Always take Tamiflu exactly as your doctor has told you. You should check with your doctor or pharmacist if you are not sure.
Take Tamiflu as soon as you get the prescription as this will help to slow the spread of the influenza virus in the body.
Swallow Tamiflu capsules whole with water. Do not break or chew Tamiflu capsules.
The usual dose is as follows:
Treatment
Adolescents (13 to 17 years of age) and adults: For treatment of influenza take one capsule as soon as you get the prescription and then take one capsule twice a day (usually it is convenient to take one in the morning and one in the evening for five days). It is important to complete the whole 5 day course, even if you start to feel better quickly.
30 mg and 45 mg capsules can be used by adults and adolescents as an alternative to 75 mg capsules.
Infants 1 year of age and older, and children 2 to 12 years of age: Tamiflu oral suspension or 30 mg and 45 mg capsules can be used instead.
Children weighing more than 40 kg and who can swallow capsules may take Tamiflu 75 mg capsules twice daily for 5 days.
Infants below 12 months of age: Limited pharmacokinetic and safety data are available for children less than 2 years of age. Pharmacokinetic modeling was undertaken using these data in addition to data from studies in adults and children older than 1 year of age. The results demonstrate that doses of 3 mg/kg twice daily for infants aged 3 to 12 months and 2.5 mg/kg twice daily for infants aged between 1 and 3 months provide exposures similar to those shown to be clinically efficacious in adults and children older than 1 year of age (see table below for weight-based dosing recommendations). There are currently no data available in infants less than 1 month of age using Tamiflu.
Age Recommended dose for 5 days Treatment 3 months to 12 months 3 mgkg twice daily 1 month to 3 months 2.5 mgkg twice daily 0 to 1 month 2 mgkg twice daily
Administration of Tamiflu to infants less than one year of age should be based upon the judgment of the physician after considering the potential benefit of treatment versus any potential risk to the infant.
Prevention
Tamiflu can also be used for prevention of influenza following exposure to an infected individual, such as family members.
Adolescents (13 to 17 years of age) and adults: When used to prevent influenza following exposure to an infected individual, such as family members, Tamiflu should be taken once daily for 10 days. It is best to take this dose in the mornings with breakfast.
Infants 1 year of age and older and children 2 to 12 years of age: Tamiflu oral suspension or 30 mg and 45 mg capsules can be used instead.
Children weighing more than 40 kg and can swallow capsules may take Tamiflu 75 mg capsules once daily for 10 days.
Your doctor will recommend the length of time to continue taking Tamiflu, if it is prescribed to prevent influenza.
Infants below 12 months of age: The recommended prophylaxis dose for infants less than 12 months of age during a pandemic influenza outbreak is half of the daily treatment dose. This is based upon clinical data in children older than 1 year of age and adults showing that a prophylaxis dose equivalent to half the daily treatment dose is clinically efficacious for the prevention of influenza. The following weight-adjusted dosing prophylaxis regimens are recommended for infants below 1 year of age:
Age Recommended dose for 10 days Prevention 3 months to 12 months 3 mgkg once daily 1 month to 3 months 2.5 mgkg once daily 0 to 1 month 2 mgkg once daily
Administration of Tamiflu to infants less than one year of age should be based upon the judgment of the physician after considering the potential benefit of prophylaxis versus any potential risk to the infant.
When Tamiflu oral suspension is not available
When commercially manufactured Tamiflu oral suspension is not available, a pharmacy preparation from Tamiflu capsules can be used (see end of package leaflet, information for medical or healthcare personnel). If the pharmacy preparation is not available either, Tamiflu doses may be prepared at home. The pharmacy preparation is the preferred option in infants below 12 months of age.
When appropriate capsule strengths are available, the dose is given by opening the capsule and mixing its contents with no more than one teaspoon of a suitable sweetened food product. The bitter taste can be masked by products such as sugar water, chocolate syrup, cherry syrup, dessert toppings (like caramel or fudge sauce). The mixture should be stirred and given entirely to the patient. The mixture must be swallowed immediately after its preparation.
When only 75 mg capsules are available, and doses of 30 mg or 45 mg are needed, the preparation involves additional steps.
Preparing Tamiflu doses for infants younger than 1 year ? 75 mg capsules
Infants who weigh 10 kg or less need a Tamiflu dose of 30 mg or less. To make doses of Tamiflu for these infants, you will need to open a Tamiflu capsule and mix the powder inside the capsule with food.
You will need:
1. One 75 mg Tamiflu capsule
2. Dosing chart to determine the correct dosage amount (see Tamiflu dosing chart under step 3 in the next section below)
3. A pair of scissors
4. Two small bowls per child (use separate pairs of bowls for each child)
5. One 5 ml (five millilitre) oral syringe that shows measurements of 0.2 ml (two-tenths of one millilitre)
6. One suitable oral dosing syringe that shows measurements of 0.1 ml (one-tenth of one millilitre). Ask the pharmacist for the correct syringe (1 ml, 2 ml, or 3 ml).
7. One teaspoon
8. One of these foods to hide the bitter taste of the Tamiflu powder:
- Sugar water (If you plan to use sugar water, make this mixture now in a separate bowl or cup. Mix a teaspoon of water with three-fourths [3/4] of a teaspoon of sugar.)
- Chocolate syrup
- Cherry syrup
- Dessert toppings, like caramel or fudge sauce
Making the Tamiflu 10 mg/ml mixture for infants younger than 1 year ? 75 mg capsules These instructions show you how to make one dose of Tamiflu, to be used immediately.
1. Carefully open ONE 75 mg Tamiflu capsule over the first small bowl. To open a capsule, hold the capsule upright and snip off the rounded tip with scissors (see accompanying picture). Pour all of the powder into the bowl. Handle the powder carefully, because it may be irritating to the skin and eyes.
2. Follow the chart below. Use the 5 ml dosing syringe to measure first 5.0 ml of water, and add it to the powder in the bowl. Then measure 2.5 ml of water, and add it to the powder in the bowl. Stir for about 2 minutes.
Tamiflu capsule Amount of water to add ONE 75 mg capsule 7.5 ml seven and a half millilitres
3. Follow the chart below. Find the child?s weight on the left side of the chart, and then look at the column on the right side of chart to see the amount of the Tamiflu powder-water mixture to draw up into the dosing syringe. Draw up the correct amount of powder-water mixture from the first small bowl into the dosing syringe, and then gently expel it from the dosing syringe into the second bowl.
Tamiflu dosing chart for infants 1 to 12 months of age:
Weight rounded to the Required dosenearest 0.5 kg of Tamiflu Amount of Tamiflu powder-water mixture to be drawn up into the dosing syringe 4 kg 10 mg 1.00 ml 4.5 kg 11.25 mg 1.10 ml 5 kg 12.5 mg 1.30 ml 5.5 kg 13.75 mg 1.40 ml 6 kg 15 mg 1.50 ml 7 kg 21 mg 2.10 ml 8 kg 24 mg 2.40 ml 9 kg 27 mg 2.70 ml 10 kg 30 mg 3.00 ml
Tamiflu dosing chart for infants below 1 month of age:
Weight rounded to the nearest 0.5 kg Required doseof Tamiflu Amount of Tamiflu powder-water mixture to be drawn up into the dosing syringe 3 kg 6 mg 0.60 ml 3.5 kg 7 mg 0.70 ml 4 kg 8 mg 0.80 ml 4.5 kg 9 mg 0.90 ml
4. Add a small amount of one of the sweet foods (use no more than 1 teaspoon) into the second bowl. This will hide the bitter taste of the powder-water mixture.
5. Mix the sweet food and powder-water mixture well.
6 Give the entire contents of the second bowl sweet food with powder-water mixture to the child. 7. Give the child something suitable to drink. 8. Throw out any unused powder-water mixture left in the first bowl.
(Note: Not all capsule contents may dissolve. Do not worry, as the undissolved materials are inactive ingredients.)
Preparing Tamiflu doses for children 1 year of age or older ? if you have only 75 mg capsules available
Children who weigh less than 40 kg need a Tamiflu dose of less than 75 mg. To make doses of Tamiflu for these children, you will need to open a 75 mg capsule, prepare a powder-water mixture and mix the correct volume of the mixture with food.
You will need
1. One 75 mg Tamiflu capsule
2. Dosing chart to determine the correct dosage amount (see charts under step 3 in the next section below)
3. A pair of scissors
4. Two small bowls per child (use separate pairs of bowls for each child)
5. One 5 ml (five millilitre) oral syringe that shows measurements of 0.2 ml (two-tenths of one millilitre)
6. One suitable oral dosing syringe that shows measurements of 0.1 ml (one-tenth of one millilitre). Ask the pharmacist for the correct syringe (1 ml, 2 ml, or 3 ml).
7. One teaspoon
8. One of these foods to hide the bitter taste of the Tamiflu powder:
- Sugar water (If you plan to use sugar water, make this mixture now in a separate bowl or cup. Mix a teaspoon of water with three-fourths [3/4] of a teaspoon of sugar.)
- Chocolate syrup
- Cherry syrup
- Dessert toppings, like caramel or fudge sauce
Making the Tamiflu mixture for children 1 year of age or older ? if you have only 75 mg capsules available
These instructions show you how to make one dose of Tamiflu, to be used immediately.
1. Carefully open ONE 75 mg Tamflu capsule over the first small bowl. To open a capsule, hold the capsule upright and snip off the rounded tip with scissors (see accompanying picture). Pour all of the powder into the bowl. Handle the powder carefully, because it may be irritating to the skin and eyes.
2. Use the 5 ml syringe to add 5 ml of water to the powder in the bowl. Stir for about 2 minutes.
(Note: Not all capsule contents may dissolve. Do not worry, as the undissolved materials are inactive ingredients.)
3. The next step will be to draw up the correct amount of powder-water mixture from the first small bowl, and to gently expel it into the second small bowl.
You must find what the correct amount of powder-water mixture to draw up into the dosing syringe is. If you know the child?s weight, you can do this by finding the child?s weight on the left side of the first table below. Then, look at the middle column of the table to see the correct amount of the powder-water mixture to draw up into the dosing syringe.
If you do not know the child?s weight, find the child?s age on the left side of the second table below. Then, look at the middle column of the table to see the correct amount of the powder-water mixture to draw up into the dosing syringe .
Weight Amount of Tamiflu Mixture Dose in mg Up to 15 kg 2 ml 1 dose 30 mg 15 kg up to 23 kg 3 ml 1 dose 45 mg 23 kg up to 40 kg 4 ml 1 dose 60 mg
Age Amount of Tamiflu Mixture Dose in mg 1 to 2 years 2 ml 1 dose 30 mg 3 to 5 years 3 ml 1 dose 45 mg 6 to 9 years 4 ml 1 dose 60 mg
Once you have drawn up the correct amount of powder-water mixture into the dosing syringe, gently expel it from the dosing syringe into the second bowl.
4. Add a small amount of one of the sweet foods into the second bowl to hide the bitter taste of the powder-water mixture.
5. Mix the sweet food and powder-water mixture well.
6. Give the entire contents of the second bowl (sweet food with powder-water mixture) to the child.
7. Throw out any unused powder-water mixture left in the first bowl.
Repeat this procedure every time you need to take the medicine.
If you take more Tamiflu, than you should
Contact your doctor or pharmacist immediately.
If you have forgotten to take Tamiflu
Do not take a double dose to make up for a forgotten capsule.
If you stop taking Tamiflu
There are no side effects when Tamiflu is discontinued prior to advice from your doctor. If Tamiflu is stopped earlier than your doctor told you, the symptoms of influenza may reoccur.
If you have any further questions on the use of this product, ask your doctor or pharmacist.
