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Can Tama Flu Be Taken If Flu Test Is Negative And Can Pneumonia Cause Cold?
I feel very cold and clammy. I went to the doctor and they did a flu test. It came back negative, but it went in. As soon as I started feeling bad because I have had 2 students with the flu. He prescribed me Tama Flu. Is it alright if I take it and the test did not come back negative? My second question is in September I had pneumonia. The cat scan showed that I have about 30 to 40 nod gels which appear to be a fungus. Since September, I have been getting respiratory infections or sinus infections as soon as I stop taking medicine. I have been on steroids and antibiotics and I just finished a round of steroids and now I feel awful. Could the infection that I had in September be the cause of this?
Tue, 26 Feb 2019
Hello,
regarding your first question about the antiviral drug: the 'fast' flu test is helpful only when it's positive. The false negative rate is too high for a negative result to be helpful. A doctor will usually prescribe the antiviral medication regardless of the test result if the likelihood for influenza is high enough, particularly when a patient has comorbidities. A positive result is almost confirmative and helps a lot to rule out other potential causes.
Now regarding your second question: pneumonia may either be healed (even if not properly treated) or kill the patient. There is no way to have pneumonia for so long. If you'd like to upload your test results I'll be glad to evaluate them.
I hope I've answered your questions. Please let me know if you need further assistance.
Kind Regards,
Dr Panagiotis Zografakis
regarding your first question about the antiviral drug: the 'fast' flu test is helpful only when it's positive. The false negative rate is too high for a negative result to be helpful. A doctor will usually prescribe the antiviral medication regardless of the test result if the likelihood for influenza is high enough, particularly when a patient has comorbidities. A positive result is almost confirmative and helps a lot to rule out other potential causes.
Now regarding your second question: pneumonia may either be healed (even if not properly treated) or kill the patient. There is no way to have pneumonia for so long. If you'd like to upload your test results I'll be glad to evaluate them.
I hope I've answered your questions. Please let me know if you need further assistance.
Kind Regards,
Dr Panagiotis Zografakis
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