for most people who are otherwise healthy getting a cold is no big deal the same is mostly true with
the flu although there are no clear-cut guidelines that determine when you should see your doctor if
you have the flu I'll say this if the flu is going around and you develop symptoms it's best to see
your doctor within a day or two since that is when medications for the flu are most effective
outside of that you should use your judgement about seeing a doctor so flu medications like
oseltamivir aka Tamiflu are effective only against influenza viruses and can reduce the severity of
symptoms shorten the time you're sick by one or two days and make you less contagious with
that said they don't cure the flu outright so let's dive a little deeper about anti-influenza
medications when indicated these antiviral flu medications should be given as soon as possible
because of what I just mentioned they're most likely to provide benefit within the first 48
hours of the illness but it doesn't mean that after 48 hours it's 100% in effect it's just that
the sooner that's given the more effective it is and treatment shouldn't be delayed while awaiting
diagnostic testing results in patients who have a negative rapid antigen test for influenza but
in whom the clinical suspicion for influenza infection is high should be treated because
the relatively low sensitivity of the rapid flu test so one major downside of giving these anti
flu medications to people who don't need them is the potential to breed resistant strains of
influenza so who's okay to skip out on getting treated people who have uncomplicated influenza
infection meaning healthy people with a mild infection who are outside the 48-hour window
of symptoms okay so there's two exceptions to that one is if they live with someone who is
at high risk for influenza complications the other exception to that is if they're a health
care provider patients with suspected or confirmed influenza and whom treatment is indicated should
be treated with either oseltamivir it's an MOV R primavera or the new FDA approved block severe
the gold standard has been the oral medication oseltamivir which is given in 75 milligram doses
to be taken twice a day for a total of five days if given within the first 48 hours of symptom on
set its most likely to reduce the severity of illness to reduce the duration of illness by
one day on average and it's gonna make the person less contagious but if given after
the 48 hour window it's minimally effective some studies have also shown that oseltamivir reduces
illness severity and complication rates hospital missions and length of hospitalization if giving
an oral medication is not an option there's the IV Primavera but it might not be as effective as most
ultimate ear inhaled as an MVA is not recommended for the treatment of hospitalized patients with
influenza or those who would have difficulty using an inhaler block severe is a new single dose oral
medication that blocks influenza proliferation by inhibiting the initiation of mRNA synthesis
it's approved in the US for the treatment of acute uncomplicated influenza for age 12 and
up who've been symptomatic for less than 48 hours it reduces the duration of illness by one day on
average adverse effects of these medications that I just talked about meaning the neural
Emmerdale inhibitors are typically mild if they do occur oseltamivir can cause nausea vomiting
cinnamon beer can cause bronchospasm and decline in respiratory function in patients with asthma
and COPD and purim of air can cause diarrhea what about other cold and flu remedies when it comes
to adults some prescription and non-prescription medications aka over-the-counter meds can help you
feel a little better in general there isn't much difference between OTC cold remedies and those
that are prescribed one exception is a codeine containing Koster which can help people call s
and sleep better the cold and flu products on the shelves of pharmacies more or less have the
same drugs just in different combinations the decongestants found in most over-the-counter
cold flu and allergy medicines can elevate blood pressure and interfere with medications
used to treat high blood pressure that's why in general people with heart disease or high blood
pressure should avoid medications that contain pseudoephedrine or phenyl Efrain these drugs
work by constricting blood vessels in the nose and sinuses which improves congestion but these
drugs also constrict the arteries throughout the body causing the blood pressure to climb
another drug oxymetazoline which is the active drug in Afrin does a great job of opening the
nasal passageways but the downside is that it's notorious for causing worsening rebound congestion
aka rhinitis Medical meant OSA that's why it's especially important that you don't use it for
more than two to three days with children these coughing cold medicines have been shown to be
ineffective it can have serious side effects so check with your pediatrician so things you can
do to help with cold and flu symptoms include getting rest drinking fluids if you're not too
nauseated for a sore throat you can gargle warm saltwater or use throat sprays or lozenges use
petroleum jelly under nose if it becomes raw for wiping it with tissues you can sit in a steam
filled room to temporarily decrease congestion or you can use vaporizers and humidifiers herbs
and supplements for the common cold it's hard to talk about most herbs and supplements with
absolute certainty because most having been well studied for effectiveness side effects
drug interactions and appropriate dosage also the FDA doesn't strictly regulate how herbs and
supplements are made so there are no guarantees in terms of strength purity safety and how they
affect the levels of other medications in your system some herbs and supplements commonly taken
for cold and flu symptoms include vitamin C e Kaneesha and zinc vitamin C has been taken with
the hopes that it prevents getting the cold and or it's gonna help with cold symptoms but really
this is more folklore than reality there were tons of studies and vitamin C and most of them
have shown little to no benefit to taking vitamin C for this purpose some of the studies even looked
at taking huge doses up to 8,000 milligrams which the studies initially showed a little
benefit but then subsequent studies didn't show benefit so as of now there's not enough evidence
to warrant taking vitamin C to either prevent or to help with the symptoms of cold in the past B
Kaneesha has been used to help with cold symptoms and initial studies suggested that taking it when
cold symptoms first begin reduces the duration and severity of symptoms however these studies
were low quality and subsequent higher quality studies did not find any benefit zinc may or
may not help so far the studies on zinc have not been conclusive so additional research is needed
to determine whether zinc actually has an effect on colds so that's all I got for cold and flu hope
you enjoyed the video if you did enjoy it give this video like and I'll catch you in the next one