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"  As you&amp;#039;ve probably figured out by now, this flu season is shaping up to be more complex that what we&amp;#039;ve faced in recent years. That&amp;#039;s because you have to worry about getting two kinds of flu\u2014the regular seasonal flu and the H1N1 (swine) flu. But don&amp;#039;t panic: There are steps you can take to protect yourself. Unfortunately, there are also many things being marketed for flu prevention that don&amp;#039;t offer much in the way of flu-fighting power. We turned to the experts to find out what really works\u2014and what&amp;#039;s worthless.   Proven Flu-Fighters   Vaccines Hands down, getting vaccinated is the most effective way to avoid getting sick. This year you&amp;#039;ll need two separate vaccines\u2014one for the seasonal flu and one for H1N1\u2014but experts swear a few quick jabs in the arm are worth it. &amp;quot;Both vaccines are perfectly safe,&amp;quot; says William Schaffner, MD, chair of the department of preventative medicine at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. In fact, Dr. Schaffner volunteered to be a subject in clinical trials for the H1N1 vaccine, so he&amp;#039;s already gotten it himself.   Frequent Hand Washing We know it&amp;#039;s boring, but it really does work. Aside from getting vaccinated, it&amp;#039;s the number-one thing you can do to stay healthy. It&amp;#039;s especially important to wash up before eating, after touching something (or someone) that might be contaminated with germs and before touching or rubbing your eyes.   Hand Sanitizer If you&amp;#039;re not already carrying around alcohol-based hand sanitizer (for use when a sink isn&amp;#039;t readily available), go out and buy some. It&amp;#039;s cheap and effective.   Worth a Try   Germicidal Disinfectant Cloths Use these to wipe down countertops, doorknobs, phone receivers and other germ-laden items. According to Dr. Schaffner, disinfectant wipes can, in fact, kill the flu virus. The reason this isn&amp;#039;t in the best-bets category is that most of us won&amp;#039;t catch the flu from touching surfaces. (You&amp;#039;re much more apt to get it by touching an infected person or standing less than 3-4 feet away and breathing in droplets she breathes out.) &amp;quot;I liken catching the flu from touching objects like door handles or even money to walking from New York to San Francisco,&amp;quot; he says. &amp;quot;Yes, you could do it, but you&amp;#039;d probably fly.&amp;quot; You can buy &amp;quot;hospital grade&amp;quot; wipes online (like these from Flu Armor), but the Clorox wipes that you&amp;#039;ll find in your local grocery store cost a lot less and should work just as well for household purposes.   Anti-Microbial Computer Keyboard Protectors &amp;quot;This one&amp;#039;s a strong maybe,&amp;quot; says Dr. Schaffner. There&amp;#039;s no doubt that computer keyboards harbor plenty of germs, but how big a role these play in transmission of viruses like the flu is unclear. The biggest reason to consider a keyboard skin, he adds, is that using one makes it easier to wipe off the surface of your keyboard and prevent more gunk from getting stuck in the crevices. Want to try one? Check out the ProTouch Keyboard Protectors from iSkin or the Fellowes Microban Basic 104 Keyboard CompuCover Dust Cover.   Vitamin C Supplements Vitamin C has long been touted for its immune-boosting powers, but the evidence that taking it truly makes you more resistant to catching whatever&amp;#039;s going around is somewhat mixed. Because it&amp;#039;s a water-soluble vitamin your body will excrete the extra amount it doesn&amp;#039;t use, so there&amp;#039;s no harm in trying it. One warning: Make sure you drink lots of water while taking vitamin C; if you get dehydrated, your body won&amp;#039;t be able to flush out the excess and you could end up with kidney stones, explains Dr. Schaffner.   Zinc Supplements The evidence is mixed here, too, but there is some proof that it may help prevent or reduce the duration of the common cold. Will it work for the flu, too? No one knows, but if people are coughing and sneezing around you it may not be a bad idea to start sucking on one of those lozenges.   So-So Protection   N95 Respirator Masks These may help prevent you from breathing in the flu virus, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention doesn&amp;#039;t recommend that you run out and buy one. That&amp;#039;s because in order for them to work, the mask has to fit your face properly and you must actually be wearing it when you&amp;#039;re exposed to the virus, explains Anne Gershon, MD, president of the Infectious Disease Society of America and a professor at Columbia University in New York. And wearing the mask at all times isn&amp;#039;t practical\u2014or comfortable (it can be hard to breathe through for extended periods).   Surgical Mask Some experts say these masks are less effective than the N95 respirators, but a recent study from the Journal of the American Medical Association says otherwise. Scientists compared both kinds of masks and found that healthcare workers were no more (or less) likely to get the flu from infected patients while wearing either mask. (In the study, 24 percent of nurses wearing surgical masks and 23 percent of those wearing N95 respirators caught the flu.) That&amp;#039;s good news because surgical masks are much more comfortable and can be worn for longer than the N95 respirators. &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s reasonable to wear either kind of mask if you&amp;#039;re taking care of someone in your home who&amp;#039;s sick with the flu, or if you&amp;#039;re the one who&amp;#039;s sick and you absolutely need to leave the house for some reason,&amp;quot; says Dr. Schaffner. Otherwise, you probably shouldn&amp;#039;t bother.   Goggles Believe it or not, these are cropping up in various flu-prevention kits sold online. Dr. Gershon says they might work; in theory, you can get the flu by touching something containing the virus and then rubbing your eyes. But are you really going to wear goggles all the time? You&amp;#039;re better off just washing your hands often and avoiding touching your eyes, adds Dr. Schaffner.   Save Your Money   UV Sanitizing Wands These devices (such as the Verilux CleanWave Sanitizing Wand) claim to use UV light to kill off viruses and bacteria. But Dr. Schaffner says there&amp;#039;s no proof that UV rays are effective for this purpose, which is why they&amp;#039;re not used in hospital settings. He also notes that any germ-killing abilities these devices might have gets compromised even further if the UV bulbs get dusty or aren&amp;#039;t tested often. &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s well-intentioned, but not well-studied,&amp;quot; he says.   Echinacea Supplements Many studies have examined echinacea for preventing the common cold, but unfortunately the results don&amp;#039;t look so good. And if this herb won&amp;#039;t boost your immunity enough to prevent a cold, the chances of it helping you ward off the flu are slim to none.   Anti-Flu Sprays Room sprays (such as NOXO Anti-Flu Spray) are supposed to attack flu viruses in the air so you never even inhale them. Great idea, but Dr. Schaffner says there&amp;#039;s no good evidence that he knows of proving this works.   Full-Body Paper Jumpsuits Unless you&amp;#039;re trying to make some sort of new fashion statement, don&amp;#039;t bother. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.womansday.com/health-fitness/womens-health/a4206/the-truth-about-preventing-the-flu-95223/>