Chlorhexidine for gargling: instructions for use, how to rinse and dilute

Chlorhexidine is widely used in medical practice. This drug has antimicrobial, antiseptic and pronounced analgesic effects. Thanks to the action of this drug, bacteria and viruses stop actively reproducing, which means the person recovers faster . Chlorhexidine is considered the most inexpensive but effective remedy that is used for pathologies of the nasopharynx and oral cavity caused by bacteria and fungi. Not everyone knows exactly how to gargle with Chlorhexidine, so the effect is often subtle.

Description of the drug

Chlorhexidine solution is produced by several pharmaceutical companies, in different forms and with different concentrations of the active substance.
The active substance of the drug is chlorhexidine bigluconate. In addition, the composition contains purified water. The drug is available in concentrations of 0.05%, 0.2%, 0.5%, 1% and 5%. Chlorhexidine for gargling with sore throat and other diseases of the nasopharynx is used in a dilution of 0.05% . In the pharmacy chain you can buy bottles of the drug from 100 ml to 2 liters. A small volume is used for treatment at home. Bottles of 2 liters are most often used within the walls of medical institutions.

Chlorhexidine is available in solution and gel for external use, as well as in the form of vaginal suppositories.

Chlorhexidine bigluconate for throat treatment

Chlorhexidine is often an effective remedy not only for rinsing the mouth, but also for treating the throat when symptoms of inflammation appear. Irrigation of the tonsils and pharynx is not so convenient, so it is better to take 20-30 ml of medicine, throw back your head and gargle for 20-40 seconds.

The manipulation can be repeated 2 to 4 times a day, depending on the severity of the disease and the general condition of the patient. Duration of use – from 5 to 10 days. For children, the scheme and duration of use are similar, but the manipulation is allowed to be repeated no more than 2 times a day.

Indications

The instructions for use indicate that the drug is used in the following cases:

For ENT diseases of an infectious nature . The medicine can be prescribed for sore throat, pharyngitis, laryngitis and other similar ailments.
To prevent sexually transmitted diseases.
In dental practice for the treatment and prevention of oral diseases.
As a disinfectant for medical instruments, doctors' hands and the operating room.

The drug is used as part of complex treatment for some other diseases, but most often it is used in the treatment of tonsillitis.

For throat diseases, the solution is used to rinse or treat the pharyngeal mucosa. Treatment of the throat with Chlorhexidine is highly effective due to the pronounced bactericidal effect of the drug. Laboratory studies revealed that gargling with Chlorhexidine in a 0.05% dilution leads to the death of pathogenic microorganisms in just 1 minute, and fungi in 10 minutes.

If the solution is used heated, its bactericidal effect increases, and the time required to treat the mucous membrane decreases. To eliminate pathogenic bacteria that are in the oral cavity, you need to rinse your mouth for only half a minute . After the procedure, particles of the drug remain on the mucous membrane for some time, so we can assume that the drug has a prolonged effect.

As the temperature of the gargle solution increases, the effectiveness of Chlorhexidine only increases. For the treatment of adults and children, it is optimal to use a solution heated to 50 degrees.

Indications for use

Chlorhexidine digluconate is the active substance of an antiseptic. Due to its wide spectrum of action, the medicine helps with:

acute tonsillitis and chronic purulent tonsillitis;
pharyngitis and nasopharyngitis;
laryngitis;
stomatitis and gingivitis.

The medication can be used for any damage to the mucous membrane of the larynx or tonsils. It is actively prescribed after tooth extraction, tonsillectomy, adenoidectomy.

The drug can be used not only for treatment, but also for the purpose of prevention, for daily hygiene. As a result of rinsing with Chlorhexidine, the bactericidal effect is achieved within the first minute.

The fungicidal (antifungal) effect occurs after 10 minutes, and the fact that the drug remains on the mucous membranes plays an important role.

Contraindications

Like any medicine, this antiseptic has a number of contraindications that you need to know. Chlorhexidine should not be used for a sore throat in the following cases:

In case of hypersensitivity to the components contained in the drug.
If you are prone to allergies.
For younger children.

In addition, the drug is prescribed with caution for the treatment of pregnant women and nursing mothers.

Chlorhexidine for throat diseases can be prescribed for the treatment of very young children, if the doctor does not see an alternative. Babies are usually treated with a solution.

Side effects

The drug is most often tolerated normally by patients of different age groups. Only in exceptional cases, mainly with prolonged use of the drug, the following side effects may occur:

Teeth, fillings and crowns may become brownish in color. The same shade appears on the oral mucosa.
A person stops feeling the taste of food, but such changes in taste buds are reversible and disappear after stopping treatment.
The areas of skin adjacent to the mouth become irritated and the salivary glands swell.
There is a burning sensation and a slight tingling sensation on the tongue.

Chlorhexidine spray or throat solution can be purchased at any pharmacy without a doctor's prescription. But if you have doubts about whether this drug can be used, it is better to consult a doctor .

If any side effects occur, you should immediately stop using the drug.

How to gargle

Chlorhexidine for sore throat is prescribed as a gargle. The choice of method of application depends on the age of the patient and the severity of the disease:

Adults and teenagers over 14 years of age. To treat the throat, this group of patients uses a 0.05% solution of the drug; it is not necessary to dilute it with water first. Before using the medicinal solution, gargle with warm water or chamomile decoction. After this, take up to 20 ml of solution into your mouth, which is approximately 1 tablespoon, and gargle for 30 seconds. After the procedure, Chlorhexidine is spat out.
Children. To treat children, the 0.05% solution is pre-diluted with water in a ratio of 1:1 or 1:2. Chlorhexidine should be diluted with warm water, the temperature of which can reach up to 50 degrees. The child takes a little solution into his mouth and rinses the neck thoroughly for 30 seconds, after which he spits out the solution.
Pregnant women. During pregnancy, Chlorhexidine solution is rarely prescribed to women. If a doctor has prescribed such treatment, the drug should be used with great caution. To begin with, gargle with chamomile decoction. Then put a tea cup of undiluted medicinal product into your mouth and rinse with it.

It is necessary to gargle up to 4 times a day, only then can you expect a good result from the treatment . After the procedure, you should not eat or drink for an hour, as the drug continues its therapeutic effect for a certain time.

If the child is too small and cannot gargle, then you can wrap a sterile bandage around your finger, moisten it in an aqueous solution of the drug and gently wipe the mucous membrane of the throat and oral cavity. It is allowed to pour an aqueous solution in a concentration of 1:1 into a spray bottle and spray Chlorhexidine into the throat of children several times a day. In this case, the throat is irrigated evenly, and the risk of swallowing the drug is significantly reduced.

When gargling, you need to draw out the letter Y. In this case, the airways are blocked, and the throat is rinsed more thoroughly.

Gargling with chlorhexidine for sore throat is carried out twice in one procedure:

Rinse your throat thoroughly with boiled water that has cooled to room temperature.
Take 1 tablespoon of 0.05% medicine into your mouth, rinse vigorously for at least 30 seconds, and spit it out. Rinsing will free the tonsils from clots of pus.
Wait a little and repeat the action. The medicine covers the tonsils with a thin layer, preventing the inflammatory process and the proliferation of pathogenic bacteria.
For severe pain, the treatment regimen is every 3-4 hours.
After the procedure, do not eat for 1 - 1.5 hours.

What to do in case of accidental ingestion of the solution

Chlorhexidine is a rather toxic drug, so it should be used only as prescribed by a doctor and only topically. The instructions for use of the medicine indicate that it cannot be used to treat children under 12 years of age. But doctors often ignore this prohibition and the solution is prescribed to young children.

If a patient accidentally drinks Chlorhexidine, dyspeptic disorders and allergic reactions may occur. The drug is practically not adsorbed, so the occurrence of any life-threatening conditions is unlikely.

If a child or adult drinks Chlorhexidine, he or she must be given first aid to avoid undesirable consequences. The help algorithm is as follows:

The victim's stomach is immediately washed. To do this, an adult or child is given a sufficient amount of water to drink, and then vomiting is artificially induced. The procedure is repeated several times until the flowing water becomes absolutely clean and without a characteristic odor.
They provide adsorbents. In such a case, regular activated carbon will also help. Several tablets are crushed into powder, diluted in a small volume of water and given to the patient to drink the resulting suspension.
After this, the victim is given a lot to drink. This can be either regular still water or sweet tea.

If you swallow Chlorhexidine, it is advisable to show the victim to a doctor after first aid . In some cases, hospitalization and symptomatic treatment may be necessary.

To avoid drug poisoning, children should gargle only under adult supervision!

Chlorhexidine: instructions for use for children

The algorithm for using medicine to gargle for children does not differ from that discussed above. Additional dilution to less than 0.05% is impractical because To maintain effectiveness, it will be necessary to increase the exposure time.

Before a child gargles with Chlorhexidine, it should be borne in mind that although the instructions for use indicate that an irritation reaction is rare, the solution is bitter and often causes a burning sensation. On the other hand, many children calmly tolerate the effects of the drug, which suggests individual sensitivity to the active substance.

Children are gargled 2-3 times a day, making sure that the child does not swallow the solution. For this reason, it is advisable to replace the Chlorhexidine solution in children with a spray form or give preference to another product.

Features of using the solution

There are several recommendations that should be followed when treating with Chlorhexidine solution:

Do not use the drug simultaneously with drugs that contain iodine.
A soap solution reduces the activity of the bactericidal agent, so before local treatment of wounds you need to thoroughly rinse the soap from the skin;
The drug does not affect reaction speed and attention at all. During treatment, you can drive a car and work with complex mechanisms.
If the solution accidentally gets on the mucous membranes of the eyes, they must be thoroughly rinsed with running water.
You should not be treated with an antiseptic solution for more than 7 days. If necessary, the doctor may prescribe a second course after a short break.
Chlorhexidine alone cannot be used to treat sore throat and other throat diseases, so it is necessary to take all medications prescribed by your doctor.
Children should only rinse their mouths in the presence of an adult. It is unacceptable to use the pure drug to treat children. It must be diluted half and half with water.
For children, dilute Chlorhexidine with water immediately before gargling. It is not recommended to store such a solution, as it loses its properties.
After the gargling procedure, it is advisable to refrain from eating and drinking for at least an hour..

The cost of a small bottle of Chlorhexidine in a pharmacy is about 20 rubles. This affordable drug sometimes turns out to be more effective than expensive medications.

Chlorhexidine is used in medical practice for the treatment of diseases of the mouth, throat and disinfection. For the treatment of adults, it is used in its pure form; for the treatment of children, the drug is first diluted with water.

Rinse procedure: duration, frequency, nuances

An important difference between treating the oral cavity with Chlorhexidine and other sprays and antiseptics is the preliminary preparation.

Before rinsing, you must perform the following algorithm:

brush your teeth with your usual toothpaste;
use dental floss to clean the interdental space;
Rinse your mouth with warm boiled water.

If you do not carry out the described actions, the effectiveness of using the antiseptic will be reduced. Pathogens can spread from teeth and food debris into the throat immediately after the procedure is completed.

The main point in rinsing is the use of fresh solution. The antiseptic must be diluted before each manipulation. It is unacceptable to dilute the drug and store it for even several hours.

The effectiveness of a standing solution is significantly reduced. As practice shows, it is better to use a warm product. It shows the best effect and quickly eliminates pathogenic microorganisms from the mucous membrane of the pharyngeal ring. In addition, the use of cold medicine can aggravate the condition by causing immune suppression.

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Gargle for 30 seconds. It is not recommended to increase the duration of contact of the antiseptic with the mucous membrane, as this may provoke unexpected reactions.

The frequency of use of the solution for adults is 3 times a day.
Children can gargle no more than 2 times a day.

It is advisable to carry out the procedure after meals with preliminary cleansing of the oral cavity. After treating the mucous membrane of the throat and tonsils with an antiseptic, you must refrain from eating for at least one hour.

The longer the active components remain on the surface of the larynx, the faster the therapeutic effect will occur.

You need to understand:

Chlorhexidine relieves sore throat by treating pathology. The drug does not have a symptomatic effect, so an immediate analgesic effect cannot be expected.

Sore throat, pain and inflammation will disappear gradually as pathogenic microorganisms are destroyed.