HOT LATEST NEWS - OFF THE PRESS A doctor in Mechanicsburg, PA is claiming to cure flu in two days with a new treatment.
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The normal methods of treating flu are as follows :
Rest. The most important thing in flu is to give your body a chance to heal itself by resting. Get as much sleep and rest as you can
Pain relief with paracetamol or ibuprofen. THE NEXT BIT IS IMPORTANT - You should not give children under 16 aspirin because it can trigger a rare but serious brain and liver condition called Reye's Syndrome. I cannot stress this enough - watch the following short video and you will see why.
DRINKS - Plenty to drink to stop getting dehydrated. Especially warm drinks, hot milk, drinks with lemon etc.
NEW DRUGS -Drugs are now available to treat flu, they are not always that effective and take a long time to work normally. Amantadine and Rimantadine have been around for a long time. What they do is to stop the flu virus from copying itself once it has invaded human cells. They are only effective against influenza type A and not type B.
A new group of antiviral drugs has been developed over the past few years specifically for the treatment of flu-types A and B (the most common types). They are called neuraminidase inhibitors, they include Zanamivir and Oseltamivir better known as Tamiflu. They stop new virus particles from being released from human cells, and thus slow down the spread of infection. Oseltamivir is taken as a tablet but zanamivir is inhaled. Both older and newer drugs may stop the flu in its tracks before it starts.
Most doctors will not give the drugs however as they are too expensive to use for a viral illness which will normally be self limiting. They will possibly however use them for people for whom flu may be particularly dangerous. Having said that, none of the drugs can be shown to prevent serious complications such as pneumonia, although occasionally they reduce the need for antibiotic treatment.
FLU VACCINATION - The FLU JAB - This in some ways is the best form of treatment, namely prevention. You should discuss an annual flu vaccination with your doctor if you are in a vulnerable category such as elderly or people with asthma. The flu injection is good but there is one downfall. It is based on what the previous years viruses were so is sometimes not effective when a new strain of the flu virus arrives.
Whilst flu can make you feel lousy it is not normally life threatening so rest assured
