Preventing Seasonal Flu

With the flu season just around the corner, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) prescribe a three-step approach to fight the flu.

1. Take time to get a flu shot.
2. Take preventive actions like washing hands, covering coughs and sneezes.
3. Take flu antiviral drugs, if prescribed by your doctor.

This page also provides links to posters/flyers, information alerts, PSAs and Q&A.

To read more, see details at:

http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/preventing.htm

For Spanish-language flyer, see:

http://www.cdc.gov/flu/professionals/flugallery/2008-09/pdf/Take3_spanish.pdf

MedlinePlus Turns Ten

MedlinePlus, the popular, consumer-friendly health Web site produced by the National Library of Medicine, turns TEN this year. Launched October 22, 1998, the site has brought trusted health information to people across the country and around the world.

What a difference a decade makes. Since its debut in 1998:

• MedlinePlus has grown from 22 health topics to information on more than 770 health topics.
• Added a Spanish version, MedlinePlus en español, in 2002 in response to requests from the public and health care community. It is the most comprehensive Spanish language health site in the United States.
• Launched a multiple languages collection with information in more than 40 languages and English translations in 2008.

In addition to the health topics, MedlinePlus provides information on drugs and supplements, the latest news, a medical dictionary, an extensive encyclopedia, surgery videos, interactive educational material, and links to other helpful sites to locate clinical trials, understand genetic conditions, and find information specifically for older Americans.

The health information on MedlinePlus is professionally selected from reliable sources including the National Institutes of Health, government organizations, medical associations, and more than one thousand other health organizations such as the Mayo Clinic and the Harvard School of Public Health.

Located in Bethesda, Md., the National Library of Medicine is the world's largest library of the health sciences. For more information, visit the Web site at http://www.nlm.nih.gov.