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State-of-the-art flu remedies
Last reviewed: 04.07.2025
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Flu treatment involves more than just raspberry tea or antipyretics. Today, there are several ways to treat flu that are based on symptomatic (to eliminate symptoms), pathogenetic (to eliminate fever and pain) and etiotropic (affecting the very cause of the disease) remedies. What are these modern flu remedies?
Etiotropic agents against influenza
These are chemical medical preparations that have the ability to suppress the activity of viruses. A striking example of such preparations is rimantadine, which doctors have been successfully using in the treatment of influenza for more than two decades. It is very good for type A influenza. Rimantadine is able to suppress the activity of viruses that cause the destruction of body cells. The drug blocks their activity and does not allow the virus to multiply - in scientific terms, it turns off the nuclear phase of virus reproduction.
This drug is usually prescribed for the treatment of influenza no later than two days after the first symptoms of influenza appear according to the following scheme. During the first day, take 300 mg, the second day - 200 mg, the third day - 100 mg of the drug once. Doctors consider this drug to be very effective, but its significant disadvantage is that it has a very narrow spectrum of action on viruses.
Oseltamivir
Another effective medicine for flu is oseltamivir (in our country it is a part of the drug Tami-Flu). This is a medicine from the new generation, which is used to treat flu symptoms. It is good because it affects both types of flu – A and B.
When its components combine with flu viruses, it blocks the ability of this virus to split a living cell, so that new viruses are not secreted from it. Therefore, the body is not infected as actively as with an uncontrolled invasion of viruses.
If this drug is taken orally, a substance that suppresses the activity of viruses and prevents them from infecting the body and poisoning it with toxins of dead cells remains in the blood for a long time. A drug containing oseltamivir (in our case, Tamiflu) is recommended to eliminate flu symptoms in children over 12 years of age and adults. It should be taken on the recommendation of a doctor, 75 mg at a time twice a day - in the morning and in the evening. The course of treatment is 5 days. The drug is good because it is easily tolerated even by those patients who, in addition to the flu, suffer from concomitant diseases.
Sometimes (rarely) the gastrointestinal tract does not respond well to the drug, and then a person may experience symptoms such as nausea. Among the precautions for taking this drug is that it is not recommended for pregnant or breastfeeding women, since the effect on the unborn or recently born child has not yet been studied.
Arbidol
This drug is recommended for the treatment of flu for good reason. It is good because it affects the strains of flu type A and B, which cause its moderate and severe form. It perfectly increases the body's resistance to various types of infections, reduces intoxication of the body. In particular, arbidol does not allow the virus to merge with the body's cells and affect them. However, it is not worth taking it, like other drugs, without a doctor's recommendation, especially for people with hypersensitivity to its components. Arbidol is contraindicated for children under two years of age.
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Immunotropic drugs for influenza
Treatment of influenza usually causes many unpleasant symptoms due to intoxication of the body with the products of the viruses' activity: nausea, headache, aching joints, high temperature. Therefore, combination therapy is used in the treatment of influenza. To make it effective, interferon inducers or interferons themselves are introduced into the course of treatment - agents that help the immune system cope with the disease.
Interferons have an excellent effect on viruses and suppress their activity. These drugs are good because they destroy viruses at the initial stage of their reproduction - the synthesis of specific viral proteins.
Doctors consider Viferon, Ridostin, Hyporamin, Amiksin, Reaferon, and Interferon to be active representatives of these drugs.
Viferon
Viferon copes very well with flu symptoms due to a substance similar to human interferons, as well as ascorbic acid and tocopherol in the composition. This drug actively fights the reproduction of viruses and has an active effect on cells, activating their work. Viferon also perfectly stimulates the immune system, helping it to cope with enemy viruses. Viferon is usually prescribed 500 thousand IU twice a day - in the morning and in the evening. The course of treatment is 5 days.
Ridostin
This drug is also considered a strong immunomodulator. It is an interferon inducer, which is distinguished by its high-molecular properties and natural formula. It is considered a very highly effective drug for flu and colds. The course of treatment is only 2 days. The drug is administered by injection 2 times after 48 hours, its dose reaches 8 ml.
Hyporamine
It is a herbal medicine that effectively destroys both viruses and microbes and helps the immune system cope with the flu.
Doctors prescribe this drug in the form of 0.02 g tablets for 3 days. It is taken 4 to 6 times a day, one tablet at a time. Hyporamine can also be in the form of rectal suppositories, which are administered against the flu 2 times a day for three days. Hyporamine can also be in the form of a solution - then it is used for inhalations in a 0.2% solution.
You need to know that the doctor prescribes all etiotropic drugs for the treatment of influenza no later than two days after the first symptoms of influenza appear. These drugs can reduce the duration and severity of your illness by almost half.
Pathogenetic agents for influenza
Flu remedies of this group help to cure the disease. To make the treatment more effective, the course of treatment includes antihistamines, as well as ascorbic acid and calcium, drugs with rutin in the composition. However, drugs against the action of bacteria should not be prescribed. They are prescribed only in special cases - when a person is sick with concomitant diseases - pneumonia, diabetes and diseases of bacterial origin. The course of treatment in this case is from 5 to 7 days.
Symptomatic remedies against influenza
These are mainly the means that eliminate the symptoms of flu, thereby easing the person's condition. These means can be cough medicines or expectorants. If the nose is stuffy, then vasoconstrictors are used, which help to more easily endure the cough. These means (drops, sprays) can be used for no more than 6 days - due to the development of allergic rhinitis.
So, modern anti-flu drugs are mainly aimed at suppressing the activity of bacteria and the destructive effects of viruses. Therefore, on the recommendation of a doctor, they should be used to remove not the symptoms themselves, but the cause of the disease.
Attention!
To simplify the perception of information, this instruction for use of the drug "State-of-the-art flu remedies" translated and presented in a special form on the basis of the official instructions for medical use of the drug. Before use read the annotation that came directly to medicines.
Description provided for informational purposes and is not a guide to self-healing. The need for this drug, the purpose of the treatment regimen, methods and dose of the drug is determined solely by the attending physician. Self-medication is dangerous for your health.