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Young boy hears voices after suffering from apparent Tamiflu-induced hallucinations

by SHELBY REILLY | KTVL Staff

Friday, January 10th 2020

CENTRAL POINT, Ore. (KTVL) -- Flu season is in full swing and if you are one of the unlucky ones to catch one of this season's flu strains, your doctor may prescribe you Tamiflu

Just like any other medicine, it can come with a long list of potential side effects. Some of which are worse than others.Sarah Wells said her 9-year-old son, Carder, started experiencing hallucinations after taking a prescribed dosage of Tamiflu from Urgent Care.

“He was saying that everything was going fast and that everything was in fast forward. He was hearing voices. He was seeing things. He was crying and grabbing his head and it was really scary,” Wells said.
Wells caught the frightening episode on camera and shared it with News 10.
News outlets in other states have reported similar situations with young children hallucinating and even appearing to develop sudden suicidal ideations after taking the prescribed medication.

Wells said after it happened the first time, she hoped it would just be a "one-time" incident, but then it happened again.

"This time my sister was the one that caught it. She was screaming for me and I came around the corner and he was leaned up against the wall with his eyes rolling in the back of his head and he was saying that he couldn't see and that he couldn't move," Wells said.
Following this incident, Wells said they took her son to the emergency room. Staff there told Wells there was no obvious medical reason for the hallucinations and said they were likely an effect of Tamiflu. One of the flu medicine's side effects is hallucinations.

Carder was prescribed Tamiflu on Dec. 28 and stopped taking it on Jan. 4. After he continued to have these side effects, his mother said she took him to his regular doctor.

“I took him to his pediatrician and the pediatrician said that without a doubt he knows it’s from the Tamiflu,” Wells said.

Jackson County medical health director Dr. Jim Shames said although the psychological effects of the medicine are less likely than symptoms such as nausea or headaches, they can happen.

“Psychiatric symptoms are more unusual. It wasn’t even recognized until after the drug had been released and they started doing further studies. It does look like it occurs more commonly in children,” Shames said.

Wells said she hopes this will make other parents more aware of possible side effects of any medicine before giving it to their children.

“It really makes me more alert and to want to doublecheck and research before I just give my kid anything,” Wells said.

Tamiflu representatives were not immediately available to comment on this incident but said they would send a prepared statement early next week. This story will be updated with that information when it becomes available.