Cuidados farmacêuticos e farmacoterapia da gripe e resfriado.

Abstract

Flu and cold are diseases that typically appear in the winter, which are often resolved in pharmacies by pharmacists, or even by self-medication, as the medicines are generally exempt from medical prescription for their purchase. These diseases present similar symptomatology and can be confused, so they should have an adequate follow-up. The present study aimed to carry out a review of the literature on pharmaceutical care and pharmacotherapy of influenza and cold, emphasizing the difference and categorizing the drugs used. A literature review was carried out in the databases, Scielo, Google Academic and national and international health committees, documents published between 2008 and 2018 were used. Articles, books, monographs in Portuguese, English and Spanish were used to obtain the requirements of the topic addressed. For the search the following terms were used (keywords and delimiters) and combinations thereof: 1) Influenza; 2) Chilled; 3) Pharmacotherapy; 4) Pharmaceutical Care. In the articles discussed, it was verified the relevance of pharmaceutical care in the management of self-limited problems, speeding up the recovery of health problems, avoiding self-medication, leading patients to a specific treatment, being pharmacological or not. Vaccination has been found to be the most effective measure against influenza, with some studies showing that vaccination can potentially reduce the overall mortality rate from 39% to 75%. The importance of pharmaceutical care in influenza and cold is relevant for the population, as they contribute to an effective and effective pharmacotherapy. The present work contributed to clarify important aspects about the difference between influenza and cold and emphasized the importance of pharmaceutical orientation and immunization, thus improving knowledge about this subject and avoiding self-medication.