There are medications to fight the flu virus, but they are not very effective. At most, the medication can reduce the duration of the illness by one day. In addition, the medication must be given within the first forty-eight hours of the illness, otherwise it is completely useless. Currently these medications are only recommended for people with weakened immune systems.

Even though antibiotics are not useful for treating the flu directly, they are often used to treat bacterial complication from the flu infection. Pneumonia, sinus infection, and ear infection can be managed with antibiotics.