The CDC called a rare Saturday news conference to announce that doctors should stop using two antivirals. It's discovered that the most common strain of flu virus currently circulating has built up high levels of resistance to them:
A whopping 91 percent of virus samples tested by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this flu season proved resistant to rimantadine and amantadine, a huge increase since last year, when only 11 percent were.
The discovery adds to worries about how to fight bird flu should it start spreading among people. Health officials had hoped to conserve use of two newer antiviral drugs, Tamiflu and Relenza, because they show activity against bird flu, unlike the older drugs.
Now, because of the resistance issue, the newer drugs are being recommended for ordinary flu, increasing the chances that resistance will develop more rapidly to them, too, as they become more commonly used.
So, if you've got the flu what do you do? If you've got the flu badly enough for your doctor to be prescribing drugs, that's one thing and I can't advise on that--really I can't advise on anything, I'm not a doctor. I can tell you what I've done for my flu that seems to have helped, and how I'm trying to keep John and the kids healthy.
Elderberry syrup, taken prophylactically, seems to help both with the duration of colds and flu and with prevention. I took tonic doses of it during this flu. I give the kids a teaspoon every day.
Oil of oregano or oregano spirits: Some natural medicine practitioners believe oregano is a powerful anti-viral. I dosed myself with this and, again, it seemed to help. You MUST dilute this in water; it will burn your throat if you take it neat. My friend Melisa calls it "the pizza stuff."
The usual: Fluids, especially hot/warm ones--chicken soup, tea, hot lemonade--and rest. Sleep as much as possible.
What not to do: Avoid over the counter flu medicines. Suppression of symptoms will prolong your illness. You're better off going to bed and just being sick. Sure, take a little ibuprofen or acetomenaphin if you're feeling so achey and miserable you can't rest, but the OTC stuff really won't help.
Flu is supposed to be 7-10 days. I got this Monday night and am almost 100% back on Saturday. I stopped feeling extremely miserable on Thursday. So whatever I did, it helped.
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