INDIANAPOLIS -- People with flu-like symptoms are asking to be prescribed Tamiflu in hopes the symptoms will ease, but central Indiana doctors are being more judicious about prescribing the antiviral medication.

The federal government has asked physicians to exercise restraint in prescribing Tamiflu and Relenza, 6News' Stacia Matthews reported.

Special Section: H1N1 Flu

"We're in prudent use mode ... We're trying to make sure we use it on the right patients," said Tate Trujillo, director of pharmacy for Clarian Health.

Trujillo said there's an adequate supply of antiviral medications, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention wants doctors to reserve the drugs for people who are at risk of fatal complications or hospital patients.

Dr. Joan Duwve, of the Indiana State Department of Health, said those include "pregnant women, young children, those under the age of 2, anyone with a medical condition that puts them at high risk and the elderly."

Duwve said another misconception about the antiviral drugs is that they can treat the H1N1 flu virus.

"Antiviral medications ... can potentially shorten the duration of the flu by one or two days and lessen the severity of the disease, but in order to work, they must be taken within the first 48 hours of symptoms," Trujillo said.

The drugs can also be given to prevent someone who has been exposed to the virus from getting sick.

Over prescribing Tamiflu and Relenza can cause them to lose their effectiveness.

"Flu viruses ... can develop resistance to antiviral medications, and we've seen that happen," Duwve said. "I think it's a valid concern."

So far, the H1N1 virus hasn't mutated to survive antiviral medications, but new antiviral drugs are being developed if that happens.