Expired Tamiflu and Relenza
MommyToAshley wrote: I was making dinner and caught part of the news but didn't catch the entire story:
The news was talking about the CDC (I think it was the CDC) authorizing use of expired tamiflu and relenza and then said something about the side effects of this. I also heard something about adding adult dosages to some kind of liquid to make up for the lack or children's dosages. Again, I just caught the end of it and may not have the story right. I looked for the story on the web but couldn't really find anything about it. Anyone else see or read about this?
boyohboyohboy replied: I watched this CDC update yesterday, although I didnt hear her say it was ok to use expired meds. I did hear her say that it was walmart and walgreens that are going to compound their adult doses to help make more meds available for children. Its just the same way that the pharmacuticals would do it.
they are teaching pharmacists what doses to give to each age group.
they are also urging dr's to not wait for the test results of flu swabs to come back before ordering treatment..apparently some dr's were not treating it the swab came back negative and the CDC said that the swabs were not always reliable and wanted the dr's to use common sense that if it looked like the flu then treat it.
I cant imagine them recommending using expired meds. but maybe they did and it was a different show then what I watched.
MommyToAshley replied: Thanks for the info. It still makes me nervous that it is not a children's dosage to start with, but that's just me, I am paranoid about stuff like that.
Here's a story where the FDA gave approval to use expired tamiflu in Texas, but the story I heard last night was nationwide:
http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/health/Texas-to...e-63203512.html
MommyToAshley replied: I did find this:
http://www.fiercebiotech.com/press-release...-oral-suspensio
boyohboyohboy replied:
I might be wrong but my understanding, its how childrens doses are made for any meds..
they take a medication that is in powder form, such as a capsule, and dilute it or reconstitute it to make it easier for a child to swallow.
same as with a syrup from a powder..
they change the compound so the formulary is something a child can take.
jcc64 replied: Fwiw, I have a good friend who's a nationally known dr. He travels around the country giving lectures in addition to having a thriving local practice. He warned me against giving my kids the swine flu vax, saying that there has not been enough safety testing, and that there are significant side effects. As we speak, swine flu is making its way through my school district, and Corey has been home sick with flu-like symptoms for the past 3 days. Whether it's H1N1, we'll never know, but going forward, I'm taking my chances with no vax.
As far as relenza and tamiflu, my understanding is that these meds are not being offered to the general public without just cause, ie. pg women, very young children, underlying health issues, etc. We were at the dr yesterday, and though Corey is sporting all the signs of swine flu, we were not given the option of taking these meds.
Nina J replied: I'm not getting the swine flu vax. I know a lot of elderly people in my city are, but a lot of people here have already had it.
DH had it and we thought it was just some virus. I ended up taking him to the ER at about 10pm one night, the doctor and nurse who treated him said they'd both had it and welcomed him to the club  It was too late for him to get tamiflu, he got a nice holiday from work and none of us got sick.
I did make sure he stayed in one room and we just made sure we reguarly used hand sanitizer and washed things.
luvmykids replied:
That's what we've got going on, part of me would like to know if it was swine flu just out of curiosity, but oh well, Kylie is better and that's the important thing.
Here, they're not even testing for it anymore. And the public is very confused....drs are urging people not to rush to the er, to wait and see if syptoms start to improve within two or three days, but Tamiflu isn't effective that far in so people are rushing anyway because they want it. 
We've also got a ton of strep going around...every kid who has been confirmed with strep has been rumored to have had the swine flu before the strep was diagnosed.
But back on topic, I'm not bothered by the compounding of adult doses into childrens doses since as Stacey mentioned, it's pretty much how any rx we give our kids is made. On the topic of being expired, it's my impression that nearly all expired drugs (whether it be rx or OTC) aren't harmful, they just may lose their effectiveness. I have a friend who is a pharmacist who keeps things until they're used up, he totally ignores expiration dates because he is convinced it's all part of Big Pharmaceutical's plan to sell more, more, more. Here's an article, I'm sure it's like anything else, you can find something that says whatever you want, but I thought I'd pass it on for general info:
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/460159
jcc64 replied:
ITA all the way, Monica.
redchief replied: A funny thing happened on the way to the "new" swine flu vaccination... It's not new. The method of production is exactly the same as the rest of the flu vaccinations, and this strain is only slightly different than the one that went pandemic in the '70's (yes, I was there and survived it). In fact, demand is so high that they can't produce it fast enough to keep up and now the government and medical research is looking for ways to make a safe and effective vaccine faster.
Name that nationally renowned doctor!
The reason you can't find much from the CDC on the use of expired medications is that they don't regulate them. The FDA does, and they have issued an emergency use order that says if current stocks of antivirals are exhausted, then expired doses may be released from the stockpiles (usually expired medications in stockpile are destroyed, but this proclamation holds up that process).
holley79 replied: When I took Annika in for the flu she was given Tamiful. I got maybe a whooping two doses in her and I think one of those I wore. She didn't want for the results to come back before prescribing.
redchief replied:
Eww. Those antivirals can be rough on the stomach, especially little ones. There's a flu test now that just takes about half an hour to get results. Some docs have. Most hospitals do as well.
holley79 replied:
I think they have them here as well but her pedi doesn't trust them. She said that sometimes you will get a negative when it's actually positive. Heck if I know. I do know that the H1N1 for Annika was a lot easier than the tummy bug she got so we didn't sweat it. She laid around for one day was up and about with fever reducer the second than was bouncing off the walls the third.
jcc64 replied:
How do you know she had it? Did they actually test her?
redchief replied:
I'm glad she's back on her feet.  You're right that the test results could produce a false negative. That's why they go through the "...if you develop a fever, upset stomach or other flu-like symptoms, get plenty of rest and fluids and see your doctor if the fever is high or lasts more than three days.............." speech.
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