FLU DRUGS 'UNHELPFUL' IN CHILDREN

RESEARCH HAS CAST DOUBT ON THE POLICY
OF GIVING ANTIVIRAL DRUGS TO CHILDREN FOR SWINE FLU

London - (BBC News) - Work in the British Medical Journal shows Tamiflu and Relenza rarely prevent complications in children with seasonal flu, yet carry side effects. Although they did not test this in the current swine flu pandemic, they say these drugs are unlikely to help children who catch the H1N1 virus. The Department of Health said a "safety-first approach" of offering antivirals to everyone remained a sensible and responsible way forward, but promised to keep the policy under review. Antivirals are the mainstay of treatment at the moment until a vaccine becomes available, which is expected in September.

The drugs are designed to ensure that symptoms are mild and reduce the chance of an infected person giving the illness to someone else. The UK has moved beyond the stage of containing swine flu into the "treatment phase", which means that Tamiflu is only being offered to people who have swine flu and not usually to their contacts. While the latest study shows that antivirals can shorten the duration of normal seasonal flu in children by up to a day and a half, it also shows that they have little or no effect on asthma flare-ups, ear infections or the likelihood of children needing antibiotics. But the drugs can cause unpleasant side effects, such as vomiting with Tamiflu.

There is also the risk that widespread use of the drugs will mean the virus will develop resistance to them. For most children aged between 1 and 12, the risks associated with taking the drugs may well outweigh any benefits, say the researchers. They say parents with sick children should make sure they get lots of rest and enough fluids and that they should contact their doctor if the child's condition gets worse. But it is important to remember we are still in the first wave of swine flu. The situation in the autumn may be much worse.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

The living entity is eternal, but somehow or other, when in contact with the material energy, he is subjected to the repetition of birth, death, old age and disease. The physicians of the modern day should learn from Murāri Gupta. Although modern philanthropic physicians open gigantic hospitals, there are no hospitals to cure the material disease of the spirit soul. The Krishna consciousness movement has taken up the mission of curing this disease, but people are not very appreciative because they do not know what this disease is. A diseased person needs both proper medicine and a proper diet, and therefore the Krishna consciousness movement supplies materially stricken people with the medicine of the chanting of the holy name, or the Hare Krishna mahā-mantra, and the diet of prasādam.

Srila A.C. BV Swami Prabhupada:
"Śrī Caitanya Caritāmrita - Ādi-līlā - Chapter 10 - Verse 51"