Antiviral 

Antiviral medicines are special drugs made to fight infections from viruses, which are really different from bacteria and need different kinds of treatment. While antibiotics work on bacteria, antivirals stop viruses from making copies of themselves and spreading in the body. These drugs are super important for dealing with viral sicknesses because they help ease symptoms, make the illness last shorter, and prevent problems and spread.

What Are Antiviral Medicines?

Antiviral medications focus on important parts of how viruses live and reproduce, which are necessary for them to infect other cells. Doctors use them to help with viral infections such as the flu, herpes, HIV, and hepatitis B and C, as well as COVID-19. Even though antivirals might not completely get rid of every virus, they really help patients feel better and lower the chances of passing the virus to other people.

How Antiviral Medicines Work

Antiviral medications work by blocking important steps that viruses need to enter cells and make copies of themselves. Here's how they do it:

• Blocking Viral Entry: Some antiviral drugs work by stopping viruses from sticking to or getting into cells in our body. They do this by attacking the proteins on the virus's surface or changing how our cells react, which helps stop the infection before it starts.
• Inhibiting Viral Enzymes: Lots of antivirals block important enzymes that viruses need to copy themselves, like reverse transcriptase for HIV or viral DNA polymerase for herpes viruses. Medications such as acyclovir pretend to be the parts that make up viral DNA, stopping the process of genome replication.
• Preventing Viral Release: Some antivirals block the release of new virus particles, preventing them from infecting more cells and helping limit how far the virus spreads in the body.

By targeting these steps, antivirals reduce the viral load—the quantity of virus in the body—allowing the immune system to better control and eventually clear the infection.

Common Types of Antiviral Medicines

• Oseltamivir (Tamiflu): It's given to help treat and prevent the flu by stopping the neuraminidase enzyme, which the virus needs to get out and spread.
• Acyclovir: It helps to fight off herpes simplex and varicella-zoster viruses that cause cold sores, genital herpes, and chickenpox. It works by blocking the viral DNA polymerase and acting like guanosine nucleotides, which stops the DNA from getting longer.
• Tenofovir and Lamivudine: Used a lot for treating chronic hepatitis B and HIV, these nucleoside analogs work by blocking reverse transcriptase enzymes, which helps to lower the amount of virus in the body.
• Remdesivir: Created for COVID-19 patients in the hospital, it stops the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase enzyme, making the illness less severe and helping people get better faster.
• Zanamivir: There’s another option like oseltamivir that can help fight the flu, and it’s a neuraminidase inhibitor.

Conditions Treated with Antiviral Medicines

• Influenza (flu)
• Herpes simplex infections (both oral and genital)
• Chickenpox and shingles
• Chronic hepatitis B and C
• HIV infection
• COVID-19 and other emerging viral infections

Importance of Responsible Use

Starting antiviral therapy, once you notice symptoms or have been exposed, is really important to work well. If you do not take this medicine properly or do not complete the whole course, this may lead to the fact that viruses have become resistant, making treatment more difficult later. It is therefore very important to stick to the instructions of the doctor and talk to healthcare workers. You should never share your antivirals or try to handle yourself because it helps maintain the drug and protects everyone's health.