I've Heard That Tamiflu May Have Some Side Effects In Children. Is This True? If It Is, What Is The Alternative?

September 1, 2009 -- Question: I've heard that Tamiflu may have some dangerous side effects in children. Is this true? And if it is, what is the alternative?

Answer: Tamiflu is an antiviral agent that has been shown to be effective in most cases of H1N1 swine flu infections although last week there were two reports of resistance to that agent in some children that had been on it for a long time. There were reports that there were some neurologic or confusing episodes in children in Japan associated with the use of Tamiflu. The FDA has investigated that quite extensively and has not really found that to be the case in the United States.

So the Tamiflu drug is really quite safe and it also, if it started early on in the influenza illness will markedly reduce the symptoms and also in how contagious it is to other children.