latter, however, is not so important, because the medicine is intended not for internal, but for external use.

The drug "Furacilin", which can most often be found in pharmacies in the form of tablets, actually has several different forms of release: capsules, ointment, spray, solutions. Solutions can be of 2 types: alcohol and water. Alcohol solution is not used in ophthalmology even in diluted form, since it can cause a burn of the mucous membrane of the eye. But the aqueous solution of the drug is considered not only safe, but is even recommended for washing the eyes of children.

By the way, the Furacilin solution on water, which has found wide application in ophthalmology, is prepared directly in pharmacies. Unfortunately, not all pharmacies can provide such a service, therefore, for washing eyes, Furacilin tablets or capsules are most often used, which are dissolved in ordinary boiled water.

Indications for the procedure

Every morning we wash our face with water, cleaning our eyes from the secretion they produce. We are accustomed to such an important hygienic procedure since childhood, so we do not even think about its benefits and purpose. But it not only helps to improve visual acuity, which noticeably “limps” after waking up, but also prevents the development of stagnant processes in the eyes, which create the ground for the proliferation of pathogenic bacteria.

But as a preventative measure, plain water is considered quite effective, but for therapeutic purposes, doctors advise using antiseptic solutions instead, which prevent bacteria and viruses from multiplying and the disease from progressing.

Furacilin solution as an antiseptic for washing eyes is prescribed for such inflammatory diseases as blepharitis, including its popular variety called "barley", conjunctivitis, keratitis, etc. Furacilin has become especially popular for washing eyes with conjunctivitis, because this is a rather severe and dangerous disease, the lack of proper treatment of which can lead to the inflammatory process spreading to other tissues of the head, and in particular the brain.

Most often, eye rinsing with Furacilin is practiced for bacterial and viral conjunctivitis before instilling antibacterial or antiviral solutions into the eyes. The same is done before applying ointment. In case of allergic conjunctivitis with lacrimation and decreased immunity, eye rinsing with Furacilin can prevent the addition of a bacterial infection that complicates the course of the disease.

This is a completely safe medicine used to treat the eyes of children and newborns. Such a harmless antiseptic solution can be used for medical and hygienic procedures for dicryocystitis in newborns, because it will not allow pus to form in the area of the baby's lacrimal sac, which, due to anatomical features, did not open in time. Conjunctivitis and blepharitis are also not rare diseases in childhood, which means that Furacilin can also act as one of the components of the treatment regimen in this case.

Indications for the procedure of washing the eyes with a Furacilin solution also include situations when a foreign body gets into the eye. It would seem that it can be removed with ordinary water, but sand, small particles of various materials, midges, i.e. everything that can get into the eye, are themselves a source of bacterial infection, which, if not deactivated, can subsequently cause the development of an inflammatory process.

Preparation

Since we are talking about the eyes now, any procedure or intervention in their work requires, first of all, sterility and caution. It is clear that fulfilling these requirements is the key to a successful eye washing procedure.

It is not worth reminding once again that not only hands, but also any materials and instruments used to perform the procedure must be clean and, if possible, disinfected. If it is enough to wash your hands with soap and water, then the instruments already require boiling.

Since there are different ways to wash your eyes with Furacilin, you should first decide on this issue. Usually, cotton pads or a pipette are used to wash your eyes. But doctors may also recommend purchasing a rubber bulb or a special bath, which is always available in pharmacies.

It is recommended to boil the pipette and rubber bulb after each use. It is enough to clean the tray with soap and water or a fresh solution of "Furacilin". It is enough to take clean disks, a separate one for each eye, changing them as often as possible during the procedure. The dishes intended for preparing the antiseptic solution should also be clean, otherwise all its properties will go to disinfecting the container.

Technique of furacilin for eye wash

"Furacilin" for washing eyes can be used in the form of tablets and capsules, or you can buy a ready-made aqueous solution, which, as we said, is not always available in pharmacies. The lack of a solution in pharmacies should not be perceived as a reason for despair, because an inexpensive drug in the form of tablets has never been in short supply, but it is quite suitable for preparing a medicinal composition on a water basis.

How to prepare Furacilin for eye washing? If the procedure for cleaning the eyes with an antiseptic is prescribed for a baby, then preference should be given to a ready-made pharmacy solution, the basis of which is water for injection. Such a solution is sterile and definitely does not contain foreign impurities that can cause an allergic reaction in the baby or harm his health.

For an adult, a homemade solution based on boiled water, in which powder from opened capsules or pre-crushed tablets is dissolved, is quite suitable. In principle, the tablets do not need to be crushed, because they dissolve quite well in hot water. However, the solution will have to be cooled to a slightly warm state afterwards.

How to dilute Furacilin for eye washing? This question is quite logical, because even a person not versed in medical matters understands that a medicinal solution cannot be prepared by eye. In order for the solution to have all the qualities attributed to it, it is necessary to observe the standard proportions of Furacilin and water, which are used both for eye washing and for treating wounds or burns.

According to the instructions for the drug, you need to take 2 tablets (or use powder from 2 capsules) per 200-gram glass of boiled water. The solution should be used only after the tablets or powder have completely dissolved. They dissolve most actively at a temperature of about 90-100 degrees.

If we see that the solution has become more or less homogeneous, we cool it and filter it through a sterile bandage folded in half.

Once the solution and equipment have been prepared, you can begin the procedure itself. The easiest way is to use a pre-boiled rubber bulb or pipette, into which you collect the composition and, throwing your head back, drip it into the eye. You do not need to inject the composition under pressure, it is enough for the liquid to gradually flow into the conjunctiva of the eye, washing it and other tissues of the visual organ.

You can also use special baths to wash your eyes. Pour a prepared warm solution into them and dip the sore eye. If both eyes are affected, repeat the procedure with the other eye, after first rinsing the bath and filling it with fresh solution. This procedure is not suitable for everyone, because the eye must remain open in the water, which not everyone can do.

In the pharmacy you can also buy special equipment for washing the eyes - funnel-shaped eye cups, through which the medicine is poured into the open eye with a weak stream.

The most gentle way to clean the eyes is to use cotton pads, which are dipped in the prepared solution, lightly squeezed and gently wiped with them the eyes, slightly pulling down the lower eyelid. The movements of the pad should not be chaotic. You should always move from the outer edge of the eye to the inner, thus preventing the spread of infection to healthy areas of the eye.

It is very important to use separate cotton pads for each eye, and it is even better to change the solution when it is time to move on to treating the second affected eye. By the way, even if only one of the visual organs is ill, both eyes are treated, thereby preventing the spread of the infectious and inflammatory process.

As for the temperature of the solution, doctors recommend using a room temperature solution. In any case, the liquid should not have a temperature exceeding 37 degrees. Both cold and heat are not useful for inflammation of the mucous membranes of the eye and can exacerbate the course of the disease.

Features of the use of furacilin in ophthalmology

"Furacilin" is a unique antiseptic that is successfully used to treat children and adults, because it has virtually no contraindications for use. Even a small amount of the external agent entering the esophagus is not capable of causing harm to a person, in connection with which the drug is actively used for gargling and rinsing the eyes of children, who more often than adults catch respiratory pathologies and eye diseases associated with the entry of bacteria, viruses, and allergens into the mucous membrane.

"Furacilin" is not recommended for use only by those patients who have hypersensitivity reactions to this antiseptic, which may manifest as lacrimation, itching, burning and redness of the mucous membranes and skin around the eyes.

The absence of visible harm and contraindications allow the use of Furacilin for washing the eyes of infants. In this case, the proportions of water and medicine remain the same as for the treatment of adult patients. However, the preparation of the medicinal solution will have to be approached more carefully, because newborns are very sensitive to both the temperature of the liquid (it should correspond to body temperature) and the quality of the finished solution (there should not be even the smallest undissolved particles).

Ideally, a ready-made pharmacy solution should be used to treat newborns, and only resort to self-preparation if none is available. The sick (and healthy) eye is treated 2-3 times a day. Unless the doctor has prescribed a different treatment regimen, experimenting with the frequency of procedures is not worth it, even despite the safety of the solution used.

Contraindications to the procedure

The only contraindication to the procedure of washing the eyes with Furacilin may be hypersensitivity to the medicine used. If there are ulcers and wounds on the mucous membrane of the eye, the use of Furacilin will only have a beneficial effect on the process of their healing and regeneration of damaged tissues.

Consequences after the procedure

If you use Furacilin to wash your eyes according to the above advice, you should not expect any unpleasant consequences after the procedure. After a few days, you can see that the swelling in the eye subsides, the discharge from the conjunctival sac becomes more sparse, and the pain goes away.

The result of the correct procedure is a faster recovery process and the absence of complications after such an effective treatment procedure. If you use hotter or, conversely, cold water, the disease may worsen, and the process of its spreading deep into the skull is not excluded. The same can be said if you do not follow the rules of hygiene during the procedure: do the rinsing with unwashed hands or an insufficiently clean cotton pad, do not sterilize the instruments used for the procedure and the container in which the solution was prepared.

Complications may also arise if a person did not mix the powder thoroughly enough in water, leaving nitrofural crystals in the composition, which got on the mucous membrane of the eye. Minor eye injuries may also be the result of careless handling of a funnel, pipette or rubber bulb, strong rubbing of the mucous membrane with a cotton pad, using hot water to wash the eye, which can cause a burn.

Care after the procedure

No special eye care is required after the Furacilin washing procedure. It is enough to blot it with a sterile napkin and protect it from wind and drafts, which is already considered one of the important requirements for inflammatory eye diseases. For some time after the procedure (for a couple of hours), it is better to refrain from walking in the open air, especially in cool or windy weather, because any manipulation of the eyes makes them more sensitive to various irritants.

If eye washing is part of the treatment regimen for infectious and inflammatory pathologies, then after the procedure, the medicine (drops or ointment) prescribed by the doctor should be applied to the conjunctiva or eyelid area. In this case, it is highly recommended not to apply a bandage to the eye.

As for storing the prepared Furacilin solution, different sources cite very different periods (from 3 days to 2 weeks), claiming that the composition will not lose its properties when stored in the refrigerator. The only thing that is unclear is the expediency of such actions, because it is not difficult at all to prepare a fresh effective solution, and in terms of time this process together with cooling the composition will take no more than 10-15 minutes. So it is better to prepare the medicine little by little, so that it is just enough for one procedure, for example, take half a glass of water and a Furacilin tablet.

"Furacilin", actively used in ophthalmology for washing eyes of large and small patients, is also widely used in the treatment and treatment of various skin injuries, bedsores, burn wounds. This useful drug should definitely be present in every home medicine cabinet, especially in families with little fidgets, because it provides both effective and safe treatment of external infectious and inflammatory pathologies, which not all the drugs we use can boast of.

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