More Effective Treatment For Pneumonia Following Influenza Found, Study Shows

Science Daily ^ | January 10, 2009 | Jonathan McCullers, M.D et al. [adapted]

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Scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have demonstrated a more effective treatment for bacterial pneumonia following influenza. They found that the antibiotics clindamycin and azithromycin, which kill bacteria by inhibiting their protein synthesis, are more effective than a standard first-line treatment with the "beta-lactam" antibiotic ampicillin, which causes the bacteria to lyse, or burst.

The finding is important because pneumonia, rather than the influenza itself, is a principal cause of death from influenza in children and the elderly. During pandemics—such as the one that may arise from avian influenza—up to 95 percent of influenza deaths are due to pneumonia. A bioterrorism attack using the influenza virus would likely result in the same high percentage of pneumonia deaths, according to the researchers.

[Myrddin]

My daily vitamin A is 10,000 IU. Ibuprofen is adequate to keep the arthritis and repetitive stress injury pain at bay. The only time I've really knocked the pain level down to near zero was with Beconase prescribed for my sinuses. Withing a week, my back, hips, knees and ankles were pain free. The bottle of Beconase ran out after 3 months. Within days, I felt like I had been beaten with a baseball bat. It took a few weeks to able to "ignore" the baseline level of pain again. It was a pleasant contrast for a while.

I'll have plenty of access to sunshine and warm temperatures for the next few months. I'll have to consider the sun lamp as the winter moves in later this year.