Antiflatulent drugs

Antiflatulent drugs

Antiflatulents disperse gas pockets in the GI tract. They’re avail-able alone or in combination with antacids. A major antiflatulent drug currently in use is simethicone.

Pharmacokinetics

Antiflatulents aren’t absorbed from the GI tract. They’re distrib-uted only in the intestinal lumen and are eliminated intact in stool.

Pharmacodynamics

Antiflatulents provide defoaming action in the GI tract. By produc-ing a film in the intestines, simethicone disperses mucus-enclosed gas pockets and helps prevent their formation.

Pharmacotherapeutics

Antiflatulents are prescribed to treat conditions in which excess gas is a problem, such as:

·                 functional gastric bloating

·                 postoperative gaseous bloating

·                 diverticular disease

·                 spastic or irritable colon

·                 air swallowing.

Drug interactions

Simethicone doesn’t interact significantly with other drugs and doesn’t cause known adverse reactions.