Here's one of the best ways to avoid the flu

It seems there is a week for everything, but this is a good one. Dec. 7-13 is National Hand-Washing Awareness Week.
Not ironically, this overlaps with the Centers for Disease Control's recently announced National Influenza Vaccination Week (Dec. 8-14).
This seems silly to some, but washing your hands is the single most effective way to prevent the spread of infection.
We all THINK we know how to wash hands, but there's actually a proper way to do it -- and not everyone does it right, according to USA.gov News.
If nothing else, you might want to remind your kids on the proper techniques. I know my boys need daily monitoring! Here are the instructions:
1. Wet your hands with clean running water and apply soap. Use warm water if it is available.
2. Rub hands together, making a lather, and scrub for 15-20 seconds (imagine singing "Happy Birthday" two times).
3. Rinse hands well under running water.
4. Dry your hands using a paper towel or air dryer. If possible, use your paper towel to turn off the faucet. NOTE: I'm one of those paranoid people who also uses the towel to open the door if I'm in a public restroom.

If soap and clean water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand rub, AKA sanitizer.
There's a right way to do this too, says Thurston County Health Officer Diana Yu.
First, use sanitizer on visibly clean hands. Otherwise the grit and dirt trap the nasty stuff you want to get rid of.
Also, you need to use a good-sized glob, wet the entire hand and let it air dry.
“If you wipe it on your shirt or a towel you have messed it up,” Yu says. “There’s actually a correct way to use hand sanitizer. The evaporation of alcohol kills the bugs on your hand.”

Here's some more information on flu shots as well as the vaccinations we need as adults in an article I wrote for The Olympian newspaper: http://www.theolympian.com/living/story/681526.html