Tamiflu side effects

Despite reports of serious Tamiflu side effects, and despite reports of it being "useless" for treating avian flu, the anti-viral drug Tamiflu remains highly sought after.

Because of the avian flu scare in Asia, demand for this drug has increased sharply in recent years and it is currently the most stockpiled anti-viral drug for fighting a possible flu pandemic.

'Useless'

But after following World Health Organisation protocols in treating 41 victims of the H5N1 bird flu virus, Vietnamese doctor Nguyen Tuong Van, MD, who runs the intensive care unit of the Center for Tropical Diseases in Hanoi, Vietnam concluded that Tamiflu is "useless".

In an article in WorldNetDaily.com, Dr Nguyen Tuong Van wrote: "We place no importance on using this drug on our patients. Tamiflu is really only meant for treating ordinary type A flu. It was not designed to combat H5N1... Tamiflu is useless."

The Vietnamese doctor did not criticize governments for stockpiling the drug but said doctors had to inform the public about its performance. The WHO confirms Dr Nhuyen's experience, admitting Tamiflu has not been "widely successful in human patients".

Meanwhile, new Tamiflu-resistant strains of virus have already started to appear. The US Center for Disease Control (CDC) now says that Tamiflu may not even be able to treat Flu type A, which is the type of flu currently involved in the Mexican swine flu scare. That virus has been identified as A Type H1N1. Doctors are being warned to use other treatments if Tamiflu doesn't work.

Bad enough that Tamiflu not as effective as its popularity suggests. Some of the reports about Tamiflu side effects are pretty scary too.

The most alarming Tamiflu side effects concern people in Japan who committed suicide after taking Tamiflu. The reports also mentioned young people - who are otherwise normal - inflicting self-injury and exhibiting "bizarre behavior" shortly after taking Tamiflu.

These reports of Tamiflu side effects are being taken seriously. In November 2006, the USA Food and Drug Administration (FDA), working with Tamiflu manufacturer Hoffman-La Roche Inc. added a warning to the label on the drug.

New warning

New Tamiflu warnings Precautions There have been postmarketing reports (mostly from Japan) of delirium and abnormal behavior leading to injury, and in some cases resulting in fatal outcomes, in patients with influenza who were receiving TAMIFLU... Patients with influenza should be closely monitored for signs of abnormal behavior. If neuropsychiatric symptoms occur, the risks and benefits of continuing treatment should be evaluated for each patient. Possible side effects People with the flu, particularly children and adolescents, may be at an increased risk of seizures, confusion, or abnormal behavior early during their illness. These events may occur shortly after beginning TAMIFLU or may occur when flu is not treated. These events are uncommon, but may result in accidental injury to the patient. Therefore, patients should be observed for signs of unusual behavior and a healthcare professional should be contacted immediately if the patient shows any signs of unusual behavior. - new warnings on Tamiflu revised in March 2008

In its report, the FDA’s Division of Drug Risk Evaluation said Tamiflu side effects included:

• panic attacks
• delusions
• delirium
• convulsions
• depression
• loss of consciousness
• suicide.

Japan had three cases of people, including one 14-year-old-boy, who fell to their deaths after taking Tamiflu. The other two suicide cases involved adults, one of whom left a suicide note. None of these people, however, had any history of psychological or neurological problems before taking the anti-viral drug.

Other reports of strange behaviour from taking Tamiflu included:

• an 8-year-old boy who, after taking a single dose of Tamiflu, wouldn’t answer to his own name and was growling.
  
  
• a 14-year-old girl who became paranoid - she claimed someone was watching her from outside her home and that her salad had been poisoned.

The reports came mostly from Japan because Tamiflu is prescribed far more frequently than in the US - the anti-viral drug was prescribed 24.5 million times in four years in Japan, compared to 6.5 million in the US during the same period.

It is still unclear how Tamiflu side effects might result in such strange behavior, but experts have noted that in the majority of cases, the symptoms ceased after use of the drug was discontinued.

Flu symptoms

Other reported Tamiflu side effects include: Nausea (without vomiting); Vomiting; Diarrhea; Bronchitis; Abdominal pain; Dizziness; Headache; Cough; Insomnia; Vertigo and Fatigue.

Once again, many of these side effects are similar to flu symptoms. So again we have a situation where a drug produces symptoms that are similar to the disease that it is supposed to treat.

However, the effects on behaviour are the most alarming. They may not be widespread enough to warrant the drug being withdrawn. But what if you, or your loved one, suffers from these effects?

The continued high demand for Tamiflu, in spite of these scary Tamiflu side effects - and in spite of Tamiflu not being all that effective - only goes to show how lacking in solutions medical science is. Taamiflu is only one of four major anti-viral drugs available. And the others come with their own sets of problems too.

But since the medical profession has nothing better to offer, an ineffective drug with bizarre side effects is still considered better than nothing. Better that you avoid Tamiflu side effects with Chinese herbal medicine, Chiropractic care, osteopathy and other natural healthcare for the flu.