Flu Meds and Flu Spread

Do you take over the counter medication to help you feel better when you get the flu? A new study from McMaster University says  that while aspirin,  and ibuprofen can ease your symptoms  by cutting your fever, these drugs may also make the bug easier to spread.

And as a result, more people will catch it.

That’s because fever can actually help lower the amount of virus in a sick person’s body and reduce the chance of transmitting disease to others. On the other hand, taking drugs that reduce fever can increase transmission.

The researchers calculated that pills taken to ease the sweats and chills of flu are to blame for at least one in 20 cases of the illness – and many deaths.

After crunching numbers, they claim that avoiding medications with ibuprofen, acetaminophen and acetylsalicylic acid and just staying home could save as many as 1,000 lives a year across North America.