CLEARLAKE, Calif. – According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, last year’s flu season was one of the worst on record.

So how can it be avoided? Simple every day acts like washing your hands throughout the day and making sure surfaces you come into contact most often are clean can help stave off the flu.

In fact, viruses that cause influenza can survive on hard surfaces like phones and keyboards for up to 48-hours.

When considering the average cellphone user touches their phone 2,617 times every day, smartphones can be a hotbed for germs.

“Experts tell us that the most common ways the flu is spread is through person-to-person contact, as well as from dirty hands that touch our face,” said Erryn Andersen, director of sales for U.S. Cellular in the northwest. “For this reason, we highly recommend washing hands after handling objects touched by others and not sharing your smartphone with others, especially during flu season.”

U.S. Cellular provides the following tips to help stay healthy this season:

· Keep surfaces clean: According to an annual survey by U.S. Cellular, 41 percent of smartphone owners check their phone on average once an hour and 20 percent every few seconds or minutes.4 U.S. Cellular recommends cleaning devices frequently with a soft slightly damp lint-free cloth, using hands free headsets and avoiding using devices in restrooms.

· Flu outbreaks. Early detection and early response are key to prevent the spread of any disease, including the flu. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the official recorder of flu outbreaks in the United States. The CDC offers a free app, CDC Health & Fitness (available in the App Store and Google Play), to help users track flu outbreaks in their state throughout flu season. Flu Near You is a website that relies on voluntary participation from the general public to help track the flu in real-time. The website also provides a map of reported flu cases, a vaccine finder and the latest flu news. The CDC’s Twitter account is also a helpful resource to stay on top of the latest information about this year’s flu.

· Sickweather (available for free in the App Store or Google Play) is the largest illness crowdsourcing community of its kind - processing over 6 million reports of illness each month. The app provides real-time alerts whenever users enter a 'sick zone'. Be alerted for flu, Norovirus, pink eye, whooping cough and 20 other illnesses.

· Doctors on Demand (available for free in the App Store or Google Play) allows users to connect in minutes with board-certified physicians and doctoral-level therapists online over live video from a smartphone or tablet. Faster and less expensive than a walk-in clinic or ER, users can chat with a doctor virtually 24/7, including nights and weekends. Just like an in-person visit, a doctor will take a person’s history and symptoms, perform an exam, and may recommend treatment - including prescriptions and lab work.

· Alternative Medicines. Natural home remedies can be helpful for common ailments, like the flu. Home Remedies+ (available in the App Store and Google Play) is an app that gives users access to the most common alternative remedies or herbal treatments for illnesses like the flu, common cold and high blood pressure.

U.S. Cellular encourages smartphone users to stop by a local store to speak with the wireless company’s knowledgeable associates. Getting advice on how to keep devices clean this flu season could help you and your family stay healthy.