“Didn’t you come in the morning?”
“Hyeonu said he had the flu. In the morning, the test didn’t come out, but even after taking medicine, the fever didn’t go away, so he came back.”
When the pharmacy was over, the mother urgently took the child to visit.
With a flu (influenza) warning issued for the first time in three years, flu cases in children and adolescents are on the rise. With more than 50,000 corona confirmed cases still coming out, we need to be more prepared. The flu and COVID-19 have many similar symptoms, and the flu often causes a sudden high fever of 38℃ or higher, muscle pain, and headache, and COVID-19 has symptoms such as decreased sense of smell or taste, difficulty breathing, etc. in addition to general respiratory symptoms. There is a difference. Influenza and COVID-19 can be differentiated through rapid antigen test and PCR test. This article is about the flu and its treatment.
Influenza is an acute respiratory illness caused by the influenza virus and is accompanied by symptoms such as sudden high fever, headache, muscle pain, and general weakness. Among influenza viruses, types A and B cause disease in humans, type B is one type, and type A has several types depending on the types of H antigen and N antigen on the surface of the virus. In Korea, influenza is prevalent between October and April of the following year, so vaccination is recommended from September to December, taking into account the period of antibody development (2 to 4 weeks) and the duration of the preventive effect (6 months). It is good to get vaccinated every year.
There are also trivalent and quadrivalent vaccines in vaccines. The trivalent vaccine can prevent three types of flu viruses, including two types of influenza A and one type B, while the quadrivalent vaccine can prevent two types of A and two types of B. The World Health Organization (WHO) collects virus epidemic information in regions around the world to predict and announce the type of influenza virus that will be prevalent that year, and pharmaceutical companies manufacture flu vaccines using this information. may fall
If you are at the pharmacy, there are many patients who ask, ‘Why am I getting a cold even though I have been vaccinated against the flu’? Influenza vaccine is effective only against influenza and is not effective against common cold accompanied by runny nose, cough, and sore throat mainly caused by rhinovirus.
Influenza treatment is divided into oral, inhalant, and injection depending on the route of administration. Since the influenza virus propagates within 72 hours of infection, the drug must be administered within 48 hours of the onset of initial symptoms or contact with an infected person to effectively inhibit the proliferation of the virus. can do.
① Oral medicine (oseltamivir, baloxavir component)
Oseltamivir (trade name Tamiflu) inhibits ‘neuraminidase’, which is essential when the replicated virus binds to the cell membrane to get out of the host cell, thereby preventing the virus from multiplying. As a treatment for influenza A and B virus infections for newborns over 2 weeks old (excluding those less than 36 weeks after conception), children and adults, it must be taken twice a day (10-12 hours apart) for 5 days. If you do not take it for 5 consecutive days, you are more likely to develop drug resistance.
Baloxavir (trade name Xofluza tablets) inhibits the enzyme called ‘endonuclease’, which is essential for influenza virus replication, and inhibits virus synthesis, and is used for adolescents and adults over 12 years of age. Take once a day.
② Inhalation medicine (Zanamivir, brand name Relenzarota Disc)
As a treatment for influenza A and B virus infections for children and adults over 7 years of age, it is inhaled orally using a special device, so you should know how to use the inhaler correctly. Administer by inhalation twice a day, twice each time (2 × 5 mg, daily dose 20 mg) for 5 days.
③ Injection (Peramivir, brand name Peramiflu)
It is used to treat influenza A and B virus infections in children and adults aged 6 months or older. Adults should inject 300mg peramivir as a single infusion over 15 minutes or longer, and pediatric peramivir over 6 months should inject 10mg/kg single intravenously over 15 minutes.
There have been reports of neuropsychiatric abnormal reactions such as convulsions and delirium or accidents such as falls in children and adolescents among patients who have received anti-flu drugs, so guardians stay with the patients for about two days, lock windows, verandas, front doors, etc. must be carefully observed.
Wearing a mask, washing hands properly with soap under running water for at least 30 seconds, and avoiding going to places with a lot of people during the epidemic period, and practicing regular life, getting enough sleep, replenishing water, and taking vitamins to fight COVID-19 We should try to protect our bodies from the flu.