Tamiflu as a preventive measure

Can you take Tamiflu as a preventive measure? This is a popular question that everybody is asking the world as of now. For those of the lesser informed a word about what Tamiflu is for, and what causes you to take the drug.

What Tamiflu is?

Tamiflu is a prescription drug for the influenza. What causes this influenza? Influenza is an infection caused by the virus. There are three types of influenza. They are the type A influenza, the type B influenza and the type C influenza.

Type A is the most dangerous among these types. It affects the humans in very bad way. It has caused epidemic in various regions of the world. Some of the famous epidemics attributed to the influenza are the Spanish influenza of 1918, the Asian influenza of 1957 and the Hong Kong influenza of 1969.

Prevention methods

There are different methods to prevent the influenza. The most common among them being getting one administered the flu shot. It prevents one from getting the most common types of flu. This is an injection that has been around for decades.

Nowadays modern medicines have come into the markets which have gained popularity; the most popular among them being the Tamiflu. This is an oral medication. The medicine comes in the form of a capsule, a capsule containing seventy five milligrams of the medication. This medication is also available in the form of a suspension.

I will be discussing the dosages of the medication along with how one should be taking it for when you are taking it as a preventive measure.

How to take Tamiflu

For the medicine to be beneficial for you, you should start this medication within two days / forty eight hours of the symptoms showing up. You should take this medication twice a day; once in the morning and once in the evening. This is generally prescribed for a course of five days. Do not discontinue the course in any case. As a preventive measure you should take this medicine once a day. This can be done in any of the following ways; one tablet either in the morning or in the evening.

Medication schedule

But if you are taking this medicine in the mornings then you should continue to take this tablet only in the mornings, if in the evenings, then only in the evenings. Taking the tablet one day in the morning and the next day in the evening will reduce the effects of the tablet. Then it is not going to serve any purpose. So strictly stick to a schedule. A preferable schedule will be an evening dosage. This is recommended because there is a chance of a stomach upset on your taking this medication. So you are advised to take this medicine with food. So what better time than in the evenings! You may have to take it for a period of seven days if you have been known to be exposed to the virus or if you have worked in the virus infected area. If you are continuously working in the virus infected area then you should take it as long as you are working there. Protection of the medicine lasts as long as you are taking this drug.

There are some people out there who are having a kidney problem. For them, the prescribed medication is one tablet a day if they are known to be infected. In case they are taking it as a preventive measure then it is prescribed for them to take this medicine every alternate day.

The suspension of Tamiflu is given to children under the age of twelve years. However the recommended dosages for children under the age of twelve have not been determined in case you are giving it to him / her as a preventive measure.