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Vitamin C, home remedies not enough to combat flu: expert

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Katrina Domingo, ABS-CBN News

MANILA - Getting extra doses of vitamin C is not enough to get rid of flu, while taking over-the-counter antibiotics may worsen the virus, an infectious disease expert warned Tuesday.Paracetamol, cough medicine, supplements and other home remedies give &quot;temporary relief&quot; but does not heal the viral infection, said Dr. Rontgene Solante, chairman of San Lazaro Hospital&#x27;s Adult Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine Department.&quot;Pag may influenza, hindi sagot ang antibiotic. If you take an antibiotic without being diagnosed by a doctor, you may induce drug resistance, lalakas lalo &#x27;yung virus,&quot; he said.(Antibiotic is not the cure for influenza. If you take an antibiotic without being diagnosed by a doctor, you may induce drug resistance and end up having a stronger virus.)&quot;Puwedeng uminom ng vitamins pero these are just supplementary treatments. It&#x27;s not really something that can prevent an infection,&quot; he said.(You can take vitamins but these are just supplementary treatments.)Left untreated, the flu virus can worsen an already existing complication such as cardiovascular diseases, Solante said.&quot;It (virus) binds to your organ, then it causes instability, disruption that&#x27;s why patients develop complications,&quot; he said.The best cure for influenza is a prescriptive drug called oseltamivir, but the its supply in the Philippines is &quot;not stable,&quot; he said.&quot;Hindi ganun kadami because drug companies divert it to countries with a higher usage of this drug. Sa Pilipinas konti lang gumagamit kasi the awareness that this drug can treat influenza is not that high,&quot; he said.(We don&#x27;t have a lot of supply because drug companies divert it to countries with a higher usage of this drug. The awareness that this drug can treat influenza is not that high in the Philippines.)Solante said medical practitioners are having a hard time convincing Filipino patients to avail of anti-flu vaccines, considered as the best cure against influenza.&quot;The problem is we don&#x27;t put vaccination as an important strategy. We always gear towards treatment, not prevention,&quot; he said.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/01/15/19/vaccine-scare-makes-filipinos-more-vulnerable-to-spread-of-seasonal-flu-expert">Vaccine scare makes Filipinos more vulnerable to spread of seasonal flu: expert</a></li></ul><div> </div>

Getting extra doses of vitamin C is not enough to get rid of flu, while taking over-the-counter antibiotics may worsen the virus, an infectious disease expert said Tuesday.

Getting extra doses of vitamin C is not enough to get rid of flu, while taking over-the-counter antibiotics may worsen the virus, an infectious disease expert said Tuesday.

Vitamin C, home remedies not enough to combat flu: expert

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Vitamin C, home remedies not enough to combat flu: expert

Katrina Domingo,

ABS-CBN News

Published January 15, 2019 04:50 PM PHT

|

Updated January 15, 2019 05:09 PM PHT

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Rontgene Solante

Philippine Society for Microbiology and Infectious Diseases

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