Do Antibiotics Treat the Swine Flu

Do you suspect that you or a family member is having swine flu and you’re eager to find out if you should get a pack of antibiotic over-the-counter to treat it? You probably heard a good friend’s recommendation and thought that it will treat the swine flu, but the truth is, it doesn’t.

First of all, you need to understand that swine flu is caused by virus, and they can only be treated with antiviral. Antibiotics cannot be used to treat swine flu because antibiotics will only be able to kill bacteria.

It is always a good to double check with your doctor and asks if he notice any bacteria that the antibiotic is good for. Or else it would be a total waste of money because your body is not going to need it anyway.

Your best treatment against swine flu would be taking antiviral like the Tamiflu. You can ask for it from your doctor as a prevention method if you live in an infected area. Your doctor will most likely prescribe you with it.

It usually take at least 2 to 7 days before your doctor can confirm that you’re actually having swine flu because it require a culture or PCR test to confirm that you have been infected by the virus.

Most of the time, swine flu can be treated with the same medications being used to treat the ordinary flu. Get plenty of rest and make sure to consume the paracetamol-based pills to lower the body temperature and relieve the symptoms that might occur.

There are some over-the-counter pills that adults use can be consumed by children as a way to relief their flu symptoms. Just make sure you provide your child with an appropriate dosage as mentioned on the package. But you should never let a child who is under 16 to take aspirin or any medications that contains aspirin as part of its ingredient. Make sure to check the label and find out if it is suitable for children.

The recent change in government policy has stated that anyone with flu symptoms will be treated with Tamiflu without going through the swab test. This is done to avoid further complications. That means any children below 5 regardless of how severe their symptoms is, pregnant women with flu symptoms and people who are suffering chronic illnesses will be prescribed with Tamiflu right away.

Patients who are allergic to Tamiflu will be given courses of Relenza (zanamivir) as an alternative treatment option.

This change was carried out as a way to slow down the sudden increase of flu cases. There was about 80% to 90% of flu symptoms were caused by the swine flu. This was actually expected so there is no reason to be panic. Just remain cautious and continue to keep yourself updated with the latest news on treatment for the swine flu.