Why Tamiflu Might Not Work for You: Choices for Flu Prevention and Treatment

Seasonal flu season is in full swing again this year. Each year over 200,000 people are hospitalized with flu complications and 36,000 people die from the flu. The number of flu cases is highest in February and March. Flu season generally ends in May with the start of warmer weather. But a new problem is growing. More and more types of flu are not responding to treatment with Tamiflu.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released an alertshowing some flu strains are now antiviral medication resistant. This means that antiviral medications do not ease or prevent the symptoms. Influenza A is the most common strain of flu in the US. Of the offspring of A types are H1 which is no longer responsive to Tamiflu. Tamiflu is a prescription medication, which fights the effects of flu or in some instances can prevent the onset of flu symptoms.

Prevention: What Can Be Done?

People who are at risk should avoid contact with those who have the flu or flu symptoms. According to the CDC, people at risk include: children aged 6 months up to their 19th birthday, pregnant women, people 50 years of age and older, people of any age with certain chronic medical conditions, people who live in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities and those who live with or care for those at high risk for complications from flu.

It's not too late to get a flu vaccine. Because it's still early in the flu season it is possible to gain protection from the vaccine. According to the CDC the vaccine includes those varieties circulating this year and is effective in almost 70 and 90 percent of healthy adults who receive the vaccine. In addition hand washing, rest, vitamins and avoiding people with the flu can help a person avoid becoming a flu sufferer.

You Caught The Flu

Though Tamiflu by itself is no longer effective in fighting some of the common flu strains, Tamiflu can work in combination with other antiviral medications. It is important to be diagnosed correctly. Call your family health care provider as soon as possible. Antiviral medications for the flu work best within the first 48 hours of the start of symptoms.

For those at risk from flu, it is important to diagnose bacterial infections happening after flu infections. Pneumonia is a frequent cause of influenza deaths. Again it's important for correct and careful diagnosis of the infections. Incorrect diagnosis and treatment with the wrong antibiotics can lead to a difficult to treat pneumonia.

Catching the flu can mean a miserable couple of days for most of us. But for those of us at risk, flu can be more than an inconvenience. Get a flu shot if you are part of the at risk groups. Wash your hands, get plenty of rest, take vitamins to boost your system and avoid people who show flu symptoms. Then come May you may be able to breathe a sigh of relief knowing you avoided getting the flu this year.