Q: I am in my first month of pregnancy. My doctor gave me 2 oral medicines for my vaginal infection - Candistat and Nizonide. What are the side effects of these medicines on my child? Please advise.

A:Candistat is the brand name of a medicine called itraconazole. Its use during pregnancy is prohibited. In addition, after consuming the drug, one should use contraception for one month. Nitazoxanide is an experimental anti-protozoal agent, which is under investigation for the treatment of cryptosporidiosis in HIV-positive or AIDS patients. It is also used to kill giardia lamblia infection in non-HIV, non-AIDS patients. The United States Food and Drug Administration has classified this drug as Category B in Pregnancy which means that animal studies have failed to show a risk but there are no adequate studies in pregnant women. With regard to selection of brands, your attention is invited to the general statement. General statement on selection of brands: There are scores, sometimes hundreds, of brands of the same medicine. Against about 300 pharmaceutical manufacturers in western countries like Britain, there are over 20,000 producers in India that market more than 40,000 brands. Most manufacturers do not have quality testing laboratories. Hence selection of brands is important. Many companies give incentives to prescribers to patronise their products. Patients should check the reputation of manufacturers before consuming medicines.