WWYD - Flu and Tamiflu

Klavanga74

I may be putting the cart before the horse and I certainly hope to not have to make any decisions on this.  However, when I don't think things through BEFORE getting in the peds office, I sometimes end up like a deer in headlights and am pushed into or out of decisions if I haven't thought about them with a level head.  So...what are your thoughts...

I took DD1 to get tested for flu last week (she goes to our family dr., not the ped.).  It was negative, thankfully, but Dr. mentioned that if anyone in the house tested positive that their recommendation would be to treat LO with tamiflu.  I'm not sure where the ped stands on this since we haven't been in since that visit with DD1's, dr., but I did look it up and was surprised to find that tamiflu is approved for LO's as small as two weeks.  The flu is pretty rampant in the circles we're in, so it seems exposure is fairly likely.  Have you all talked to your pediatricians about what they do, do they treat with tamiflu or just monitor baby very closely, etc?  I'm planning to see what other info I can find out there on the interwebz in the next couple of days, but just curious what you ladies think.  I know the flu is super serious for babies and scares the crap out of me!

Emerald27

Personally, I would not use Tamiflu preventively, but that's just me. I would keep away from sick people and practice good hygiene. Ask anyone who is or has been sick to avoid you guys and keep LO safe.

I'd research preventive use and see what you find.

Klavanga74

I was kind of surprised to hear DD1's Dr. mention treating the baby because she tends to be SUPER conservative with drug treatment.  As a matter of fact, she said she wouldn't treat DD1 (12 years old), which made me think that the benefits of treating must outweigh risks, in her mind.  Here's some of what I found so far, for anyone who's interested:

https://www.tamiflu.com/hcp/prescribing/hcp_prescribe_children_prevent.jsp

Keep in mind, this comes from the drug company's site...

We can do our best to limit exposure, but I know it's in the kid's school and all around us, so there's only so much I can do. 

Klavanga74

From the AAP - https://www.aap.org/en-us/advocacy-and-policy/aap-health-initiatives/children-and-disasters/Documents/Special-Considerations-to-Treat-and-Prevent-Flu-in-Newborns_FINAL.pdf

For anyone who is interested.  It's a few years old, though.

golfingdarwinfish

Tamiflu has somewhat terrible efficacy, even when used properly.  I can't imagine it being a great preventative. 

Also, I work in drug development, whatever a company puts on their website is first approved by the FDA.  We can't really put outright lies or fallacies on there.

golfingdarwinfish

And here are the 2014-2015 recommendations, which Roche cites on their tamiflu website.

https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/134/5/e1503.long

golfingdarwinfish

Actually, these are pretty impressive results.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4260958/

If you're that curious, ask your pedi what her recommendation is predicated on, but I wouldn't assume that you are going to find better information on preventative use than actual clinical trial data.  Your pedi is likely trained on this data and therefore her recommendation is data based.

There should probably be a caveat that efficacy may differ from strain to strain.

Klavanga74

golfingdarwinfish...That's interesting, thanks for posting it.  I wonder if any of those studies they included in their meta-analysis included infants.  I'm guessing not since the FDA only approved its use in infants in 12/12.  Based on what I've read so far, though, I don't think I'd hesitate.  Another thing I came across that made me feel a bit better is that studies have shown that infants whose mother's were vaccinated during pregnancy fare better with the flu.  Of course, it seems that the vaccine isn't necessarily protecting against one of the strains that is most prevalent.  I'll definitely ask the pediatrician Monday when we have to be there anyway.  

JessAnnJ

DD1 got the flu before Christmas. We made the decision to put everyone on tamiflu at the recommendation of our pediatrician. Well she didn't prescribe it for me and DH but we talked about it. DD1 is two, the flu is spread easily, and keeping her germs from being all over the place is impossible. She got snot on my lips trying to hug and kiss me and she coughed in both me and DH's faces when she was sick. Everyone but DD2 got flu shots and I got mine while pregnant. What I read was that Tamiflu is recommended by the APA as a preventative treatment in young infants since they are considered high risk when they have/will have close contact with someone infected. DH does not do research on the seasonal flu, but as part of his job he receives a lot of information about what is happening around the country with the flu. Babies can die of the flu and they tend to go from well to very sick in a short period of time. We did not want to take any chances. On top of that if DD2 did get a fever we would have been sent to the hospital and she would have potentially been exposed to other things.

I will note that my experience may not be the norm. A couple people on the FB group have mentioned that their pediatricians do not recommend it in babies this young. One person whose LO tested positive for the flu was not prescribed Tamiflu.

Klavanga74

@JessAnnJ...thanks for sharing.  It's nice to hear from someone who has been through it, treated LO and it all went all right.  Did LO have any side effects from the Tamiflu that you could see?  Thanks again!

JessAnnJ

Our doctor said the only side effect that she has seen is upset stomach. Some kids just can't handle it for that reason. I noticed that she was a little cranky and didn't really want to eat right after, but I'm not sure if it was the medicine or just the process of us giving it to her. We had a really hard time getting her to swallow it and she didn't like having the medicine dropper in her mouth.

I took it and I felt slightly nauseous the first couple times.

Klavanga74

Thanks, I would say those side effects are totally worth protecting her from the flu!

JessAnnJ

Someone on the TB FB group mentioned her doctor said it could cause hallucinations, but what I listed above is what my doctor told me she has seen.

Personally I would feel comfortable giving the medication if someone in the household has it or if she gets it.