There’s nothing like a worldwide flu epidemic or pandemic — you get to choose what to call it — to bring out the crazies touting a plethora of life-saving antidotes, potions and gimmicks.
Herbal tea to ward off flu symptoms! Flu prevention kits! Air purifiers AND sanitizers to ward off viruses! Lotions, gel and soaps to kill bad bugs lingering on your skin — or beyond! One product creates “an airborne barrier” and “refreshes your airspace by adding a natural invigorating scent and technologically clusters the bacteria and viruses in the air.”
Not sure what the symptoms of H1N1 are? Should you get vaccinated? Want to know the REAL cause of flu? For $10, you can download a nifty little ebook with all of that information. Forget that you can find the same information elsewhere on the Internet for free. And from reliable, trusted sites like
flu.gov to boot!
But here’s my personal favorite: A psychic reading that will reveal your level of immunity against the flu, just $69.
The number of supposed flu-prevention and flu-remedy products online is varied and enough of a concern that the Federal Drug Administration includes a list on its own Web site. In some cases, the product might be legitimate, as in an air purifier, but it’s the marketing language promising benefits in fighting the flu that come into question. You can
click here access the FDA’s complete list.
In addition to air systems, the list includes lotions and gels, gloves and masks, herbal extracts, sprays, body washes, gloves, inhalers, flu kits, supplements and tea. Even a shampoo.
What can you do to avoid the flu? The Center for Disease Control advises getting vaccinated, taking everyday actions to stay healthy (cough/sneeze into your sleeve, avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth, stay home if feeing unwell) and finding healthy ways to deal with stress.
How to avoid swine-flu scams? The BBB offers these tips:
• Don’t open e-mails from unknown sources and don’t click on any links in the body of the e-mail or open any attachments. Instead, delete the e-mail or report it to the Federal Trade Commission by forwarding the e-mail to
spam@uce.gov.
• Make sure your anti-virus and anti-spyware software is up to date and all operating system security patches have been installed. If your computer becomes infected as the result of a spam e-mail about swine flu, you can report it to the Internet Crime Complaint Center at
ic3.gov.
For more information on Swine Flu and updates on progress in fighting the outbreak, go to
www.cdc.gov/swineflu or
www.fda.govDon’t go a day without your BBB. Follow us on
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LinkedIn. For more consumer information or to check out the BBBlog, visit
wynco.bbb.org or call 970-484-1348 or 800-564-0371.
About the BBB
The Better Business Bureau, founded in 1912, is a champion for ethics and trust in the marketplace. Only businesses that meet the high BBB standards are invited to become BBB Accredited Businesses. Today, 128 BBBs across the United States and Canada rate more than 3 million local and national businesses and charities with scores ranging from A to F. Only a BBB Accredited Business may elect to participate in BBBOnLine, one of the most trusted and recognized Internet seal programs in the world.
The BBB serving northern Colorado and Wyoming is trending toward 1 million instances of service to consumers and businesses in 2009. These services include reliability reports on local companies and charities, access to companies that can be trusted by industry, help with dispute resolution, and trustworthy information on consumer and business topics.
Luanne Kadlub, BBB Media Specialist, 970-686-9307, lkadlub@aol.com