Influenza has entered its peak season, and antiviral drugs and testing reagents are selling well. How to conduct home testing and how to choose different antiviral drugs? Recently, due to seasonal changes and other reasons, there has been a significant increase in the number of people suffering from colds. However, if you have a cold, you need to know if it is the flu in order to prescribe the right medicine. Some people find it troublesome to go to the hospital for a check-up and think about testing themselves at home before buying medication. How can I safely and reliably test for influenza at home by going to a pharmacy or buying reagents online? How to choose different antiviral drugs? What else should patients with 'one elderly and one young' pay attention to? Since November, the national influenza activity has rapidly increased, and the intensity of influenza activity in most parts of the country has reached a moderate to high level. Between November 10th and 16th alone, a total of 955 influenza like cases were reported nationwide. The positive rate of respiratory samples for influenza like cases in the outpatient departments of sentinel hospitals nationwide has reached over 38% for influenza virus. It is expected that the number of influenza cases may continue to rise in the future. In the face of the rapidly approaching influenza virus, antiviral drugs and antigen reagents for influenza testing have been selling well recently. Several pharmacies in Beijing have posted posters selling flu drugs Oseltamivir and Mabaloxavir at their entrances. A staff member of a pharmacy revealed that there has been a significant increase in the number of consumers who purchase antiviral, antipyretic, analgesic, and cough/asthma medications in store or online recently. Pharmacy staff members said that Oseltamivir and Mabaloxavir have both increased recently, and our company's supply is still good. At the same time, multiple online drug purchasing platforms have shown that the sales volume of Beijing's H1N1 flu specific drugs has more than doubled compared to the previous month since November, especially last week, the sales volume of anti influenza drugs including Mabaloxavir and Oseltamivir increased by more than 200%. In addition, the sales of respiratory antigen testing reagents and home testing services provided by some drug purchasing platforms have also continued to grow. According to Gao Yajun, the person in charge of Meituan Medicine, the number of flu testing kits in cities such as Beijing, Shenyang, Chengdu, and Xi'an has increased by more than 10 times. At present, most antigen detection reagents and fast testing services provided by platforms can detect various common respiratory pathogens in winter, including influenza A/B, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, respiratory syncytial virus, etc., all at once. But some netizens have found that when they experience obvious flu like symptoms such as high fever, muscle soreness, and general weakness, their antigen test shows negative. Is it reliable to test for influenza at home? Regarding this, Li Dong, chief physician of the Infection Comprehensive Department at Beijing You'an Hospital affiliated with Capital Medical University, once said that antigen testing is a feasible influenza detection method, but factors such as the high or low viral load in the patient's body and the accuracy and effectiveness of the detection method may affect the test results. Generally speaking, if the test is positive, it can be diagnosed as influenza, but when the test is negative, it cannot rule out the possibility of being caught. Especially for infants and young children, their infection symptoms are sometimes not typical compared to adults. How to determine whether infants and young children have been infected with influenza. Qin Qiang, chief physician of the Respiratory Center at Beijing Children's Hospital affiliated with Capital Medical University, said that if infants and young children have a weakened mental state, significantly reduced food and milk intake, and if caregivers or close contacts of infants and young children have been diagnosed with influenza, they should pay close attention to whether the infants and young children have been infected with influenza. Qin Qiang: The immune system function of children under two years old is not yet fully developed, and their resistance is relatively low compared to adults. When infected with influenza or other viruses, the symptoms of fever and cough may not be so obvious, and they may not actively express symptoms such as headaches and muscle soreness. However, their mental state is different from before, and their milk and activity levels have decreased compared to before. Especially for those who have a history of exposure to influenza, they should be alert. Older children have relatively sound immune systems and may exhibit typical flu like symptoms such as sudden high fever, sore throat and cough, accompanied by muscle aches and headaches throughout the body. If after taking antipyretic or antiviral drugs, the body temperature drops, the mental state is still good, and the activity level is not affected, there is no need to go to the hospital all the time. But if children under 5 years old have flu like symptoms, such as longer fever and significant decrease in activity, they still need to seek medical attention in a timely manner. At present, the mainstream antiviral drugs for influenza in the market mainly include oseltamivir and mabaloxavir. In addition, this year, multiple domestically produced innovative anti influenza drugs including anladevir tablets, mabulaxavir tablets, and mabeloxavir tablets have been approved for market launch. What are the differences between these drugs? Regarding this, Li Dong once explained that the mechanisms of action of these drugs are different, and the scope of approved users also varies. They should be used under the guidance of professional doctors or pharmacists, especially for children, people with chronic underlying diseases, and other populations who should pay attention to medication safety. Li Dongzeng: Neuraminidase inhibitors, represented by oseltamivir, have the longest duration of use and the widest range of applications, including pregnant women, lactating women, infants and young children, all of whom can be used under the guidance of doctors, covering almost all populations; Mabaloxavir is an RNA polymerase inhibitor, which has the advantage of only needing to be used once throughout the entire process, greatly improving patient compliance. However, it is currently approved for children and adults aged 5 and above in China, and is not recommended for pregnant women during lactation due to limited data; The newly launched products this year, like Mabaloxavir, are both RNA polymerase inhibitors, but there is still relatively little practical experience in their application. Because all antiviral drugs are prescription drugs that need to be used under the guidance of a doctor, online consultations can be used to communicate with the doctor before use, especially for young people who have no underlying diseases and have basically no contraindications. But if the underlying disease is complex, such as the possibility of abnormal liver and kidney function, doctors need to evaluate whether medication can be used or whether dosage adjustment is necessary based on our liver and kidney function. Experts remind that although antiviral drugs are targeted flu treatment drugs, they have no relieving effect on the discomfort symptoms that have already appeared. If diagnosed with influenza, in addition to using antiviral drugs according to the doctor's guidance, antipyretic and analgesic drugs such as acetaminophen and ibuprofen can also be used for high fever, muscle pain and other problems. However, it should be noted that after using such drugs, it is necessary to avoid taking compound drugs containing the same ingredients at the same time, which may cause excessive intake of drug components. Qin Qiang also suggested that most children infected with influenza generally have a good prognosis, but a small number of children with weaker immunity may develop complications or secondary infections. If high fever recurs or symptoms persist after medication, it is still necessary to seek medical attention in a timely manner. Qin Qiang: Some children with low immunity and underlying diseases may develop secondary infections after infection, the most common of which are bacterial infections or mycoplasma infections, both of which have the possibility of co infection; If the symptoms are not completely under control and worsen or new symptoms appear, it is necessary to go to the hospital for other tests in a timely manner; When merging with other infections, it is necessary to promptly use other drugs for treating the infection to prevent the condition from worsening. (New Society)