Furagin for cystitis

A close relative of the well-known antiseptic furacilin, the nitrofuran antimicrobial oral drug Furagin is often prescribed for bacterial cystitis. It is worth noting that it is an inexpensive domestic drug and is effective enough to cope with the most common pathogens of bladder inflammation.

Treatment of cystitis with Furagin is usually effective. If the patient does not ignore medical recommendations and does not take any action by reducing the dose or interrupting treatment before the due date, since a noticeable improvement occurs quite quickly, eradication of the pathogen and recovery are guaranteed. The drug does not have a systemic effect on the body, acting only on the genitourinary tract, having a bacteriostatic effect and destroying bacteria only at the site of their colonies. At the same time, the drug increases immunity and has an anti-inflammatory effect. And most importantly, pathogens do not develop resistance to this antibacterial agent, as to systemic antibiotics, so in most cases it is more effective. Due to this property, it can be used repeatedly and to prevent exacerbations.

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Indications Furagin for cystitis

Furagin is prescribed for acute cystitis, inflammation of the kidneys, urethra and prostate gland, as well as exacerbations of chronic forms of these diseases for the direct destruction of the pathogen.

May be prescribed to treat postoperative infection or prevent infection from developing.

Furagin is prescribed for the prevention of cystitis when various invasive diagnostic procedures on the organs of the genitourinary system are necessary.

It is also prescribed to patients with chronic bacterial cystitis to prevent exacerbations and complications.

In addition to its use in urology, this drug can be used in purulent ophthalmological processes, bacterial infections of the oral cavity, and purulent infected wounds of the skin and mucous membranes.

Release form

It is produced in solid tablet form. Furagin tablets for cystitis are round and have a bright yellow-orange color, often unevenly colored with inclusions of a more intense shade. They contain 50 mg of the active component furazidin.

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Pharmacodynamics

The active ingredient of the tablets, furazidin, from a series of nitrofuran antiseptics, inhibits the enzymatic activity of several enzymes that catalyze the reactions of molecular hydrogen transfer in bacterial cells, which stops metabolic processes there, delays the development and growth of pathogen colonies and, ultimately, leads to the suppression of the infectious process and the destruction of pathogens.

The most common infectious agents are sensitive to Furagin: staphylococci and streptococci of various types, E. coli, enterobacteria, and others.

The minimum therapeutic concentration of Furagin, sufficient to suppress the vital activity of bacteria, is 1 μg/ml, much lower than that of other drugs in this group used to treat bacterial inflammations of the genitourinary system.

An acidic urine environment (pH about 5.5) promotes the most effective bacteriostatic action of the drug, while an alkaline environment is not favorable for eradication of the pathogen.

Furagin is not a systemic antibiotic and does not affect the entire body, having a local effect on the genitourinary organs.

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Pharmacokinetics

Most of the dose taken is absorbed in the distal small intestine by passive diffusion, with the maximum serum concentration being determined within half an hour after administration. This level is maintained for another hour, then slowly begins to decrease. The therapeutic concentration of the drug is maintained in the blood serum for eight to 12 hours.

The drug enters the urine through the lymph flow, simultaneously exerting a bacteriostatic effect here.

Approximately one tenth of the administered dose is metabolized by the liver and kidneys. Elimination occurs through the urinary organs, up to 15% of the drug taken is found unchanged in urine in a high therapeutic concentration, quite sufficient for their sanitation.

The drug is prescribed mainly to female patients, who often develop cystitis due to the anatomy of the genitourinary system - the proximity of the bladder due to the short and wide urethra. Furagin is often used for cystitis in women, since this so-called female disease is mainly caused by E. coli, staphylococcal or streptococcal infection.

For female patients, no negative effects from taking the drug were identified, while in men, an adverse effect on fertility was noted, manifested in a decrease in the quantity and quality of sperm.

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Dosing and administration

The drug is prescribed individually and only by a doctor. It is available in pharmacies with a prescription.

For children, it is dosed at a rate of 5 to 7 mg per kilogram of the child's weight per day. If long-term treatment is expected, the daily dose is calculated based on the amount of 1 mg or 2 mg per kilogram of weight.

The question of how to take and how much Furagin to drink for cystitis in adults can also only be answered by a doctor. The drug should not be taken without a doctor's prescription.

The recommended treatment regimen for adult patients involves taking 100 mg (two tablets) four times a day on the first day, then the same dose three times a day.

The preventive regimen involves taking one or two tablets at night once a day.

The tablets are taken during meals. The patient's diet should contain a lot of protein products to ensure the necessary acidity of urine.

The course of treatment should last no more than a week. If it is necessary to continue treatment, then a break between courses of at least ten to fifteen days is required.

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Application for children

Furagin is not the drug of choice for cystitis in children; some manufacturers do not recommend its use in pediatric practice.

If necessary, the drug can be prescribed in childhood for various urological diseases, including bacterial cystitis. It is dosed depending on the child's weight, age and duration of administration.

In most instructions, its use is limited to three years of age; in other sources, the ban on the use of Furagin in children limits the age of use to the first week of life.

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Use Furagin for cystitis during pregnancy

It is not recommended to prescribe Furagin to expectant mothers, since the placental barrier is not an obstacle for it.

Breastfeeding women should also refrain from taking this medication or discontinue breastfeeding during treatment.

This is what the instructions for the drug say, however, women during pregnancy are extremely susceptible to urogenital tract infections. A drop in immunity in the first months, changes in hormonal levels, pressure from the growing uterus on the bladder in the second half of pregnancy, and its stagnation - all this contributes to the appearance of painful signs of cystitis. Inflammation of the bladder is painful not only for the woman, but it creates a threat of infection of the fetus, because the infection is so close. In addition, there is a high probability of complications.

In such cases, it is necessary to consult a doctor and receive effective treatment. Prescribing Furagin is vital, since complications can be much more dangerous than taking a local antibacterial drug. After all, the infection must be radically destroyed.

Contraindications

The drug is not prescribed to patients who are hypersensitive to the components of its composition, in particular, to other nitrofuran antiseptics, during pregnancy and lactation, as well as to children under three years of age (or in the perinatal period).

Decompensated renal (patients with creatinine clearance below 30 ml per minute) and/or hepatic insufficiency.

Polyneuropathy of diabetic and other etiologies.

Congenital deficiency of the enzyme glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, sucrose/isomaltase/lactase, galactosemia, congenital and acquired porphyria.

Use with caution in patients with anemia and lung diseases.

Side effects Furagin for cystitis

Sensitization reactions in most cases manifest themselves as skin symptoms – itching and rashes. Rare cases of acute and chronic pulmonary reactions are known.

Hematopoiesis disorders, vision disorders, joint pain, jaundice and other liver dysfunctions are very rare.

Uncommon: dyspepsia; rare: drowsiness, weakness, fever, temporary baldness, polyneuropathy.

When taking the drug, urine becomes dark yellow or brown.

To prevent side effects, it is recommended to take B vitamins, anti-allergy medications and drink as much water as possible during the course of treatment.

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Overdose

Exceeding the permissible dose often leads to headaches, depressive disorders, dizziness, weakness, psychosis. Development of liver dysfunction and pronounced sensitization reactions is possible.

Patients with congenital deficiency of the G6PD enzyme may develop aplastic (megablastic) anemia.

Treatment includes gastric lavage, infusion detoxification, and in severe cases, hemodialysis may help.

Exceeding the recommended dose in a child is much more likely than in adults to lead to such serious consequences as toxic hepatitis or peripheral polyneuropathy.

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Interactions with other drugs

Concomitant use with nevigramon (nadilyxic acid) reduces the antimicrobial effect of Furagin.

Combination with drugs for uricosuria, such as probenecid, can reduce the therapeutic concentration of furazidin in urine and neutralize its effect, while simultaneously increasing the serum level of the active component and increasing the risk of intoxication of the body.

Antacids containing magnesium trisilicate, taken in combination with Furagin, reduce the absorption of the latter from the small intestine.

Drinking alcohol during the course of therapy may provoke or increase the side effects of the drug.

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Storage conditions

Store tablets for no more than four years from the date of manufacture in a dry place away from light.

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What to do if Furagin does not help with cystitis?

This drug, prescribed correctly, brings relief quite quickly. If you take the drug exactly as prescribed by your doctor and do not notice any positive changes in your condition within three to four days, it is recommended to consult a doctor to clarify the diagnosis. Often, the prescription is made without waiting for diagnostic tests, only on the basis of the patient's complaints, and the clinical symptoms of urological pathologies overlap with each other. Pain in the kidneys and bladder, painful frequent emptying of which can be caused by a number of factors unrelated to a bacteriological infection. In this case, the drug will not work and other measures must be taken.

But if you know that you have ignored the doctor’s recommendations or violated the treatment regimen, then you should not expect any effect from taking the drug.

Analogues

Often, on pharmacy shelves, the patient sees drugs of similar action, or the pharmacist can offer a replacement if the prescribed drug is not available, or offer an analogue from another manufacturer that is more effective in his opinion.

Therefore, the patient is faced with a choice: Furagin or Furadonin. The second drug is more expensive and, perhaps, better? Furadonin is a drug with the active ingredient nitrofurantoin, which has almost the same effect as furazidin. It has similar characteristics, contraindications, side effects and interactions. The warnings do not indicate an adverse effect on male fertility, so for cystitis in males, it may be better to use it. However, the lack of information and the effect itself are not the same thing. And the price of the drug is 1.5 times higher. In this case, it would be a good idea to consult a doctor and listen to his opinion.

If you have to choose between Furagin or Furomag, and the second drug is significantly more expensive because it was produced in Latvia, then perhaps you shouldn't pay more. They have the same active ingredient - furazidin, therefore, their properties are identical.

In comparison with Furagin or Monural, the nitrofuran antiseptic loses. Of the modern drugs used in urology, Monural (a derivative of phosphonic acid) is considered the most effective today. Its active ingredient fosfomycin is active against all pathogens of cystitis. It is characterized by fast action and high bioavailability. All symptoms of cystitis disappear four hours after administration, sometimes you can be cured in one dose. If the symptoms begin to bother you after two days, then on the third day the drug is taken again. Release form - powder for solution. There are practically no contraindications to it, except for age (from 12 years), allergies, severe renal failure and undergoing a course of hemodialysis. The drug is considered safe for a pregnant woman and her unborn child. Only side effects slightly spoil such a favorable picture: most often observed vulvovaginitis, headache, pre-syncope, dyspeptic phenomena, somewhat less often - numbness of the extremities, abdominal pain, malaise, itching and rashes. Other undesirable consequences also occur, but much less often.

The antibiotic Monural is combined with Furagin, enhancing each other’s action, destroying bacteria in different ways.

However, cystitis can be successfully treated and complications and chronicity avoided only under the supervision of a competent urologist, having carried out proper diagnostics and identified the pathogen.

The ideal remedy is the one that the pathogenic microorganism that has inhabited your organs is sensitive to. It is diagnostics that will help you choose the right remedy that will relieve you of the symptoms of the disease in just a couple of days.

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Reviews

Doctors generally advocate antibiotics. Furagin is not considered a serious drug, but nevertheless, it is actively prescribed.

Most patients respond positively to the drug, but a small group of natural remedy advocates claim that cystitis can be cured without antibiotics.

Urolesan is called a panacea. Monurel on cranberries and ordinary cranberry juice are praised.