What drugs are available to strengthen the immune system?

Drugs to strengthen the immune system are mostly found in the group of dietary supplements or in drugs of herbal origin. Dietary supplements are, for example, vitamin preparations or zinc, which are intended to strengthen the performance of the immune system by compensating the respective vitamin or trace element deficiency. These products are available without prescription in pharmacies or even in drugstores.

Medicines of vegetable origin (such as Meditonsin® or Umckaloabo®) are to be used in the case of a budding infection in order to support the immune system acutely. Furthermore there are medicines for the structure of a healthy Darmflora, which affect indirectly likewise positively the immune system. The food supplement Sanostol® is one of many examples of a freely marketable vitamin preparation.

The exact composition of the vitamins varies from product to product, but it contains all vitamins that are important for the immune system in one form or another. It should be noted that the fat-soluble vitamins A, D and E can also be overdosed, as they are more difficult for the body to excrete than water-soluble vitamins such as vitamin C. Vitamin A can be harmful to the unborn child in very high doses, so pregnant women should exercise some caution when taking any vitamin supplement. Vitamin D can cause small bone growths if overdosed and should therefore not be overdosed, especially in children.

If these aspects are taken into account, however, a vitamin preparation such as Sanostol® can be a good way of supplying the body with such vitamins when there is an increased need for them. Zinc has the reputation of strengthening the immune system and is therefore often used together with vitamin C in freely available preparations. In fact, there are no studies that would prove a strengthening effect on the immune system.

Rather, previous findings suggest that zinc regulates part of the immune system, i.e. inhibits it to a certain extent. This is presumably useful to protect the immune system from the proverbial overreaction to actually mild infections, because in extreme cases this can be more harmful to the body than the infection itself. If pathogens are fought, the immune system consumes zinc in greater amounts – therefore, adding zinc to vitamin C to prevent infections makes perfect sense.