Flu Treatment
When you’re down with the flu,
RELENZA may help you feel better sooner.
RELENZA is a medicine that can treat influenza A and B in children and adults age 7 years and older. If you think you have symptoms of the flu and they have appeared within the last day or two, you should immediately talk to your healthcare provider to see if RELENZA may be right for you.
RELENZA helps prevent the virus from spreading in your body and may reduce the amount of time you are sick.
Typical symptoms of the flu include sudden onset of fever, cough, headache, fatigue, body aches, and sore throat.
What else can you do?
- Stay home. If you’re sick, stay home so you don’t spread the flu to others. You can spread the flu to others the day before you even appear sick – and you can continue to infect others for about a week after you first get sick.
- Stay hydrated. Drink lots of fluids like water, fruit juices and clear soups. This may help loosen mucus and prevent dehydration.
- Stay rested. Be sure to get as much sleep and rest as you can. Doing this can help your immune system fight the infection.
- Stay clean. Wash your hands often. You don’t want to spread to flu to everyone else, if you can help it.
Click here to learn more about RELENZA.
Important Safety Information about RELENZA
Some people have had bronchospasm (wheezing) or serious breathing problems when they used RELENZA. Many but not all of these people had previous asthma or other pulmonary disease. RELENZA has not been shown to shorten the time of flu in people with these diseases. Because of the risk of side effects and because it has not been shown to help them, RELENZA is not best for people with chronic respiratory disease such as asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
If you develop symptoms such as wheezing or shortness of breath, stop using RELENZA and contact your doctor right away.
If you have diseases like asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and your doctor has prescribed RELENZA, you should have a fast-acting, inhaled bronchodilator available for your use. If you are scheduled to use an inhaled bronchodilator at the same time as RELENZA, use the inhaled bronchodilator before using RELENZA.
Other kinds of infections can appear like influenza or occur along with influenza, and need different kinds of treatment. Contact your doctor if you feel worse or develop new symptoms during or after treatment, or if your flu symptoms do not start to get better.
In studies, the most common side effects with RELENZA have been headaches; diarrhea; nausea; vomiting; nasal irritation; bronchitis; cough; sinusitis; ear, nose, and throat infections; and dizziness. Other side effects that have been reported, but were not as common, include rashes and allergic reactions, some of which were severe.
People with influenza may be at increased risk of seizures, confusion, or abnormal behavior early in their illness. Therefore, patients should be observed for signs of unusual behavior, and a healthcare professional contacted if needed.
This list of side effects is not complete. Your doctor or pharmacist can discuss with you a more complete list of possible side effects with RELENZA. Talk to your doctor promptly about any side effects you have.
Important Safety Information
Some people have had bronchospasm (wheezing) or serious breathing problems when they used RELENZA. Many but not all of these people had previous asthma or pulmonary disease.