When To Call the Doctor:  If you only have mild flu symptoms, you do not need medical attention, unless your illness worsens.  But if you are in one of the high-risk groups, contact your doctor at the first sign of flu-like illness.  In such cases, the Centre for Disease Control recommends people call or email their doctor before rushing to an emergency room.

Get emergency medical treatment if you have severe chest pain, severe headache, shortness of breath, dizziness, confusion, or persistent vomiting.  In children, get emergency medical treatment if there is difficulty breathing or rapid breathing, bluish or grey skin colour, not drinking enough fluids, not waking up, lethargy and failure to interact normally, extreme irritability or distress, symptoms that were improving suddenly worsening, or fever with a rash.

How to Wash Your Hands Effectively:  Singing Happy Birthday through once is how long you should spend on handwashing.  Remove your jewelry, lather the soap and scrub palm to palm, then between and around the fingers, the back of each hand, and the fingertips.  Rinse, then pat dry with paper towel before using the towel to turn off the faucet.

Prevention Tips:  Wash your hands regularly with soap and water, especially after coughing or sneezing.  Scrub for at least 20 seconds and rinse thoroughly. 

If soap and water aren't available, wash your hands with an alcohol-based hand gel.  Rub your hands together until the alcohol dries completely.

Avoid close contact (being within 2 metres) with people who have flu-like symptoms.

Avoid touching your mouth, nose, or eyes.

If you have flu-like symptoms, stay home until you've been symptom-free for 24 hours.

Breastfeeding mothers with flu symptoms should express their breast milk, and feed their child by other means.