According to research described in The Times newspaper in England, More than half of children taking the flu drug Tamiflu experience side-effects such as nausea, nightmares, and psychiatric disturbances. An estimated 150,000 people in the UK with flu symptoms were prescribed the drug through a new hotline and website, according to figures shared this week. Studies were conducted of children attending three schools in London and one in the South West. These studies showed that between 51 and 53 percent had one or more side-effects from the medication, which has been offered to everyone in England with swine flu symptoms. Peter Holden, the British Medical Association’s expert on swine flu, suggested that Tamiflu was being overused and did not need to be offered to everyone with mild symptoms. "The National Pandemic Flu Service has been a great success, and was needed to take the pressure off GPs," he said. "But the threshold for getting Tamiflu should be quite high. "For patients who are not in the high-risk groups — such as pregnant women, people with bad asthma or with suppressed immune systems — this virus typically causes mild symptoms and does not require a course of Tamiflu. Patients in the at-risk groups should be referred to their GP, who will use their clinical judgment." A total of 103 children took part in the London study, of which 85 were given the drug as a precautionary measure after a classmate received a diagnosis of swine flu. Of those, 45 experienced one or more side-effects. The most common was nausea (29 per cent), followed by stomach pain or cramps (20 per cent) and problems sleeping (12 per cent). Almost one in five had a "neuropsychiatric side-effect", such as inability to think clearly, nightmares and "behaving strangely", according to the research, published in Eurosurveillance, a journal of disease. The findings were corroborated by another study of children at a school in the South West where a pupil had been diagnosed with swine flu after reportedly being exposed to the virus in Mexico. Health officials in Japan have recommended against prescribing Tamiflu to teenagers based upon evidence that Tamiflu causes a rise in "neuropsychiatric events". The researchers reported that clinical trials had shown that about 20 per cent of adults had also reported side-effects of either nausea or vomiting after taking Tamiflu. This research implies that government recommended flu treatments may be worse than the flu. As many have pointed out, flu symptoms are mild and harmless in most people. Those at risk for complications are those with disturbed immune systems, as a normal immune system has little difficulty dealing with a flu virus. Effective flu treatments are ones which help support the immune system or which neutralize viruses in safe ways, such as herbal antiviral compounds, homeopathic remedies, antioxidants, Vitamin C, Vitamin D, Miracle Mineral Supplement, oxygen therapies, and subtle energy therapies. Simple rest and hydration help the body recuperate. Tamiflu and other flu medicines merely suppress symptoms... they actually interfere with some of the body's immune defense measures and can cause or aggravate complications while yielding other side effects as discovered in the UK school children studies. With many public officials warning of massive deaths from a flu pandemic one has to wonder what would really be killing so many people, since the flu itself is relatively harmless and non-lethal in the vast majority of people. Readers are encouraged to research the effects of flu medicines and flu vaccines and understand why it would be wise to apply safe, natural approaches to flu prevention and treatment.
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