Boy falls to death from apartment while under treatment for flu

So how many is it now? I have read about several of these over the years, starting I think with Tamiflu. Of course, nothing can ever be proved, but surely someone somewhere must be acknowledging or suspecting a link?

Awful. His poor family.

From the article you can't really tell what the situation was so you can't really judge, but I know a lot of doctors won't prescribe Tamiflu (etc) in otherwise healthy patients because the side effects don't justify the benefits. Anti-virals can be serious medications. I had the flu three years in a row in Japan and nothing was ever prescribed outside of rest or OTC pain meds, really. Then I started getting the flu shot and haven't gotten it in 7 years. I can only assume he had other contributing health factors because it wouldn't seem worth it to give to a healthy teenage boy otherwise. Then again, if his fever was high enough he could have hallucinated from that too. Such a tragedy no matter what.

According to the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare, it is possible for children with the flu to exhibit abnormal behavior - after taking a Japanese flu medicine.

Never heard of such side effects.

Only high fever can make you feel so exhausted you get difficulty to think. But not become crazy as to believe a window is a door...

I remember going to a clinic for fly a few years ago and being asked by the doctor if I lived by myself because one of the side effects of tamiflu was (Oji-chan doctor confers with his English dictionary) psychosis. I politely declined the treatment.

Tamiflu was banned in the UK and a number of other countries and has been proven to have virtually no effect on recovering from the flu.

Pretty sure it was also banned for use on children in Japan because of numerous cases just like this one.

I thought treatment for the flu was simply rest and, if desired, traditionally safe OTC meds to help with symptoms, such as an antipyretic, decongestant, expectorant, and/or cough suppressant.

"According to the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare, it is possible for children with the flu to exhibit abnormal behavior, whether or not they take antiviral drugs. The ministry has issued a warning concerning these influenza cases where patients are exhibiting psychological complications that could potentially be fatal."

You know how much money the pharmaceutical industry makes of flu shots alone? let alone the medicine you inhale if you show flu symptoms, and the bags upon bags of pills and powders. So it's no wonder that in their "warning" they don't ask you not to get flu shots or avoid medicines unless it is felt to be absolutely necessary, they just say, "Well... guffaw... it could just be the flu itself!" Reminds me of the "professionals" examining cancer patients who have been in close proximity to Fukushima saying, "Heck, can't prove this spike is not just a coincidence!"

Any common flu is best treated by lots of rest in bed and plenty of fluids. NOT shots!

Many Japanese cold and flu medicines are a mystery mix of chemicals and powders that usually end up making you feel worse. This is because codine and psudo-ephidrin (SP?) are strictly controlled and banned. However, in this case, it is possible the kid already had suicidal tendencies and he felt so crappy during the flu he decided to end it all. I only had the flu once in the 18 years I lived in Japan and suffered through with headache tablets and cough medicine. I broke the fever by sweating it out. Realistically, if you have a fever, it should only last for 24 hours. If the fever lasts more then 48 hours you should get some antibiotics. The old remedy of, 'feed a cold and starve a fever' actually works very well. If you have a fever, you should not eat. Digesting food brings your body temperature down. If you have a cold. you should eat a lot of vitamin rich foods like fruits and vegetables. You should avoid all those mystery medicines like the plague.

@Disillusioned

You can get Bron or ベンザブロックL at any drug store. That dihydrocodeine and dihydrocodeine plus pseudoephedrine. Lots of Japanese cold/cough medications have either or both of these medications in them.

@Jonathan Prin

Only high fever can make you feel so exhausted you get difficulty to think. But not become crazy as to believe a window is a door...

That's not true, especially in children. High fever can cause delusions and hallucinations in some people (more common in children). My older brother had a kidney infection when we were in elementary school and he got pretty badly injured because he hallucinated that he was being chased and he ran through a sliding glass door in the middle of the night.