Chicagohealers.com Practitioner Dr. Martha H Howard offers the following tips for swine flu prevention:

Prevention: The most important preventive measure is the old standard – frequent hand washing. Also, do not rub or touch your eyes when you are out in public and haven't washed your hands. Buy, carry and use the non-alcohol based ecologic hand sanitizers. People who have done their prevention by getting their flu shot are lucky – this year the shots contain the strain of swine flu virus that is causing the outbreak, so people who have had the shots have at least partial immunity. However, no one is sure what that means if you actually get the flu.

Immune Boosters: One of the best immune boosters is still vitamin C. Take at least 500 milligrams, with 6 to 8 ounces of water, four times a day. Other immune boosters are strong antioxidants including Oprah's current favorite, acai berry. Another one, which is known specifically to work for flu, is elderberry. There an alternative version of Airborne, Source Naturals "Wellness Fizz" which contains forsythia, and all the other herbs in the Yin Chiao formula, as well as zinc, selenium and elderberry.

Symptoms: It's important to recognize the symptoms early. They are any combination of these: headache, cough, sore throat, fever, nausea, dizziness.

Treatment: If you have any of those symptoms, the prescription drug Tamiflu can be effective, but only if you start it within 48 hours of the beginning of symptoms. Some types of flu viruses are already resistant to Tamiflu, but the one that is causing the current outbreak hasn't developed resistance yet. Probably the most effective treatment for flu is Chinese herbs. They are effective in both killing the virus and helping resolve the flu symptoms. The best thing to take is a combination of two Chinese formulas – Yin Chiao Chieh Tu Pian, and Zhong Gan Ling. They should be taken as a combination – two to four Yin Chiao tablets twice a day, and four to six Zhong Gan Ling tablets three times a day. They should be taken with food.

It is also important to remember that if the person has signs of prostration – that is, too sick to get up, a high fever or shows any sign of dehydration, they should go to the hospital.