Tag Archives: tamiflu

Know the Symptoms of Swine Flu:

You may have Swine Flu if you develop temperature of 38°C (100.4°F) or above, followed by at least two of the following symptoms:

• Widespread muscle and joint aches
• A cough
• Headache
• Blocked or runny nose
• Sore throat
• Vomiting
• Watery diarrhoea
• Cannot stop crying (only children)

Call your GP directly if you think you have swine flu and are under one of the following circumstances:

• Have a serious underlying illness
• Are pregnant
• Have a sick child under one year old
• Your condition suddenly gets much worse
• Your condition is still getting worse after seven days (or five days for a child)

Get Advice about Swine Flu:

If you think you have swine flu you should stay at home and contact the National Pandemic Flu Service – Treatment line on 0800 1 513 100 or go to www.direct.gov.uk/pandemicflu

How to Get Treatment for Swine Flu:

In case you are diagnosed with swine flu and need to take antivirals such as Tamiflu, you will receive an authorisation code, which allows the medication to be given to you. You will also be told where the medication can be collected. You should not collect the antiviral drugs yourself, instead you should ask a friend to collect them for you. This is to reduce the risks of spreading swine flu to others. In order to collect the antiviral drugs your flu friend will need to show an original ID document for themselves and you.

The types of ID that can be used to collect antiviral drugs for swine flu are as follow:

• Current passport
• Child benefit letter
• Council tax payment book
• Credit card, bank or building society statement (from the last 3 months)
• Paid utility bill (from the last 6 months)
• Parent held record (red book)
• Pension/benefit book
• National identity card (European Community/European Economic Area)
• UK naturalisation or registration certificate
• Full driving licence
• NHS card
• Birth/marriage/civil partnership/adoption certificate
• Standard Acknowledgement Letter issued by the Home Office for Asylum Seekers

After you contacted the National Pandemic Flu Service and receive the twelve digit authorisation code to receive antivirals, you should pass it on to your flu friend. As them can only pick up your medications if they present this code at the collection point.

Here is a list of information your flu friend will need to have on hand to collect your antivirals for you:

• Name of patient
• Patient’s authorisation code
• Address of nearest Antiviral Collection Point (ACP)
• ID to prove who they are
• ID to prove who you are

Who Can Be Your Flu Friend

It is a good idea to identify your flu friends and check they are happy to help you. Your flu friend can be relatives, neighbours or friends that do not have swine flu symptoms and are able to collect the medication for you. They can also collect food and other essentials for you, so that you do not have to leave your house.

It is best to be prepared and stock up on few essentials you will probably need to have to hand such as:

• Normal flu remedies – like paracetamol for adults and children
• Food and fluids
• Extra supplies of tissues and toilet paper
• Supplies of any regular medicines you normally take – order your repeat prescriptions before they run out.

Also it is worth thinking about friends or neighbours that may need help and see if you can be their flu friend and you may become mutual flu friends.

National Pandemic Flu service: www.direct.gov.uk/pandemicflu

Information Line 0800 1 513 513

Treatment Line 0800 1 513 100

For more information see: www.nhs.uk