Treating Colds and Flu

Home treatment of cold and flu viruses is everybody's business. The majority of us will not have access to antiviral drugs when we get the flu. For home care we're advised to observe good hygiene, stay hydrated, use OTC products to manage symptoms, and rest. We've all had colds and flu: we know there is no "cure": still, most of us have favourite recipes, family traditions, or other personal strategies for self care that go a little beyond the "clear liquid" diet recommendations of medical authorities.

The point of the declared "pandemic" is that a huge number of people are expected to come down with the H1N1 flu – far more than is usual for seasonal flu. Medical resources are expected to be overtaxed, and official pandemic plans are in place to handle this and to prioritize the rationing of scarce medical resources.

There's never been a better time to improve our standards of home care.

Searching "home treatment plan influenza" I found a variety of official or quasi-official documents that spell out a basic recommended home treatment plan. Except for instructions to see your doctor within 48 hours to find out if you are eligible for Tamiflu or Relenza, I found no recommendations concerning the natural products for which there is some science indicating antiviral activity against influenza A, even though a number of them are generally regarded as safe, or are foods.

For example, I find in the medical research literature, positive scientific findings of specific activity against influenza A in a number of common fruit juices, which are widely available in the pantry, the garden, or the supermarket. Anybody recognize a home favourite?

Reviewers of natural products for influenza, however, are pretty much unanimous that despite promising results, larger samples, more rigorous studies, better methodology are required before a treatment can be recommended beyond reasonable doubt. The constraints on official or "FDA-approved" recommendation seems to leave the public in the dark about potentially useful home treatments, not to mention the confusion generated by snake-oil spam.

So we have a somewhat bizarre situation, where people who don't get antiviral drugs might follow the standard advice to "drink plenty of fluids" without realizing that the random choice of "fluids" could significantly affect the outcome. Also, since treatment of inflammation has a significant impact on antiviral effectiveness (Gwaltney, Kash,) this aspect of natural product research is also important. How exactly do you flavour your secret recipe for chicken soup, for example? That too, could make the difference.

I can't help thinking that the official medical recommendations which would have non-recipients of antiviral drugs stick to "clear liquid diet" or "oral rehydration solution" makes for a perfect "control group" for a post-pandemic statistical assessment of Tamiflu and Relenza, but falls short of the best chance of a favorable outcome without the drugs. This treatment plan is purely palliative.

Under the circumstances, where antiviral drugs are not available to all, do you think the FDA and other medical authorities should be more proactive about endorsing those unpatented, generic, and available natural products which are (a) already known or accepted as safe, and (b) experimentally antiviral against influenza A and/or anti-inflammatory?

Secondly, since the decision not to officially recommend (per literature linked above) is based on the inadequacy of the present published science, should public health agencies be proactive about collecting data on generic, unpatented natural health resources during this pandemic, to produce a better basis for recommendations in the future? Should antiviral research be restricted to patent medicine, or should it be done in the public interest?