ADVICE OF THE DAY – What to do about flu season.

When exactly is it not flu season? It’s flu season when it’s cold, it’s flu season when it’s hot, it’s flu season when the temperatures suddenly drop, suddenly elevate – that’s, what, like eight seasons? And the flu is always going around. “Does she have what’s going around?” my husband asked a few minutes ago when he found out our daughter is home sick. How can a person check these things? And will I be happier knowing the identity of her flu? Because viruses don’t come with luggage tags, the best you can do is hedge against possible contagion. But how? Japan makes their sick citizens don surgical masks. Looks totally ridiculous, yes, but at least they’re not sneezing on the Shinkansen windows. In this country we have a blizzard of anti-bacterial products erroneously thought to stop the spreading of germs. We are in fact a nation of germaphobes. But because we are also a nation of goofballs, our fear of germs doesn’t prevent us from sending our kids to school sick. Who’s in charge here? My advice regarding what to do about flu season begins with garlic. Eat lots of it. Next: avoid contact with people. And things.