Doctors reported which treatment errors the new flu standard has highlighted.

The new standard for flu treatment has highlighted the main mistakes made in treating and self-treating the flu, doctors interviewed by RBC reported. The exclusion of antibiotics and diuretics from the list of non-drug treatments is justified and does not change, but rather reinforces, existing clinical guidelines, they believe.

"This new standard simply reiterates that antibiotic therapy for viral infections, including influenza, is not indicated because antibiotics act against bacterial, not viral, flora, against a different pathogen," Marina Anikina, a neurologist and medical doctor, told RBC.

In December 2025, the Ministry of Health approved a new standard for influenza treatment. It includes, among other things:

• the duration of treatment was reduced from 15 to 9 days;
• the list of mandatory tests has been expanded to include a study of the level of C-reactive protein in the blood serum, a study of the level of procalcitonin in the blood, a microscopic examination of the cerebrospinal fluid, and others;
• Antibiotics and diuretics were also excluded from the document;
• The list of drugs included antivirals, immunostimulants, antitussives and pulmonary surfactants.

According to the doctor, antibiotics attack beneficial flora in the intestines, lungs, and skin, and when used to treat a viral infection, these medications can lead to a bacterial infection. "However, it often happens that after a true viral infection, due to a weakened immune system, a secondary flora and infection that requires antibiotic therapy arises," Anikina added. Diuretics were excluded from the standard because flu already causes significant fluid loss, the expert believes. The use of diuretics not only does not promote recovery but can also lead to thrombosis of small and medium-sized vessels.

"The new standard simply highlighted the mistakes that are often made in clinical practice and during self-medication," Anikin concluded.

The previous clinical guidelines for influenza treatment were adopted in 2022, Vsevolod Bentsianov, MD, head of the medical bureau at Benz Medical, reminded RBC. Influenza is one of the most variable diseases in its course, meaning data on the clinical presentation and potential complications are constantly evolving. Therefore, the clinical guidelines were revised in October 2025, and the new standard only consolidates them. "Updating medical care standards is a completely routine procedure, regularly performed for virtually all diseases. Moreover, approving a new standard is a technical step that reflects changes in clinical guidelines accepted by the medical community," he said.

"Regarding the exclusion of antibiotics from the list of medications used for influenza, they have no effect on the influenza virus itself ," Bentsianov recalled. He added that treatment of bacterial complications of influenza, primarily bronchitis and pneumonia, "must be conducted in accordance with clinical guidelines for these clinical entities, as reflected in the relevant clinical guidelines and standards."

In 2024 , the Ministry of Health excluded antibiotics and synthetic hormones from the standard medical care for acute respiratory viral infections. According to the ministry's data for 2022, 72.5% of Russians taking antibiotics did so incorrectly: either taking them unprescribed while attempting to treat acute respiratory viral infections, influenza, COVID-19 , coughs, sore throats, headaches, or diarrhea, or interrupting the course prematurely.

Taking antibiotics without prescription increases the risk of superinfection, therapist and clinical pharmacologist Andrei Kondrakhin previously told RBC. In this case, any viral illness can be complicated by a bacterial infection.

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