You can only get them if you have a prescription from a health care provider. Antiviral drugs are different from antibiotics, which fight against bacterial infections. If you get sick with flu, antiviral drugs are a treatment option.
Check with your doctor promptly if you are at higher risk of serious flu complications full list of higher risk factors and you develop flu symptoms. Flu signs and symptoms can include feeling feverish or having a fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills, and fatigue.
Your doctor may prescribe antiviral drugs to treat your flu illness. Antiviral drugs are not a substitute for getting a flu vaccine. While flu vaccine can vary in how well it works, a flu vaccine is best way to help prevent seasonal flu and its potentially serious complications.
Everyone 6 months and older should receive a flu vaccine every year. Antiviral drugs are a second line of defense that can be used to treat flu including seasonal flu and variant flu viruses if you get sick. Antiviral treatment works best when started soon after flu illness begins.
When treatment is started within two days of becoming sick with flu symptoms, antiviral drugs can lessen fever and flu symptoms and shorten the time you are sick by about one day. They also may reduce the risk of complications such as ear infections in children, respiratory complications requiring antibiotics, and hospitalization in adults. For people at higher risk of serious flu complications, early treatment with an antiviral drug can mean having milder illness instead of more severe illness that might require a hospital stay.
For adults hospitalized with flu illness, some studies have reported that early antiviral treatment can reduce their risk of death. Studies show that flu antiviral drugs work best for treatment when they are started within two days of getting sick.
However, starting them later can still be beneficial, especially if the sick person is at higher risk of serious flu complications or is in the hospital with more severe illness. Follow instructions for taking these drugs. Zanamivir is a powder that is inhaled and approved for early treatment of flu in people 7 years and older. Oseltamivir and zanamivir are given twice a day for 5 days.
Peramivir is given once intravenously by a health care provider and is approved for early treatment of flu in people 2 years and older. Baloxavir is a pill given as a single dose by mouth and is approved for early treatment of flu in people 12 years and older.
To treat flu, oseltamivir or inhaled zanamivir are usually prescribed for 5 days, or one dose of intravenous peramivir or oral Baloxavir for 1 day. Oseltamivir treatment is given to hospitalized patients, and some patients might be treated for more than 5 days. Top of Page. The possible effect of COVID exposure-avoidance measures on circulation of influenza is not fully understood. Outbreaks of influenza occur every year and typically reach epidemic levels at some part of the season.
Usually, uncomplicated influenza gets better with or without antiviral treatment but may cause substantial discomfort and limit activities while it lasts.
Many people with uncomplicated influenza use over-the-counter medicines, get rest, and take plenty of fluids to lessen their symptoms. Antiviral drugs available by prescription can reduce the time it takes for symptoms to improve, and some are also used in selected situations to reduce the chance of illness in people exposed to influenza virus. Prompt medical evaluation is important for early treatment of influenza as the antiviral drugs may provide the most benefit for patients who initiate therapy within 48 hours of symptom onset.
Symptoms of influenza may mimic other infections which require different treatment such as bacterial pneumonia which should be treated with antibiotics.
It is important to be evaluated by a healthcare provider, if symptoms are severe or worsening or if there is an underlying chronic medical condition.
Laboratory tests can help detect influenza virus. However, a negative test does not always rule out the possibility of an influenza virus infection, and positive tests do not exclude the possibility of other illnesses or take the place of clinical evaluation. Complications of influenza can include bacterial infections, viral pneumonia, and cardiac and other organ system abnormalities. People with chronic medical conditions including obesity , children younger than 5 years old and especially children less than 2 years old , patients 65 years and older, residents of long-term care facilities, Native Americans and Alaska Natives and pregnant women may be at increased risk for complications.
Complications of influenza, and other illnesses that resemble influenza, may require different treatment and, in some cases, urgent medical attention. Antiviral drugs are different from antibiotics, which fight against bacterial infections. Digital Resources. What CDC Does. To receive weekly email updates about Seasonal Flu, enter your email address: Email Address. What's this? Links with this icon indicate that you are leaving the CDC website. Linking to a non-federal website does not constitute an endorsement by CDC or any of its employees of the sponsors or the information and products presented on the website.
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