Can calcium gluconate be given to children? Calcium gluconate: instructions for use in children

One of the most important micronutrients necessary for the growth of bones and the normal functioning of the heart muscle is calcium. The substance is of particular value for children. The main source of this microelement is dairy products. For the treatment of calcium deficiency, doctors prescribe special medications. Calcium gluconate for children is recommended for a variety of diseases. The drug is produced in several forms.

What is a medicine?

Calcium gluconate is a very popular and time-tested remedy that doctors can prescribe for various pathologies that have nothing in common with each other. The active ingredient, the calcium salt of gluconic acid, is a white powder. The component regulates calcium-phosphorus metabolism in the body. Calcium, in turn, is necessary for the formation of bones, dental tissue, nails and hair. In addition, the chemical compound is involved in the transmission of nerve impulses and the work of the heart muscle, strengthens the walls of blood vessels, is necessary for blood clotting.

The drug is produced by many pharmaceutical companies in various forms: tablets for chewing, powder and injection. Is it possible to give the child calcium gluconate in tablets? Many pediatricians recommend this drug to children even the first year of life (at a certain dosage). After all, babies need a constant replenishment of the stocks of this trace element in the body. This is necessary for the proper formation of the skeleton and the development of muscle tissue. Lack of calcium often leads to a decrease in the protective functions of the body.

Composition and form of release

The most popular form of the drug is tablets, which can contain 250 or 500 mg of active ingredient. As auxiliary components, talcum, potato starch and calcium stearate are used. In the chewing tablets, there are also fruit flavors.

A solution for injection (10%) is contained in ampoules containing 10 ml of drug liquid. In one ampoule, 1 g of active ingredient.

Indications for use

Calcium is involved in the most important processes occurring in the body. Each person needs to consume 800-2000 mg of this substance per day. With a shortage, a variety of pathological conditions can develop (both in children and in adults).

Calcium gluconate should be taken with the following ailments:

• Rickets in children (lack of vitamin D);
• Hypoparathyroidism (parathyroid hormone deficiency);
• Toxic liver damage, hepatitis;
• Violation of calcium metabolism;
• Increased excretion of calcium from the body, associated with long-term treatment with certain drugs;
• Increased need for calcium (pregnancy, lactation, adolescence);
• Fractures of bones;
• Bleeding;
• Lack of trace element in food;
• Frequent allergic reactions;
• Poisoning with oxalic acid, fluoric acid, magnesium salts;
• pulmonary tuberculosis.

Pediatric Use

Calcium gluconate is prescribed to children often enough. A direct indication for the use of the remedy is, first of all, the lack of a microelement in the body. If the baby is intolerant to milk protein, no calcium-based drugs can not be avoided. Parents should remember that it is extremely undesirable to independently designate a child's remedy. Dosage is calculated depending on the age of the baby.

What are the benefits for children?

Calcium is vital Is needed The baby is still in the period of intrauterine development. With a deficit, such babies are often born with insufficient weight, And in the first six months of life they may develop rickets. To avoid such a pathological condition, the expectant mother should monitor her nutrition and take vitamin complexes. At birth, the baby can also be prescribed drugs containing calcium.

Can children calcium gluconate and in what form is it better to give it? Quite often this question is asked of parents by district pediatricians. A simple and inexpensive tool has proven itself exclusively on the positive side. For the treatment of calcium deficiency in children of different age categories and other ailments, calcium gluconate in tablets is generally prescribed.

Simple white pills do not have in the composition of sugar, flavoring and coloring agents, which is an essential advantage. In this form, the drug can be given even to babies, prone to allergic reactions, and with an elevated blood sugar.

Calcium gluconate: instructions for use

For children, the dosage of the medicine should be selected by the doctor. Usually experts recommend giving 500 mg of active ingredient three times a day to babies of the first year of life. The tablet is pre-ground into a powder and mixed in a small amount of a milk formula or breast milk.

For children from one to four years, calcium gluconate is prescribed in a dosage of 1 g at a time. In a day should take 3 g of active ingredient (6 tablets). From the age of 5, the drug can be given to a child in an amount of 6-10 tablets per day. A more accurate dosage should be chosen by a specialist, taking into account the condition of the baby and the need for it in the microelement.

Children who are in primary school, calcium gluconate are recommended to give 4 tablets at least twice a day.

Calcium gluconate for children up to 1 year

Komarovsky Oleg Evgenievich - a famous children's doctor, to the advice of which many parents listen. The doctor argues that the main cause of calcium deficiency in the child's body lies in the lack of microelement supply along with food and impaired absorption in the intestine.

With allergic diseases, rickets, blood clotting disorders, skin pathologies, a well-known pediatrician recommends giving calcium gluconate to children in tablets. Komarovsky also advises to prescribe the drug with a tendency to dermatitis, muscle weakness, increased vascular permeability. Essential use of the drug will bring in the treatment of colds.

Calcium gluconate for allergies

One of the effects of the drug is to reduce the production of histamine - the substance responsible for the occurrence of an allergic reaction. Scientists have found that a lack of calcium in the body leads to an incorrect reaction of the immune system. For children at present, this problem is particularly relevant.

Smoothing symptoms of an allergic reaction will help calcium gluconate. Instruction (for children the drug is absolutely safe) indicates that the medicine will help quickly remove toxins from the body, strengthen the vessels. Most often, the drug is used in the form of tablets. However, in some cases, intravenous administration of the solution is indicated.

Effective drug with such manifestations of an allergic reaction, as urticaria, angioedema, dermatitis, itching of the skin. In some cases, it is prescribed in combination with other medicines.

Already more than one generation of doctors practiced the use of calcium gluconate to combat the symptoms of allergic reactions. Calcium salt, which is used as an active ingredient, is well absorbed from the intestine and absorbed into the blood. The maximum concentration of the active ingredient is fixed after 1.5-2 hours after taking the drug.

Contraindications for use

You can give calcium gluconate to children and adult patients who do not have a history of certain contraindications. In pediatric practice, the drug is generally used only after consultation with the attending physician. It is forbidden to use calcium gluconate for treatment in the presence of the following pathologies:

• Intolerance of substances in the composition of the drug;
• Hypercoagulation;
• Sarcoidosis;
• Hypercalciuria;
• Renal failure (in severe form);
• Atherosclerosis of blood vessels;
• Hypercalcemia;
• Calcium nefrourolithiasis.

Can calcium gluconate be given to children if the instruction has an age limit? Pediatricians argue that if the dosage and treatment regimen are followed, the medication to the child will be extremely beneficial.

Application Features

For better assimilation of the active ingredient, it is recommended to take calcium gluconate before meals or 2 hours after eating. Tablets must be chewed or grinded into powder and washed with water. Babies are advised to give the drug along with a small amount of milk.

It is forbidden to take simultaneously calcium preparations and iron-containing medicines. The minimum time interval between doses of these drugs is 2 hours. In combination with tetracycline antibiotics, insoluble complexes will form.

Side effects

Despite safety and efficacy, the drug is still a pharmaceutical product and can cause some side effects. You should familiarize yourself with these phenomena described in the instructions before taking calcium gluconate. Children are advisable at the beginning of therapy to give a minimal dose of the remedy and through time to evaluate the reaction of the body.

Prolonged treatment with the drug or a constant excess of dosage can trigger the development of the following undesirable phenomena:

• Constipation;
• Vomiting, nausea;
• arterial hypertension;
• Renal stone disease;
• Polyuria;
• Mental disorders;
• Weakness in muscles;
• Increased fatigue, irritability;
• Bradycardia;
• loss of consciousness;
• Hypercalcemia.

Patient Reviews

Calcium gluconate is one of the few drugs that, despite the low cost, have a powerful therapeutic effect. The drug is used to treat a variety of pathological conditions. Pediatricians prescribe calcium gluconate for children who have a deficiency of this microelement, suffering from rickets or frequent attacks of allergy. The most commonly used agent is in the form of tablets.