See your contributions in our Guardian guide to the flu here
Flu season has come early to the US. In fact, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it's the earliest flu season in nearly a decade.
Higher-than-normal reports of flu have come in from Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee and Texas. An increase like that usually doesn't happen until after Christmas. Flu-related hospitalizations are also rising earlier than usual, and there have already been two deaths in children.
Though it's often confused with the common cold, the flu's symptoms, (which include fever, cough, runny nose, head and body aches) can lead to pneumonia and other complications, putting the elderly and those with pre-existing conditions at risk.
Vaccination is the best defense but not everyone chooses to get "the jab". According to the CDC, a third of Americans have been vaccinated this year. While in the UK the number of seniors and at-risk people with asthma, heart disease, liver disease and diabetes has fallen since 2011.
If you're not up for the so-called "jab", how about eating a raw onion or putting on a pair of wet socks? Listening to jazz music and eating chocolate are some other recommendations from Best Health magazine, said to relieve flu symptoms.
Will you be vaccinated this year? Have you been in the past? If not, how do you plan to avoid getting the flu? What are you're best at-home cures?
Tell us your thoughts on the vaccine and impart your flu cures to us in this open thread or tweet us using #Flucures. We'll publish the best responses in the Guardian's guide to the flu.
The Guardian's flu guide: what you've been saying so far
