The best prevention during flu season is following the standard advice: Get a flu shot and wash your hands before eating or touching your face.
But if you do get the flu, certain antiviral medications like Tamiflu (oseltamivir) and Relenza (zanamivir) are still available as a treatment, according to the Harvard Health Letter.
These antivirals must be taken within two days of the onset of symptoms to be effective and might speed recovery by one or two days.
In June, the World Health Organization removed oseltamivir from its list of essential medicines, citing low effectiveness in clinical trials.
However, this drug and others in the antiviral category do help some people if taken early enough. Older people and those with chronic lung, heart or kidney disease or compromised immune systems would be a candidate for the flu drugs.
Rick Good spent ten years in the newspaper business, including with The News & Observer (Raleigh, NC) and The Greenville News (Greenville, SC). He co-wrote, with Melinda Coleman, Rutledge to Riley: Governors of South Carolina, 1776–Present (Published by The Greenville News), and is the author of Mind Games Trivia #1 (Amazon). He has recently spent 15 years creating original trivia content through Sounds Good Mobile Entertainment and continues that with his new company, SGME Software. He edits The Smart Reader’s money, real estate, and business coverage.
