An earlier post on this blog recommended against getting a flu shot and that recommendation against flu medications is apparently justified. The hands-down leader among flu drugs in the US is Tamflu and almost all flu this season is resistant to Tamiflu. According to the CDC in Atlanta, last winter 11% of the flu swabs tested were resistant to Tamiflu while this season a whopping 99% is resistant!
“It’s quite shocking,” said Dr. Kent Sepkowitz, director of infection control at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. “We’ve never lost an antimicrobial this fast. It blew me away.” [http://iht.com/articles/2009/01/08/america/09flu.php]
Making this problem even more difficult is that even if the flu drug fits the particular strain, they’re only effective if administered within 48 hours of coming down with the flu. A very sick flu patient can be given the wrong flu medication and die of pneumonia.
A suggested solution: instead of Tamiflu, give a flu drug called Relenza. However, it’s a powder that must be inhaled – and can cause lung spasms! It’s definitely unsafe for young children.
Here is a comment that clearly illustrates the problem with modern medicine:
“The bottom line is that we should have more antiviral drugs,” said Dr. Arnold Monto, a flu expert at the University of Michigan’s School of Public Health.”
Uh, Dr, Monto – what about strengthening our immune systems so that we don’t get the flu in the first place? The picture on the left shows two viruses. The one on the left is unchecked while the one on the right is coated with antibodies which stop it from attaching to cells and infecting them. And antibodies are created by – you guessed it – a healthy immune system
The fact is that the flu virus is a live agent that – like all life forms – has the ability to change and adapt. That is exactly what is happening now and will undoubtedly continue to happen. As we develop new flu drugs, the virus will adapt to those drugs. Yes, flu medications can be useful short term, but they will never be ‘The Answer’ to the flu virus. Prevention is the ONLY real answer.
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