Medical expert of the article
New publications
Preparations
Suppositories with belladonna extract during pregnancy: how to apply and where to insert
Last reviewed: 10.08.2022
All iLive content is medically reviewed or fact checked to ensure as much factual accuracy as possible.
We have strict sourcing guidelines and only link to reputable media sites, academic research institutions and, whenever possible, medically peer reviewed studies. Note that the numbers in parentheses ([1], [2], etc.) are clickable links to these studies.
If you feel that any of our content is inaccurate, out-of-date, or otherwise questionable, please select it and press Ctrl + Enter.
The period of gestation in the womb of a new life is always very exciting for a pregnant woman, who every minute thinks about her future baby by taking certain actions. It is not surprising that any medical appointments are accepted or rejected by her in terms of possible harm to an unborn baby. So, for example, a suppository with belladonna during pregnancy is prescribed by doctors quite often, despite the fact that in indications for the use of the drug there is no mark about its benefits in this period. But the instruction is supplemented by the paragraph, where it is said that it is contraindicated to use the drug in pregnancy.
So who is right: the abstract to the drug or the doctors prescribing the suppository with bellies during pregnancy before childbirth? And what can the rectal suppository from hemorrhoids of pregnant women do on the eve of the most important event in their life?
Indications of the candles with bellies during pregnancy
There is still very little time left, and the future mother will get acquainted personally with her long-awaited baby, to whom she sang songs for 9 months, telling tales with whom her joys and dreams were related. Doctors start to prepare it for childbirth, which should begin on time and proceed without complications, so that the baby is born healthy and happy. And then a surprise - the doctors prescribe a pregnant bladder extract right before the birth.
For those who do not know, we inform that this preparation has the form of release in the form of suppositories, and in pregnancy the use of suppositories is limited. But in this case it is not a question of vaginal suppositories, but of rectal ones. And the question of where to insert the suppository with the belladonna extract during pregnancy, the answer will be unambiguous: into the rectum through the anus. Such introduction of suppositories can hardly do harm to the already formed and ready for independent life child, and to be afraid of an early breakdown of pregnancy on the eve of birth is simply silly.
On the other hand, pregnant women can be confusing the very purpose of the drug. The indications for the use of the drug clearly states that it is used to treat hemorrhoids and fissures of the anus. Therefore, pregnant women do not know what can help them such a medicine immediately before childbirth, if neither hemorrhoids, nor the wound in the anal opening they have.
And, nevertheless, doctors in the maternity hospital insistently prescribe an extract of belladonna to use in the last days of pregnancy. To understand the reason for this perseverance will help study the pharmacological effect of this drug.
[4]
Pharmacodynamics
Rectal suppository with bellies, which doctors propose to use during pregnancy before the very birth, are considered a medicine of natural origin, because they are based on the extract of the roots of a plant known to many as belladonna. Perhaps someone will be horrified that a poisonous plant is used for medicinal purposes. But, for example, in homeopathy, such treatment is considered the norm. And pharmacists have long learned to extract from the potentially life-threatening plants a great health benefit.
The situation is similar with the belladonna. Scientists have long discovered the ability of specific substances - alkaloids - to provide analgesic, antispasmodic, anti-inflammatory and antiseptic effects. But the roots of the belladonna contain as many as 3 types of such substances. Due to atropine, geassiomin and scopolamine, an appreciable cholinolytic effect is achieved.
The belladonna alkaloids block m-cholinergic receptors, which slows down the conduction of nerve impulses and cures smooth muscle cramps. It should be noted that with rectal use, in the first place there is relaxation of the muscles of the large intestine, its tone decreases, painful spasms go away. It is this property that belladonna owes its wide popularity to the treatment of hemorrhoids and cracks in the rectum, which is noted in the indications for the use of the drug in the form of suppositories.
However, the doctors noticed that the suppository with belladonna have a pronounced antispasmodic and analgesic effect not only on the large intestine, but also on the musculature of the uterus, which is located in close proximity to the intestine. Everyone knows that generic activity is a great work, it is joy through pain, it is the strongest painful attempts, which, by the way, can subsequently lead to hemorrhoids.
To introduce strong synthetic antispasmodics and analgesics, when the child is still in the womb, is extremely undesirable, because the goal of doctors and the future mother is the birth of a healthy child. The only way out is to apply drugs locally, giving preference to natural remedies, because the absorption of such drugs is relatively small to harm the mother or the fetus.
But local application in the case of internal female reproductive organs means the introduction of the drug deep into the vagina, which is unacceptable in pregnancy. But the uterus is located very close to the intestine, which means that some part of the medicine is likely to penetrate the walls of the intestine and to it. So there was the idea of facilitating labor with rectal suppository with belladonna.
What is the expected effect of using rectal suppositories to prepare for childbirth?
Pharmacokinetics
After the introduction of suppositories with belladonna in the rectum, their effect can be expected within the next hour. However, many patients claim that it took no more than 15-30 minutes to wait. The spasmolytic and analgesic effect of alkaloids is maintained from 2 to 6 hours, which is quite enough if you apply the drug immediately before the onset of labor. It is believed that childbirth with the use of this drug will be less painful, and hence the probability of complications due to the fatigue of the mother and the weakening of the soil on this soil, leading to fetal hypoxia with slow passage of the birth canal will be much less.
If childbirth does not come in due time or is slowed down due to incomplete opening of the uterus, the suppository with belladonna replace artificial stimulation. They will help to remove the increased tone of the uterus, its walls will become more elastic, which means that the process of delivery will go faster and easier.
The fact that the tissues of the uterus will become more elastic and supple, will have another plus. In such conditions, the probability of ruptures and associated bleeding is markedly reduced.
In passing, the use of rectal suppositories from hemorrhoids can be an excellent prophylaxis of this disease. Suppositories will help make the stool after childbirth softer and easier, which will prevent the appearance of constipation, which so often affects pregnant women and mothers after childbirth.
Systemic action on the body during the use of rectal suppositories is reduced to zero due to low absorption of the drug into the blood, i.e. In the blood plasma can detect only a small part of alkaloids, which does not cause dangerous toxic effects.
Dosing and administration
Having studied the official instruction for rectal suppositories with bellies, you can see that the manufacturer does not recommend the use of this drug during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Doctors who actively use the suppository with belladonna in midwifery during pregnancy and preparation for childbirth, consider this restriction as a usual reinsurance. Nevertheless, the period from conception to the birth of a baby is considered the most responsible in the life of a woman, when the use of different kinds of medicines should be treated with extreme caution.
Absorption of local preparations through the skin and mucous membranes is much less than in drugs administered orally, intramuscularly or intravenously. With oral administration, active substances are absorbed mainly in the stomach and small intestine. In the large intestine absorption is small enough.
And yet pharmacists do not exclude the ingestion of a certain amount of alkaloids in the blood. And because of the mother's blood, these substances can enter the fetus, there is a risk of intoxication of an unborn baby.
It is clear that all these conclusions are made by the manufacturers of drugs purely in theory. The obstetricians, on the other hand, assert that there has not been any adverse effect on the fetus over many years of using suppositories with bellies to prepare for childbirth. Thus, practice does not confirm the theory.
And if you take into account the fact that the medicine is used purely for the preparation for childbirth, and therefore used for a short period of time, then there is practically no cause for concern.
Despite the doctors' assurances about the safety of suppositories with bellies during pregnancy on the eve of labor, to get carried away by this drug, on the basis of a very poisonous plant is still not worth it. Producers do not recommend the use of rectal suppository based on belladonna for more than a week.
The appointment of an effective and safe dosage and the frequency of application of the drug in the form of suppositories is strictly the prerogative of physicians. Everything depends on the health of the patient, the features of the pregnancy, the health of the future mother.
According to the instructions, rectal suppositories use no more than 3 suppositories per day. You must inject suppositories one by one to avoid an overdose. Multiplicity - 2-3 times a day.
How correctly to use a suppository with belladonna at pregnancy? As we have already learned, regardless of the indications, suppositories are always injected deep into the rectum. But before they are determined at the place of destination, it is recommended to carry out natural or artificial (using an enema or a mild laxative) emptying the bowel, and thoroughly wash with soap and hands the area of the anal opening. After this, it is necessary to open the outline package, remove 1 suppository from it and insert it deep into the large intestine through the anus.
After the administration of the drug, it is recommended to stay in the horizontal position for at least half an hour, so that the melted suppository does not leak out ahead of time.
[15]
Contraindications
In addition to the ban on the use of the drug in pregnancy and lactation, the suppository with belladonna has other contraindications to the use. Probably the small part of the active substances, which nevertheless penetrates into the body, can negatively affect the condition of patients with certain pathologies of the cardiovascular, endocrine, genital, urinary and other systems.
With regard to the work of the heart and blood vessels, people at risk of atrial fibrillation, tachycardia, chronic heart failure, ischemia of the heart, severe arterial hypertension, arteriosclerosis of the vessels. Another contraindication is stenosis (narrowing) of the mitral valve of the heart.
It is considered dangerous to use the drug in men with prostatic adenoma, especially if the outflow of urine is disturbed.
Regarding the endocrine system, we can say that the rectal suppository with belladonna is not prescribed for patients with thyrotoxicosis.
Drug therapy is not carried out and if, as a result of various gastrointestinal pathologies and disorders, the patient has an intestinal obstruction.
It is not customary to prescribe drugs with bellies for myasthenia gravis, glaucoma, pulmonary edema, severe bleeding, inflammatory processes in the intestine, severe liver and kidney pathologies, hypersensitivity to the drug components, and also in the "lazy" intestine with weakened peristalsis and elevated body temperature.
[13]
Side effects of the candles with bellies during pregnancy
According to the instructions for the preparation "Krasava Extract" in the form of rectal suppositories, side effects from the use of the drug can spread not so much to the reproductive sphere as to other organs and systems of the body.
For example, the organs of the digestive system can react to dry mouth alkaloids dry mouth, a marked decrease in appetite, a violation of taste perception, epigastric pain, nausea, stool disorders. Often, on the background of rectal suppository application, quite severe diarrhea developed, which is considered a rather dangerous symptom in the case of small gestation, as it can become an involuntary cause of miscarriage. Partly for this reason, and also because of the risk of toxic effects on the developing fetus of alkaloids, the belladonna rectal suppository with belladonna is not advised to take in the 1 and 2 trimester of pregnancy.
The nervous system for the penetration of plant alkaloids into the organism can respond with convulsive syndrome, visual and accommodation disorders, pupil dilatation, and increased photosensitivity. Headaches and dizziness are also possible. In rare cases, speech disorders, nervousness, sleep disturbances, and the appearance of hallucinations were noted. But drowsiness and inhibition of reactions occurs more often than other symptoms.
Patients with problems with the cardiovascular system had cardiac arrhythmias, tachycardia, increased heart rate, development of myocardial ischemia. In rare cases, alkaloids of belladonna provoked an increase in intracranial pressure and attacks of glaucoma.
Among other symptoms can be noted: the appearance of viscous stubborn sputum in the bronchi, urine retention in the body, problems with urination, flushing of the facial skin, hot flashes, increasing photosensitivity, reducing the amount of sweat secreted. There have been cases of slowing the outflow of bile because of a decrease in the tone of the gallbladder.
With an inadequate reaction of the immune system, allergic reactions may appear in the form of skin rashes, redness, itching and swelling of the tissues. There may be a burning sensation in the anus. The likelihood of anaphylactic reactions with topical application of the drug is extremely low.
If we talk about the frequency of side effects, they are more likely an accident than an indicator of a dangerous effect on the body. Complaints about unpleasant symptoms came very rarely.
[14]
Overdose
An overdose of the drug is possible if the drug is used in doses that exceed the recommended ones. It is manifested by an increase in the side effects of the drug. There is no specific antidote for belladonna. Symptomatic treatment, introduction of cholinomimetics is shown.
Interactions with other drugs
Despite the local application of suppositories with bellies during pregnancy and a minor systemic effect of the drug, its use must be coordinated with the use of other drugs, since the drug interaction of various substances in some cases may have a negative result and harm the health of patients.
So, simultaneous therapy with belladonna extract and MAO inhibitors can trigger the development of cardiac arrhythmia.
The effect of opiates and narcotic substances used to relieve severe pain can be significantly weakened by the use of rectal suppository with bellies.
Using an extract of belladonna together with haloperidol, systemic corticosteroids, preparations from the group of nitrates, it is possible to provoke an increase in intraocular pressure.
Extract krasavki able to reduce the effect of the drug for the treatment of hypertension oxprenolone. Simultaneous use with sulfonamides increases the risk of kidney damage, and with potassium and NSAIDs - the risk of erosion and ulceration in the gastrointestinal tract, as well as related bleeding.
One of the alkaloids of belladonna - atropine - is able to reduce intestinal motility. In this regard, the absorption of oral medications can be somewhat slowed down.
Alkaloids of belladonna can reduce the effect of spironolactone, minoxidil and pilocarpine, and also enhance the action of nizatidine. Ascorbic acid and octadine reduce the effect of atropine.
Simultaneous reception with sertraline or antibiotics of the penicillin series leads to a mutual reinforcement of the action. Quinidine, novokainomid, dimedrol and diprazin strengthen the anticholinergic effect of alkaloids. The same can be said for antispasmodics, drugs for the treatment of Parkinson's disease, some antihistamines, tricyclic antidepressants.
Storage conditions
Store the drug should be, observing the storage conditions specified by the manufacturer. The temperature in the room, where the drug is stored in its native packaging, should not be more than 25 degrees. Suppositories must be protected from direct sunlight, which leads to premature deterioration of the drug.
Special instructions
When treating rectal suppositories on the basis of belladonna need to consider the likelihood of worsening the condition of patients with pathologies such as prostate adenoma without disturbance of urination, Down's disease, cerebral palsy, reflux disease, hernia of the diaphragmatic esophagus, enlargement of the large intestine (megacolon).
Care should be taken to treat elderly patients and those with chronic lung diseases.
In pediatrics, the drug is not used because of the lack of sufficient data on its safety for the child's body.
During the application of rectal suppositories there is a slowing of psychomotor reactions, the ability to concentrate attention is reduced, therefore it is better to refuse from driving vehicles and performing works that require increased attention during therapy.
It is not necessary to risk, applying the drug in the early stages of pregnancy. For the treatment of hemorrhoids, cracks in the anus, as well as increased uterine tone during pregnancy, it is better to use not a suppository with belladonna, but other drugs that do not contain alkaloids, which will be prescribed by the attending physician. With an increased tone of the uterus, you can, for example, advise the suppository "Viburkol".
[20]
Reviews about the drug "Broom extract" in the form of candles
It is difficult to judge a preparation, having set of the most various and sometimes rather inconsistent responses. Some women thank doctors for such a valuable advice to use candles with bellies during pregnancy to prepare for an important event - the birth of a baby, which does not always go smoothly. Held mummies include easy and fast delivery precisely on account of the above drug. They argue that it was thanks to rectal suppositories that the births passed on time and without complications in the form of ruptures and blood loss. Neonatal babies also showed no abnormalities.
Other women just do not know how a suppository from hemorrhoids can help give birth to a baby. They are embarrassed that there is no hint of use in the indications for use to facilitate labor. Yes, and the composition of the drug on many scares the fear, because everyone knows the toxic properties of belladonna.
Of course, there are also negative reviews. But they are related not so much to the harm to the woman or the child (side effects of the drugs have not been canceled), but to the lack of effect from the application (by the way, some obstetricians also join the opinion of the uselessness of the suppository with belladonna during pregnancy). What can you say, the body of each person is individual. And do other spasmolytics act on all people equally? There are thousands of examples that this is not true.
Councils of doctors on the preparation for childbirth can be very diverse. Someone is adherent to artificial stimulation of births mechanically or chemically, and other midwives seek the opportunity to alleviate the fate of women with natural antispasmodics, so prescribe candles with a belladonna during pregnancy just before the birth. But doctors do not have the right to prohibit or vice versa, to insist on the use of the drug, the indications for the use of which do not correspond to the situation. They advise, and the final decision is still for the woman who dreams of becoming the mother of a healthy baby.
Attention!
To simplify the perception of information, this instruction for use of the drug "Suppositories with belladonna extract during pregnancy: how to apply and where to insert" translated and presented in a special form on the basis of the official instructions for medical use of the drug. Before use read the annotation that came directly to medicines.
Description provided for informational purposes and is not a guide to self-healing. The need for this drug, the purpose of the treatment regimen, methods and dose of the drug is determined solely by the attending physician. Self-medication is dangerous for your health.