Skip to main content

Colds and flu Archive

Articles

What’s new with the flu shot?

If you are planning to get a flu shot but have not yet done so, it may be worth waiting a little longer, as data on patients from four recent flu seasons found that protection against the virus declined over the course of the winter.

Should you take an antiviral drug when you get the flu?

One antiviral medication has drawn criticism, but it's still a treatment option.


 Image: © kowalska-art/Thinkstock

Bad case of the flu? Antiviral medications, such as oseltamivir (Tamiflu) or zanamivir (Relenza), may reduce symptoms and help you recover from the flu a day or two earlier. But oseltamivir came under fire a few months ago for a lack of effectiveness.

In June, the World Health Organization (WHO) removed oseltamivir from its list of essential medicines. "Their decision was based on the relatively low effectiveness of oseltamivir in clinical trials and clinical practice. I suspect this is due to a significant number of people who started therapy after their flu symptoms had been going on for more than two days," says Dr. Paul Sax, an infectious disease specialist and Harvard Medical School professor.

Is the “full course of antibiotics” full of baloney?

Conventional medical wisdom has held that taking antibiotics for longer periods of time produces better results and lowers the risk for antibiotic resistance. But the evidence for this is slim, and researchers are now questioning this approach.

Free Healthbeat Signup

Get the latest in health news delivered to your inbox!

Sign Up
Harvard Health Publishing Logo

Thanks for visiting. Don't miss your FREE 32-page gift worth $29.95.

PLUS, don’t miss out on your 25% off promo code.

Sign up to get tips for living a healthy lifestyle—You’ll discover powerful, research- backed strategies for health longevity drawn from Harvard Medical School experts—ways to eat for a longer life, build strength and flexibility to stay independent, protect your bones, heart, and brain as you age, and even cultivate the habits linked with “super-agers” who stay sharp and active well into their 80s and 90s—all delivered to your email box FREE.

Harvard Health Publishing Logo

Stay on top of latest health news from Harvard Medical School.

Plus, get a FREE copy of Living Longer, Living Well!.

Harvard Health Publishing Logo

Stay on top of latest health news from Harvard Medical School.

Plus, get a FREE copy of Living Longer, Living Well.