Very simply, if you are normally healthy and well, bed rest, a mild pain reliever and lots of fluids are the best treatment. You can take paracetamol (adults can use aspirin) to control fever, muscle aches and pains. Within days, your body will rid itself of the virus. If you do not seem to be improving, see your doctor in case you need treatment for complications from the flu. Avoid alcohol and tobacco smoke as much as possible.
Antibiotics, designed to kill bacteria, cannot fight the virus – these drugs have no role in treating influenza if you are healthy. Your doctor might advice antibiotics if you have developed bacterial complications as a result of having flu. There are now at least four antiviral drugs for influenza which can reduce the length of symptoms by one to two days but the virus tends to develop resistance to these quite expensive drugs. The two most common ones are oral oseltamivir (Tamiflu) and the inhaler, zanamivir (Relenza).