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The Top 4 Flu Treatments That Do Not Work (And 2 That Do)

Flu season is upon us, and your local pharmacy may feature special displays with products claiming to cure or treat the flu (which is caused by the influenza virus). The array of products, and the claims featured on their packaging, can be bewildering. Which of them should you buy... (Spoiler: if you want to know what really works, skip to the end.)... So what does work? The latest medical science offers only two options: 1. Vaccination. Get your flu shot! The flu vaccine isn't perfect, and it varies in efficacy from year to year, but it usually provides some protection. In the best years it can reduce your chance of getting the flu by 75% or more. It's far better to avoid getting the flu in…

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  When the Flu Hits and You’re On Your Own: How to Get Through It Safely, Calmly, and With Dignity

Getting the flu is miserable under the best of circumstances. Getting it while living alone, without a partner, family nearby, or someone to check in on you, can feel overwhelming fast. The combination of fever, fatigue, isolation, and basic survival tasks can turn a short illness into an exhausting mental and physical challenge. Yet millions of people face this reality every year, and there are practical, grounded ways to cope, recover, and protect your health when you are the only one taking care of yourself.

  The State of the Art of Flu Prevention and Treatment

You know the flu from first-hand experience, but what do you really know about it? Brush up on the facts—and learn about some recent developments.

 Here’s How Doctors Treat Their Own Colds and Flus

With the country facing a barrage of illnesses, we asked ear, nose and throat specialists and family doctors which remedies they swear by

Articles of Interest

How Doctors Take Care of Themselves When They Get the Flu

Flu season impacts everyone, including doctors. When physicians themselves get struck down, here are the tricks they use to get better as quickly as possible.

How to Boost Your Immune System During Cold and Flu Season

Here are four things immunologists and other health experts say you can do. “The No. 1 lifestyle factor that emerged was physical activity,” Dr. Nieman said. Those who exercised five or more days per week were 43 percent less likely to be sick with an upper respiratory tract infection than those who exercised for less than one day per week.

How to get better faster when you have the flu, according to science

The main way to reduce the duration of a flu infection is to take antiviral medications, meaning drugs specifically designed to combat viral infections, Dr. Timothy Brewer, a professor of medicine and epidemiology at UCLA, told Live Science. Four antivirals are currently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat influenza: Tamiflu (generic name oseltamivir), Relenza (zanamivir), Rapivab (peramivir) and Xofluza (baloxavir).

In the Flu Battle, Hydration and Elevation May Be Your Best Weapons

Vulnerable patients with weakened immune systems should consult their doctors, as should anyone who begins to have trouble breathing or feels faint. But for otherwise healthy individuals, the best strategy is to understand how flu affects your body, and practice self-care accordingly.

New Ideas to Fight the Flu

How about a shot of ultraviolet light instead of a flu shot? With seasonal vaccines often proving ineffective, researchers work on germ-killing lamps and a ‘universal vaccine’ to keep the virus at bay.

Severe flu management: a point of view

Despite remarkable improvements in the prevention and management of patients with suspected or laboratory-confirmed diagnosis of influenza, annual seasonal influenza continues to be associated with a high morbidity and mortality.

The FDA Approves a New Flu Drug—And it's a Game Changer

The new technique, which blocks the enzyme needed by the virus to replicate itself, has been shown to work against the many drug-resistant strains that have sprung up in recent years, such as the common A and B strains. "If it's effective, it will be a game changer.”

We should isolate when we have flu, not just covid-19

Many companies now have policies against going into workplaces when ill, but it has taken a global pandemic to highlight what should be a basic ethical norm: an individual should be responsible for reducing the risk of passing on the pathogens they catch. One of the lessons of the covid-19 pandemic is that public health is everyone’s responsibility – or it should be.

Zinc? Honey? Ginger? What Actually Helps When You Have a Cold or the Flu?

Here’s what we know about some of the most popular remedies that show at least a little promise.

Resources

5 Things to do in the First 24 Hours of a Cold or Flu

When it comes to the flu, starting antiviral medicine within the first 48 hours can lead to a shorter and milder illness—so it’s important to act fast. Telehealth providers, such as Doctor On Demand, let you avoid the wait and see a doctor immediately by video, right from your smartphone, tablet, or computer. Early treatment can get you feeling better faster and avoid spreading the virus to others.

7 of the Worst Things You Can Do During Cold and Flu Season

“I think the biggest mistake is that people are underestimating the seriousness of influenza,” Dr. Lamm says. That, in turn, leads to a “cascade effect” of essentially making every other mistake on this list. “The reality is [people] should be scared of influenza,” he says, because it can be a potentially life-threatening illness.

Five ways to recover from flu

If you feel that you’re coming down with flu, then quick action and some simple measures could make all the difference. Ask about antivirals, Get lots of sleep, Watch what you drink and eat, Keep warm and stay home, Try NAC supplements.