Ohhh - that's why we're supposed to use a kleenix!

Apparently lots of people use Google and other search engines to look up “flu symptoms” before they decide to trot off to their providers. So what – right? Well the philanthropic branch of Google, Google.org, realized that by tracking the number of hits on that keyword phrase, they were able to track flu outbreaks a full week to 10 days before they are reported to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

Google cuts out as it were, the “middle man” in the reporting sequence to the CDC. When a regional flu outbreak is detected, it’s up to health care providers and hospitals and labs to report their trends to the CDC. Instead Google simply notes the number of searches on the keyword phrase and tracks those spikes.

You can check out these trends by going to www.google.org/flutrends. Oh and by the way, flu symptoms are:

• fever
• headache
• body aches
• runny/stuffy nose
• sore throat
• fatigue
• vomiting and diarrhea (more common in kids)

The hallmark is the sudden onset of your symptoms – like one moment you’re great and the next you feel like you’ve been hit by a Mack truck.

Now’s the time to get the flu shot – click on the link at the top left hand of this page to my article, “Flu Vaccine for Flu Prevention” for more info.