Contents
- Should children be given antiviral drugs?
- Antiviral drugs for children under 1 year
- Antivirals for children 1 to 2 years of age
- Antiviral drugs for children from 3 years
- Antiviral drugs for children from 4-7 years old
- What antiviral drugs should not be given to children?
- Can antibiotics be taken with antivirals?
Every year, with the onset of cold weather, caring parents have another reason for concern – how to protect their child from a seasonal epidemic of acute respiratory infections, SARS or influenza? And if the child has already picked up the virus, how to help the child’s body cope with the virus faster and avoid serious complications? You will learn about the most effective antiviral drugs for infants, toddlers, preschoolers and older children below.
The shelves of modern pharmacies are bursting with cold remedies, among which there are supposedly very effective antiviral drugs – both inexpensive and prohibitively priced. But how to understand if they will help, and is it worth giving such pills to children at all? Will such outside interference harm the child’s immunity? To answer these important questions, you must first understand what a virus is, how it behaves when it enters the body, how the immune system reacts to an invasion, and how antiviral drugs can help it.
When we become infected with a virus, the following processes take place:
The DNA or RNA of the virus enters cells with the help of special enzymes, integrates into their genome and makes them “work for themselves” instead of performing physiological functions;
Replication begins – the synthesis of new viral particles;
Particles are produced and accumulated in the cytoplasm of diseased cells until they exhaust their vital resources;
There is cell death, rupture of cell membranes and the release of the virus to the outside;
New viral particles penetrate into neighboring healthy cells, the infection progresses.
The human immune system can counter this with the following types of “weapons”:
Interferon – a protective protein produced by the cells of our body in the presence of an inflammatory process and elevated body temperature. It does not allow the pathogen to penetrate into the cells;
Nonspecific immune response – the first phase of the reaction to the invasion of the virus into the body. Immunocompetent cells (macrophages and lymphocytes) attack and devour viral particles;
specific immune response – the second phase of the fight against infection. It is cellular and humoral. Cytotoxic lymphocytes, which destroy virus-infected cells, are responsible for cellular. For humoral – B-lymphocytes that recognize the virus and kill it with the help of antibodies created specifically to fight it – immunoglobulin proteins.
Based on this, science has developed antiviral drugs with three principles of action:
Вакцины – “acquaint” the body with viruses and allow them to respond to their possible invasion in the future with a specific immune response immediately, that is, to defeat the infection at the first stage and not get sick at all;
Interferon and its inducers – replenish interferon reserves in the patient’s body or stimulate their own cells to produce it, that is, briefly enhance the nonspecific immune response;
Etiotropic agents – block the activity of viruses at the stage of penetration into cells, replication or exit to the outside (by inhibiting enzymes and blocking ion channels). This group includes artificially created chemicals that are taken strictly according to the doctor’s prescription.
According to the composition, effective antiviral drugs for children can be divided into the following categories:
Interferons – Viferon, Grippferon, Lokferon;
Inducers of endogenous interferons – Cycloferon, Kagocel, Lavomax;
Neuraminidase inhibitors – Tamiflu (oseltamivir), Relenza (zanamivir);
M2 channel blockers – Rimantadine, Amantadine;
Specific hemagglutinin inhibitor – umifenovir (Arbidol, Immustat);
Plant extracts – Echinacea, Immunal, Immunorm, Immunoflazid, Imupret.
As for interferon, its most important role in the formation of nonspecific immunity is beyond doubt, but how effective are antiviral drugs for children in the form of dry interferon lyophilisate, nasal drops, sprays and rectal suppositories?
We answer: a donor or recombinant protein will be fully absorbed by the body only when administered parenterally (that is, bypassing the gastrointestinal tract). At the same time, it will really help to overcome the virus only during the first 24-72 hours after it enters the body. Further, interferon is useless, since the first phase of the immune response has ended, the pathogen has been identified or identified for the first time, the second phase has begun – specific – in which immunoglobulin antibodies work.
The effectiveness of immunostimulating antiviral drugs for children raises even more questions. Normal immunity does not need to be stimulated, it does not need to be “raised”, it stands in its place. Hyperactivation of immunocompetent cells threatens the development of unpredictable complications: oncological and autoimmune diseases. In the first case, healthy cells mutate and multiply abnormally fast, and in the second case, lymphocytes and macrophages attack the tissues of their own body.
So, is it necessary to give the child antiviral agents during seasonal epidemics of influenza and SARS? If the baby is often sick and skips kindergarten, it makes sense to purchase interferon at the pharmacy to strengthen local immunity as soon as you learn about the outbreak of colds among his classmates. An older child who is already going to school can be given Remantadin as a preventive measure.
As for the situation when the child is already sick, then you need to run not to the pharmacy for pills, but to the doctor for an appointment, especially when it comes to babies. Distinguish a bacterial infection from a viral one “by eye”, according to the symptoms, no parent will be able to. Under the general concept of “cold” there are many potentially dangerous diseases of various etiologies that require laboratory diagnostics and a targeted approach to treatment. And buying more and more pills: antiviral drugs, immunostimulants and even antibiotics in the hope that the child will finally get over a protracted cold is not only wasteful, but also criminal in relation to his health.
Anaferon for children (sublingual tablets)
Active substance: Affinity purified antibodies to human gamma interferon
Indications and dosage: For the prevention of acute respiratory viral infections
Children over 1 month old: 1 tablet per day, for treatment: during the first two hours from the onset of symptoms, 1 tablet every 30 minutes, then 1 tablet 3 times a day.
Contraindications and side effects: Lactose intolerance (an auxiliary component of the drug) No side effects have been identified.
Approximate price (rub.): 180-250
Viferon (rectal suppositories)
Analogues: Kipferon
Active substance: Interferon alfa-2b recombinant, suppositories
150 000 ME, 500 000 ME,
1 ME,
3 ME.
Indications and dosage: For viral and bacterial infections.
Children under 7 years old, including newborns and premature babies, 1 suppository 150 IU 000 times a day every 3 hours for 8 days;
Children over 7 years old: 1 suppository 500 IU 000 times a day every 2 hours for 12 days.
Contraindications and side effects: Individual intolerance to interferons, autoimmune diseases, severe forms of allergies.
Allergic reactions in the form of skin itching and rash are possible.
Approximate price (rub.): 250-900
Immunoflazid (syrup)
Analogues: Proteflazid, Flavozid.
Active substance: Extract of pike soddy and ground reed grass.
Indications and dosage: With SARS and influenza twice a day for 2 weeks
Children under one year old: 0,5 ml;
Children 1-2 years old: 1 ml;
Children 2-4 years old: 1,5 ml;
Children 4-6 years old: 3 ml;
Children 6-9 years old: 5 ml;
Children 9-12 years old: 6 ml.
Contraindications and side effects: Individual intolerance to the components of the drug, gastric and duodenal ulcers, autoimmune diseases.
Possible vomiting, headache, diarrhea, nausea, abdominal pain, fever.
Approximate price (rub.): 160-270
Interferon (lyophilisate)
Analogues: Lockferon, Inferon.
Active substance: Human leukocyte interferon.
Indications and dosage: With SARS and influenza, the solution is applied intranasally.
Children under 1 month: 3 drops per flagella, insert into the nostrils for 10 minutes 4-6 times a day; Children under 1 year: 1 drop in each nasal passage 4-6 times a day;
Children over 1 year: 3-5 drops no more than 6 times a day.
Contraindications and side effects: Leukocyte donor interferon is more dangerous than recombinant (artificial) in terms of allergies, side effects and unwanted interactions.
Possible skin rash, headache, nausea, drowsiness, fever.
Approximate price (rub.): 100-250
Nazoferon (nosal drops and spray)
Analogues: Grippferon
Active substance: Interferon alpha-2b human recombinant.
Indications and dosage: With SARS and influenza
Children under 1 year: 1 drop in each nostril 5 times a day;
Children 1-3 years old: 2 drops or 1 injection 4 times a day;
Children 3-14 years old: 3 drops or 2 sprays 5 times a day.
Contraindications and side effects: Individual intolerance to interferons, autoimmune diseases, severe forms of allergies.
Allergic reactions are possible in the form of skin itching, rash, sneezing, lacrimation.
Approximate price (rub.): 170-300
Oksolin (ointment)
Active substance: Naphthalene-1,2,3,4-tetron (oxoline).
Indications and dosage: With rhinitis of viral etiology and for the prevention of influenza.
For children of any age, lubricate the nasal passages 2-3 times a day.
Contraindications and side effects: Individual intolerance to oxolin.
Possible burning in the nose and rhinorrhea.
Approximate price (rub.): 60-100
Thymogen (solution and nasal spray)
Active substance: Alpha Glutamyl Tryptophan Sodium.
Indications and dosage: For the prevention and treatment of respiratory viral infections 1 time per day.
Children under 1 year old: 1 drop of solution in each nasal passage;
Children 1-6 years old: 1 spray in any nostril;
Children 7-14 years old: 1 spray in each nostril.
Contraindications and side effects: Individual intolerance to thymogen, autoimmune diseases.
Allergic reactions are possible, with a tenfold excess of the dosage, a flu-like syndrome sometimes develops.
Approximate price (rub.): 270-350
Ergoferon (sublingual tablets)
Active substance: Antibodies to human gamma interferon affinity purified, antibodies to histamine affinity purified, antibodies to CD4 affinity purified.
Indications and dosage: For the treatment of acute respiratory viral infections
For children from 6 months during the first 2 hours, the drug is given every 30 minutes, then during the first day 3 more times at regular intervals. From the second day onwards, 1 tablet 3 times a day. For the prevention of viral infectious diseases – 1 tablet per day.
Contraindications and side effects: Individual intolerance to the components of the drug.
Allergic reactions are possible.
Approximate price (rub.): 280-360.
Immunal (solution, tablets)
Analogues: Immunorm, Estifan, Echinacin Liquidum, Echinacea Geksal
Active substance: Echinacea purpurea juice.
Indications and dosage: To strengthen the immune system in uncomplicated acute viral infections.
Children over 1 year old:
1 ml of solution 3 times a day.
Attention: tablets are intended for children over 4 years of age.
Contraindications and side effects: Systemic and autoimmune diseases, allergy to plants of the Compositae family. Possible skin rash, dizziness, bronchospasm, shortness of breath, anaphylactic shock.
Approximate price (rub.): 300-400.
Imupret (solution, dragee)
Active substance: Alcohol-water solution or dry extract of marshmallow root, horsetail herb, yarrow and dandelion, chamomile flowers, walnut leaves, oak bark.
Indications and dosage: For the prevention and treatment of respiratory viral infections, acute and chronic diseases of the upper respiratory tract.
Children from 1 to 2 years old: 5 drops 3 times a day for 1-3 weeks.
Contraindications and side effects: Individual intolerance to the components of the drug.
In rare cases, allergic reactions may develop.
Approximate price (rub.): 350-480.
Orvirem (syrup)
Analogues: (Remavir 20) (powder)
Active substance: Rimantadine hydrochloride.
Indications and dosage: For the prevention and treatment of influenza type A.
Children from 1 year: 1 ml (10 teaspoons) of syrup 2 times a day on day 3; on days 2 and 3, 10 ml 2 times a day; on the 4th day 10 ml 1 time per day.
Attention: rimantadine tablets are approved for children from 7 years of age.
Contraindications and side effects: Individual intolerance to rimantadine, liver and kidney disease, epilepsy.
Possible skin rash, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, flatulence, dizziness, insomnia.
Approximate price (rub.): 250-400.
Tamiflu (powder, capsules)
Active substance: Oseltamivir phosphate.
Indications and dosage: For the treatment and prevention of influenza A and B viruses.
Children from 1-2 years old: 1 dose (12 mg / ml) of a suspension prepared from a powder or an opened capsule 2 times a day;
course of treatment 10 days
Attention: it is possible to use from 6 months for special indications.
Contraindications and side effects: End-stage renal failure, hypersensitivity to oseltamivir.
Possible nausea, vomiting, headache, insomnia, convulsions, increased nervous irritability, depression.
Approximate price (rub.): 1200-1500.
Cytovir-3 (syrup, capsules, powder)
Active substance: Sodium alpha-glutamyl tryptophan (thymogen), ascorbic acid (vitamin C), bendazole hydrochloride (dibazole).
Indications and dosage: In order to prevent and as part of the complex therapy of influenza and SARS.
Children from 1 year: 2 ml of syrup 3 times a day for 4 days in a row.
Attention: capsules are intended for children over 6 years of age.
Contraindications and side effects: Thrombophlebitis, severe hypotension, diabetes mellitus, stomach ulcer, urolithiasis.
Possible urticaria and a short-term decrease in blood pressure.
Approximate price (rub.): 300-800.
Alpizarin (tablets, ointment)
Active substance: Tetrahydroxygluco-pyranosylxanthene.
Indications and dosage: As part of the complex therapy of the herpes virus, chickenpox, lichen, cytomegalovirus.
Children 3-6 years old: 1/2 tab. 3 times a day.
Children 6-12 years old: 1 tab. 3 times a day for 5-21 days.
Ointment is allowed from 1 year.
Contraindications and side effects: Individual intolerance to lactose, hypersensitivity to the components of the drug.
In rare cases, allergic reactions are possible.
Price, rub.): 90-250.
Arbidol (tablets, capsules powder)
Analogues: Arpeflu, Arpetolid, Arpetol, Immustat.
Active substance: Umifenovir (methylphenylthiomethyl-dimethylaminomethyl-hydroxybromindole carboxylic acid ethyl ester).
Indications and dosage: For the prevention and treatment of acute respiratory viral infections and influenza, as part of the complex therapy of rotavirus intestinal infections.
Children 3-6 years old: 50 mg 1-3 times a day;
Children 6-12 years old: 100 mg 1-3 times a day;
Children over 12 years old: 200 mg 1-3 times a day.
Contraindications and side effects: Individual intolerance to umifenovir.
In rare cases, allergic reactions are possible.
Price, rub.): 130-300.
Hyporamine (tablets, ointment)
Active substance: Sea buckthorn leaf extract.
Indications and dosage: For the prevention and treatment of acute respiratory viral infections, influenza A and B, adenovirus and cytomegalovirus infections, herpes, lichen, chickenpox
Children 3-12 years old: 1 tablet 2-3 times a day;
Children over 12 years old: 1 tablet 3-4 times a day.
Ointment – from 1 month.
Contraindications and side effects: Hypersensitivity to the active ingredient of the drug.
In rare cases, allergic reactions are possible.
Price, rub.): 130-180.
Groprinosin (tablets)
Analogues: Isoprenosin
Active substance: Inosine pranobex (compound of inosine with 1-dimethylamino-2-propanol-4-acetylaminobenzoate in a ratio of one to three).
Indications and dosage: For the prevention and treatment of SARS, influenza, herpes, lichen, measles, chickenpox, papillomas, mononucleosis, cytomegaly, molluscum contagiosum
Children from 3 years old: 1/2 tablet (50 mg) for every 5 kg of weight per day for 3-4 doses.
Contraindications and side effects: Urolithiasis, gout, arrhythmia, severe renal failure, body weight less than 15 kg.
Possible nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, itching, polyuria, insomnia, headache, weakness.
Price, rub.): 2200-3000.
Kagocel (tablets)
Active substance: Kagocel (gossypol copolymer with carboxymethylcellulose).
Indications and dosage: For the treatment and prevention of SARS, influenza, herpes virus
Children 3-6 years old: the first 2 days, 1 tab. 2 times a day, then 1 tab. 2 more days per day;
Children over 6 years old: the first 2 days, 1 tab. 3 times a day, then 1 tab. 2 times a day for 2 days.
Contraindications and side effects: Individual lactose intolerance, hypersensitivity to the active ingredient of the drug.
Local and general allergic reactions are possible.
Price, rub.): 220-280.
Flacoside (tablets)
Active substance: Extract of Amur velvet leaves and Laval velvet.
Indications and dosage: For the treatment of herpes viruses, hepatitis, measles, lichen, chickenpox.
Children 3-6 years old: 0,05-0,1 g 2-3 times a day.
Children over 6 years old: 0,1 g 2-3 times a day, course of treatment 7-21 days.
Contraindications and side effects: Acute liver failure, hypersensitivity to the components of the drug, cholestasis.
In rare cases, allergic reactions are possible.
Price, rub.): 180-250.
Amiksin (tablets)
Analogues: Lavomax, Tilaksin, Tiloram.
Active substance: Tyloron
Indications and dosage: With SARS and influenza,
Children over 7 years old: 60 mg (1 tablet) 1 time per day for 3 consecutive days. Heading dose – 180 mg (3 tablets), in case of a complicated infection – 240 mg (4 tablets).
Contraindications and side effects: Hypersensitivity to tilorone.
Dyspeptic disorders, chills, allergic reactions are possible.
Price, rub.): 500-700.
Ingavirin 60
Active substance: Vitaglutam (imidazolylethanamide pentanedioic acid).
Indications and dosage: With SARS and influenza
Children from 7 years old: 1 capsule (60 mg) 1 time per day for 5-7 days from the onset of symptoms of the disease.
Contraindications and side effects: Individual intolerance to Vitaglutam.
Allergic reactions are possible.
Price, rub.): 420-550.
Polyoxidonium (tablets, suppositories, lyophilisate)
Active substance: Azoximer bromide
Indications and dosage: As part of the complex therapy of acute and chronic diseases caused by bacteria, viruses and fungi.
Children from 6 years: inside, parenterally, intranasally or rectally. Doses, method and scheme of application are set by the doctor depending on the diagnosis.
Contraindications and side effects: Hypersensitivity to polyoxidonium.
Allergic reactions and pain at the injection site are possible if the parenteral route of treatment is chosen.
Price, rub.): 720-950.
Relenza (powder with included inhaler)
Active substance: Zanamivir
Indications and dosage: For the treatment and prevention of influenza type A and B.
Children over 5 years: 2 inhalations (5 mg) 2 times a day for 5 days from the first symptoms.
Contraindications and side effects: Individual intolerance to zanamivir, history of bronchospasm.
Local and general allergic reactions, suffocation are possible.
Price, rub.): 960-1500.
Remantadine (tablets, dragees, syrup)
Active substance: Remantadine hydrochloride.
Indications and dosage: For the prevention and treatment of SARS and influenza
Children from 7 years old: 5 mg of rimantadine for each kg of body weight 1 time per day. The maximum daily dose should not exceed 150 mg.
Contraindications and side effects: Acute and chronic diseases of the liver and kidneys, thyrotoxicosis, hypersensitivity to rimantadine.
Possible nausea, allergic reactions, dry mouth, headache, insomnia.
Price, rub.): 40-300.
Ridostin (lyophilizate)
Active substance: Sodium salt of Saccharomyces serevisiae double-stranded ribonucleic acid.
Indications and dosage: For the treatment and prevention of influenza, SARS and herpes
Children from 7 years of age: intramuscularly, 8 mg of lyophilisate per 1 ml of 0.5% procaine solution, is administered once, then after 2 days, subject to persistent fever, maximum 2-4 injections per course.
Contraindications and side effects: Severe diseases of the liver and kidneys, individual intolerance.
There may be a short-term increase in temperature after the injection.
Price, rub.): 650-1300.
Cycloferon (tablets, solution, liniment)
Active substance: Meglumine acridone acetate
Indications and dosage: For the treatment of influenza, SARS and herpes
Children 4-6 years old: 1 tablet 1 time per day;
Children 7-11 years: 2 tablets 1 time per day;
Children from 12 years old: 3 tablets 1 time per day.
Contraindications and side effects: Cirrhosis of the liver, individual intolerance.
Allergic reactions are possible.
Price, rub.): 120-400
There are a number of effective antiviral drugs that are not recommended for children, either due to insufficient knowledge of the effect on the growing body, or because of the high likelihood of unwanted side effects.
This category includes:
Adapromin – A-Propyl-1-adamantyl-ethylamine hydrochloride, has antiviral activity against influenza A / H / 3N2 and B viruses;
Amantadine (Midantan, Neo Midantan, Gludantan, PK-Mertz) – Adamantane-1-amine, has antiviral and antiparkinsonian effects;
Iodantipyrine – 1-phenyl-2,3-dimethyl-4-iodopyrazolone, produces an anti-inflammatory, immunostimulating and interferonogenic effect, approved for use in children over 14 years old;
Neovir – sodium oxodihydroacridinyl acetate, used as an immunostimulating agent in the combination therapy of a wide range of diseases of viral etiology;
Ribavirin (Trivorin) – 1-[(2R,3R,4S,5R)-3,4-dihydroxy-5-hydroxymethyloxolan-2-yl]-1H-1,2,4-triazole-3-carboxamide, used to treat viral hepatitis;
Triazavirin – sodium salt of 2-methylthio-6-nitro-1,2,4-triazolo[5,1-c]-1,2,4-triazin-7-one dihydrate, is prescribed for influenza only to patients over 18 years of age.
However, even among the antiviral drugs allowed for children, which you see in the tables above, there are medicines for which incriminating information has appeared in recent years. We are talking about scientific research conducted in a double-blind environment.
A large group of patients with the same diagnosis is taken and divided into subgroups according to the number of drugs tested + one subgroup for placebo. During the entire experiment, neither the patients themselves, nor even the doctors who give them the pills, know where the drug is, and where the dummy is. At the end of the study, data on this is disclosed, and an analysis of the effectiveness and side effects of the tested medicines is carried out.
So, most of the modern antiviral drugs for children have not been tested in this way at all. And among the tested drugs, there were those that did not show any effectiveness or even showed a harmful effect on the body of the tested people. Why is this happening?
Because pharmaceuticals is a huge business with billions in profits. And viral infections are the cause of epidemics. Some antiviral drugs in developed countries are lobbied at the government level and purchased by the ton with government money whenever the world is overwhelmed by another epidemic of “bird” or “swine” flu.
Does this mean that you need to ignore the recommendation of the pediatrician when he prescribes an antiviral for your child? Of course not, but you will be much more comfortable if you know all the compromising information currently available about some of these drugs. Fortunately, there are very few of them.
Amiksin
This drug was banned in the United States at the stage of animal testing in the 80s of the last century. In experimental mice, retinal detachment, liver lipidosis and other serious pathologies were observed. In the countries of the European Union, antiviral drugs based on tilorone are also not used.
In open sources, there are results of testing this substance in humans: in a small group of 14 patients, tilorone caused retinopathy and keratopathy in two. True, destructive changes in the eye tissues were reversible and did not lead to fatal consequences for vision.
The most fair conclusion from here is the following: tilorone is not well studied today (as, in fact, human immunity) to judge with confidence the safety and effectiveness of Amiksin and its analogues.
Arbidol
The active substance of this drug, umifenovir, was invented in Russia. Foreign researchers were actively interested in the novelty and conducted research: in 2004 in China, in a group of 230 patients with acute respiratory viral infections, the effectiveness of umifenovir was not confirmed (he lost to Tamiflu and Ingaverin in all respects). Domestic testing, which took place in 2008, showed that Arbidol stops the development of a viral infection in the human body worse at the first stage of the disease than Viferon (suppositories with recombinant interferon alpha).
However, in 2010, Arbidol was included by the Government of the Russian Federation in the list of vital and essential drugs, first as an immunostimulant. And then, when in 2013 WHO recognized umifenovir as a direct-acting antiviral substance and assigned it the international code J05AX13, Arbidol acquired the status of an effective antiviral drug in our country.
A large-scale test of Arbidol, despite the presence of very serious sponsors, has not yet been carried out for unknown reasons. In recent years, the events around this drug have acquired the character of an action-packed epic: protests by independent doctors, accusations in the state lobby, reviews of some patients about the undoubted effectiveness of Arbidol, and others about its complete uselessness … Time passes, but the discussion continues.
Iodantipyrine
Previously, this substance was used as a radioisotope label during instrumental studies of human body fluids. And now it is being actively promoted to the Russian market as an antiviral drug.
The first report on the antiviral activity of Yodantipyrin and other pyrazolone compounds at the preclinical stage was published by Professor Saratikov (Head of the Department of Pharmacology, Siberian State Medical University, Tomsk).
The leadership of the Central Clinical Hospital in Ufa states that there have been successful trials of Yodantipirin against hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome. However, the drug has not passed full-fledged clinical trials either in Russia or abroad, and it is not certified as an antiviral agent.
Kagocel
The active substance of this drug is the sodium salt of the copolymer of gossypol with carboxymethyl cellulose. Gossypol itself is a yellow pigment, a toxic polyphenol derived from cotton. The contraceptive properties of gossypol have been studied in the world for a long time, it was found that this substance stops spermatogenesis. In particular, China had high hopes for it, planning to develop a male oral contraceptive based on it. But to achieve a reversible contraceptive effect, you need 10-20 mg of gossypol per day, while the result is visible only after a very long time – from 2 to 18 months. The revolution in male contraception did not take place. The possibilities of gossypol in oncology are now being actively studied, since this polyphenol has a powerful antitumor effect.
It is wrong to fear the harm of Kagocel only on the basis that it is related to a toxic substance. There is no free gossypol in the composition of Kagocel, it is a sodium salt that has completely different physico-chemical properties than polyphenol. But in fairness, it must be said that this antiviral drug is not used either in Western Europe or in the USA; it does not appear in the official list of WHO drugs. And although in Russia Kagocel is actively recommended for influenza and SARS for both adults and children, there is no evidence of the safety of this medicine for children of preschool and school age, clinical studies in this age category have not yet been conducted.
Tamiflu and Relenza
First of all, it should be understood that oseltamivir and zanamivir are only effective against influenza A and B viruses, they are useless against other SARS. These two substances are enzyme inhibitors, with the help of which influenza virus particles try to dissolve cell membranes and enter the human body. Science has proven that Tamiflu and Relenza are really useful during a flu epidemic, but only if you start taking the medicine for prevention or at the first sign of a cold.
Relenza and Tamiflu, in addition to the very high price, have another significant drawback: their side effects can develop into a flu-like syndrome, which makes it difficult to diagnose. In other words, the doctor does not understand why the patient has a headache, nausea and fever – from the flu itself, or from pills against it. But this is not the most unpleasant.
Since 2004, medical sources began to appear information about neuropsychiatric disorders among patients taking Tamiflu: anxiety, insomnia, nightmares, convulsions, psychosis, suicidal tendencies. For example, in Japan, there were 54 deaths, 16 of which were in the 10-19 age group. Moreover, 15 out of 16 young people who took Tamiflu committed suicide, 1 got hit by a car. In all other cases, death occurred from kidney failure, which, however, could develop due to severe influenza. Let’s not forget that 54 people is statistically insignificant, given the population of Japan and the widespread prevalence of this antiviral drug.
In 2014, the results of almost fifty studies of Tamiflu and Relenza were published, in which a total of about 24 thousand people took part worldwide.
The conclusions are as follows:
Tamiflu somewhat reduces the risk of human-to-human transmission of influenza when used prophylactically;
Symptoms of the disease in adults are observed for 6 days instead of 7 days without treatment, in children this interval is not shortened at all;
The drug does not prevent the development of influenza complications;
Oseltamivir and zanamivir are recognized as quite toxic to the body, nausea and vomiting often occur in both adults and children;
Long-term use of these drugs for preventive purposes is fraught with the development of neuropsychiatric disorders and deterioration of kidney function.
Based on the data received, an international group of experts in evidence-based medicine called on the governments of the world’s leading countries to stop the bulk purchases of Tamiflu and Relenza. By the way, in 2009 the United Kingdom and the United States purchased about 40 million packages of these drugs in connection with the swine flu epidemic. Perhaps this is the most striking example of a government lobby in the entire history of the pharmaceutical industry.
Antibiotics are either bactericidal (kill bacteria and microbes) or bacteriostatic (prevent them from multiplying). And antiviral drugs for children and adults are designed to fight a non-cellular form of life – a virus that has a completely different structure and principles of pathogenic effects on the human body. Antibiotics are powerless against viruses, but some antiviral agents may be helpful for a bacterial infection. We are talking about drugs that enhance nonspecific immunity, because it helps us fight against “uninvited guests” of any type, be it a virus, bacterium or even a fungus. But they are called accordingly: immunostimulating, and not just antiviral.
Since some antibiotics lead to a decrease in immunity, destroying healthy cells along with bacteria, the body weakened by long-term antibiotic therapy can become an easy target for the virus. The opposite statement is also true: a person with a viral infection is more vulnerable to pathogenic bacteria that can provoke a formidable complication of SARS: bronchitis, pneumonia.
From here we come to the conclusion: it is possible to take antibiotics and antiviral drugs at the same time and even necessary, but only in the case of the development of the so-called “superinfection”, when a viral disease is complicated by an inflammatory process of a bacterial nature, and vice versa. Parallel therapy is always justified, for example, in the case of HIV, because in conditions of immunodeficiency people are affected by tuberculosis, sepsis and other opportunistic infections, which lead to death.
When prescribing antibiotics and antiviral drugs to children together, pediatricians are guided by the nature and dynamics of pathogenesis, the immune status of a small patient, the data of his medical record, and also necessarily take into account the phenomenon of drug antagonism. Not all antibacterial agents go well with antiviral agents, but there are also drugs that have long been successfully used in the complex therapy of complicated and mixed infections.
One thing you can know for sure: if the doctor diagnosed your child with tonsillitis (tonsillitis) and at the same time prescribed an antiviral drug (not an immunostimulant!), He is either incompetent or financially interested in the well-being of the local pharmacy. And if the doctor diagnosed the baby with “uncomplicated SARS” and at the same time prescribed an antibiotic, then he is simply a criminal, because such therapy will not help recovery, but will only kill the beneficial microflora and reduce the effectiveness of this antibiotic in the future, when it can really be vital.