The only sure defense against a virus is prevention. When no vaccine is yet available, minimize the time you spend around others of your species.

Respiratory viruses can be transmitted through droplets of fluid spewed forth by the coughs and sneezes of the infected. These can hang in the air and remain infectious for several minutes!

The most common mechanism of transmission is, however, physical contact with the infected or with surfaces the infected have touched. Many viruses can remain viable for hours or even days on materials such as plastic, glass and steel!

Some of the worst perpetrators include shopping carts, hand rails, electronic buttons and digital touch screens. It's worth noting however that toilet seats are extremely low-risk as few people touch them with their bare hands and arguably fewer people touch them with their mouths.

Watch out for those sink knobs, too, if a public restroom isn't already touch-free! Use a paper towel to operate more archaic sinks and doors, then discard it on your way out.

Once an infected surface has been touched, viruses are introduced to the body by subsequently touching your face or your food. Avoid doing either with bare hands until you can wash them!

Where floating coughs are concerned, a face mask will not generally prevent you from inhaling droplets. If you are infected, however, it can help contain most of your droplets. Wearing a mask is a courtesy that can save lives!

Shower and change all clothes at least daily if this is not already your routine, which it should have been. Consider doing it all again whenever you return home from the outside world.

ALCOHOL BASED hand sanitizer can destroy many viruses, but the concentration of alcohol should be no more or less than 60%. Lower concentrations or alcohol-free sanitizers have no effect on viruses and suboptimal effect on bacterial, while higher concentrations or pure rubbing alcohol can damage your skin, or even kill a "top layer" of microbes so quickly that they become a sort of protective coat for life forms thriving beneath them! Marvelous, but undesirable!

Hand sanitizer still isn't as effective as washing with soap, but it's not because soap kills germs; it's because the combination of soap and water will make microorganisms slip off from your skin. This is why the longer you take to wash your hands, the better! Try singing "Happy Birthday" in your head at least three times before you rinse the soap away, and if you have one, scrub your hands and nails with a soapy brush as well.

Hair and nails can both trap germs, and it only takes a single germ to make you sick! Shaving facial hair and trimming nails can make it easier to stay clean.

Antibiotics have no effect on viruses, and should absolutely never be taken unless perscribed by a doctor. If your doctor does believe you have a bacterial, rather than viral infection, you must finish all antibiotics completely - even if your symptoms clear up early on.

VITAMINS have no effect on either viral or bacterial infections. The only dietary supplement clinically demonstrated to increase immune activity, shortening the length and severity of colds and flus, is about 80 to 92 mg of pure ZINC taken daily. Be cautious; more than that can actually worsen your symptoms, and note that sweetened, flavored zinc tablets have been found to be much less effective.

The importance of keeping hydrated and getting enough rest can never be understated. Even if you feel better, you should limit physical activity until symptoms completely subside.

It is possible to contract, spread, and overcome a virus with no symptoms at all, another reason why you should limit public activity during a pandemic event. Always err on the possibility that you and others can be shedding active viruses until you're certain otherwise.

When you do contract a given virus, your body manufactures an antibody to prevent future infection by the same strain. This is what ultimately clears the virus, but it does take time, which is why you still suffer symptoms. A vaccine introduces a controlled viral sample to your system to trigger this same natural process with far less misery, so if a vaccine is available before you get sick, always consider receiving it as soon as you are able.

Fragrances, herbs, crystals, metals, leeches, yoga, sunlight, fruit, vibration, positive thinking, cordyceps fungus, ground up powdered animal parts, fermented vegetation, starvation, seawater, electricity and urine are among the things that have been suggested by some individuals as powerful, little known treatments against illness.

They are not.