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Tamiflu revised its drug warnings in February 2008 following reports in Japan - where Tamiflu is widely prescribed - that three young people, with no background of psychiatric disorders, committed suicide after taking the flu drug. In March 2008, Relenza also revised its drug warnings to include "abnormal behavior".
Tamiflu and Relenza are the two most popular antiviral drugs for flu, with Tamiflu being by far the more popular and Relenza a very distant second.
GlaxoSmithKline, the manufacturer of Relenza, revised its warnings on the recommendation of the US Food and Drug Administration pediatric advisory committee, which has acknowledged that flu can be associated with neuropsychiatric complications. So the official stand is that Relenza may or may not be associated with those side effects, since the flu itself can produce similar effects.
Breathing difficulties
Apart from the revised warning about abnormal behavior, one of the most serious possible Relenza side effects is bronchospasm - sudden constriction of the air passage ways in the lungs, which leads to breathing difficulties and, in some cases, death.
Under "Precautions", the manufacturer of Relenza states:
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RELENZA is not recommended for treatment or prophylaxis of influenza in individuals with underlying airways disease (such as asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease).
Serious cases of bronchospasm, including fatalities, have been reported during treatment with RELENZA in patients with and without underlying airways disease. Many of these cases were reported during postmarketing and causality was difficult to assess. RELENZA should be discontinued in any patient who develops bronchospasm or decline in respiratory function; immediate treatment and hospitalization may be required. Some patients without prior pulmonary disease may also have respiratory abnormalities from acute respiratory infection that could resemble adverse drug reactions or increase patient vulnerability to adverse drug reactions. |
This is pretty serious. You may end up in a hospital or in a coffin!
People with asthma and other respiratory illnesses obviously are at a higher risk. In a Phase I study, 1 in 13 asthma patients experienced breathing difficulties when given the drug. Yet those without any history of asthma and other respiratory illnesses are also at risk.
More worrying is the fact that many of these cases were reported during postmarketing and causality was difficult to assess. In other words, these Relenza side effects surfaced only after the drug was approved and marketed. By saying that causality was difficult to assess the drug company is downplaying the role of Relenza. What it means is that we don't know how people had been affected. We also don't know how many people had been affected.
Other severe Relenza side effects include:
In addition, there is the usual long list of common, less severe Relenza side effects:
These side effects are very similar to regular flu symptoms. So if you experience them, you don't really know if you are still suffering from the flu, or suffering from side effects of the drug.
In spite of these side effects, Relenza is still widely regarded as a safer antiviral drug for flu compared to Tamiflu. But when even the "safer" drug comes with possible side effects that include death, then we need to seriously reconsider our approach towards flu treatments.
Unfortunately, the medical world has nothing much better to offer. There are only a small handful of antiviral drugs for flu, of which only four has been approved by the US FDA. And of the four, Tamiflu is widely considered the best while Ralenza is considered a distant second best.
You are better off avoiding Relenza side effects with natural flu prevention and treatments.