There has just been a confirmed case of swine flu in San Francisco -- yikes!

Our Gmail account efficiently filters out all undesirable emails, but we hear there's been an onslaught of swine flu "miracle cure" email scams seeking to victimize Grandma's AOL account.

We know SFist readers are way too shrewd to fall for this spam nonsense, but it's worth remembering that there currently is no swine flu vaccine in existence. Prescription medications Tamiflu (oseltamivir) and Relenza (zanamivir) can reduce the severity of the flu, but they have pretty severe side effects (headaches, nausea, and vomiting) and can potentially reduce drug resistance to the flu. Therefore, taking one of the medications is recommended only if you know you've been in contact with someone who has the swine flu.

For all of us otherwise healthy folks, doctors recommend the following lifelong remedies for staying healthy and thereby boosting our resistance to illness: Sleep, Vitamin D, quitting smoking, and meditation. UV lights and humidifiers are also proven to kill the flu virus, but they also come with certain hazards. UV lights are expensive and can burn your skin, and humidifiers often create mold issues.