As many of you know, the flu is usually no more than an inconvenience. But if the particular strain is strong enough or if the patient is young, old or sickly, it suddenly becomes a major, if not life threatening, condition that requires specialized medical care. Which is why, as winter flu spreads across all 48 contiguous states, 2,500 patients in New York City alone have already checked into emergency rooms with severe flu symptoms. Flu viruses spread quickly, are surprisingly durable and, for some reason, have arrived two weeks early. So what are we going to do about it?

Use the Google App and spread awareness online! What else?

Yes, social media is getting in on the spread of the flu this year, with Google creating a Flu Tracker app to demonstrate the worldwide spread of this particular flu and Facebook even launching a “Help, I Have the Flu” app that promises to identify which friend made you deathly ill. Finally, there’s flunearyou.com, a site that tracks where flu cases are cropping up and how many reported cases are currently in your area. And of course you can share the answers you find there on Facebook.

Frankly, we’re not sure how useful this intel is. It’s winter. Winter brings flu. And that’s why in winter, you dress warmly and stock up on cough syrup, chicken noodle soup, and at least two sick days. Whether or not a flu wave hits your town will not necessarily change the formula for countering it. But social media is an outlet for people to express what’s happening in their lives, and this month, the flu will be a big part of that.

Do you think these web sources could help keep you and your family well?