It’s hard to think of sunburn when you’re battling sub-zero February temperatures every day — but summer will be here soon enough.

And when it arrives, you can bet that two things will happen: You’ll hear a lot of mainstream noise about the supposed importance of wearing sunblock… and kids will get sunburned anyway.

Now, that same mainstream is in a tizzy over a small survey that shows kids aren’t interested in wearing sunscreen — and that as they grow up, they simply stop putting it on.

Take that, mom!

The survey of 360 kids found that half of them used the stuff regularly when they were in fifth grade — and half of them got sunburned at least once during the summer.

Three years later, the number of kids using sunscreen fell dramatically: By the time the kids reached eighth grade, only 25 percent of them reported using sunscreen regularly — despite reporting even more time out in the sun.

More time in the sun, less sunscreen — the mainstream coverage of this ends pretty much there. And naturally, they’re all screaming for these kids to put on their sunscreen.

But here’s the “rest of the story” — the part you couldn’t hear over those screams: In eighth grade, the number of kids reporting at least one sunburn didn’t change. It was still 50 percent.

Maybe sunscreen isn’t all it’s cracked up to be after all.

And it’s not just that these chemical goos don’t work nearly as well as their backers claim. In fact, many of them are actually far more dangerous than a summer full of sunburns.

Common sunscreens contain well-known hormone-disrupting chemicals such as oxybenzone. Until recently, many sunscreens — including some of the best-selling brands — contained a form of vitamin A that could actually speed the growth of skin tumors.

In other words, the very chemicals that were supposed to protect people from sunburn and, eventually, skin cancers can actually cause the disease and speed its progression.

That’s why the best defense against sunburn isn’t a layer of dangerous chemicals. It’s common sense: Get some sun at every age, because it’s the best (and cheapest) way to get your vitamin D.

And when you’ve had enough, cover up — or at least seek shade or head inside before you get burned.

Some kids will of course get burned anyway. So be it — at least they’re outside, where they belong, and not parked on the sofa.

Everyone, it seems, has a personal recipe for beating the flu: chicken soup, chrysanthemum tea, cayenne pepper, raw garlic…you name it, someone is taking it.

I even know someone who swears by beer — and lots of it.

Since it’s unlikely that anyone will bankroll a major trial on garlic, soup or beer vs. flu, I can’t say whether they really will cure you — but I can say this: Any of those folk remedies are better options than Tamiflu.

This drug has become the frontline treatment for flu — it’s even on the World Health Organization’s list of essential meds — despite studies showing it barely works, if at all.

That’s what’s been published, anyway.

But what hasn’t been published could be even worse, as researchers from the Cochrane Collaboration say the drug’s maker, Roche, has never released data on a full 60 percent of the patients who took Tamiflu in its clinical trials. Even though Roche claims they have made all of the necessary data available to regulatory agencies.

Makes you wonder just what they’re hiding.

Here’s what we do know: The drug may cut your flu duration by a little less than a day, from roughly seven days down to six, according to the newest Cochrane review.

On top of that, the review found no evidence that the drug does anything for flu complications like pneumonia and hospitalization, despite company claims to the contrary.

Maybe that evidence is hidden in the missing data. Maybe, but I doubt it.

Even worse, the Cochrane team raised serious questions over everything from the makeup of the placebo in Tamiflu trials to differences between the control and treatment groups that could have altered the outcomes.

Those questions can’t be answered without the rest of the data — which, of course, the company has locked away in a basement vault.

If that’s not enough to keep you away from Tamiflu, consider the side effects: headaches, nausea, vomiting, stomach pain and more.

Since those come free with every case of the flu, why even bother with Tamiflu?

And along with those side effects, Tamiflu has also been linked to serious psychological problems — including delirium, bizarre behavior and even suicide.

Despite all that, docs prescribe Tamiflu every day — and, thanks to the WHO’s recommendation, nations are actually stockpiling this garbage. The United States is one of those nations, wasting $1.5 billion on anti-influenza meds such as Tamiflu.

That’s great for Roche investors — but not so great for patients and taxpayers.

If you want your own flu survival kit, forget meds. Stockpile beer, chicken soup and garlic instead — or at least some vitamin D and a box of tissues.

It’s the very definition of a “First World Problem” — how to hold your iPad without getting a crick in your neck.

But it’s enough of a problem these days to catch the attention of researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health, who say most people hold their iPads — and other tablets — in ways that are almost guaranteed to cause neck pain.

In tests on an iPad and a rival machine, the Motorola Xoom, the researchers found four basic positions: on the lap with a case, on the lap without a case, propped up on the desk slightly, and propped up all the way — almost like a computer monitor.

It’s that last one they say is best for you… but that kinda defeats the purpose of a tablet, doesn’t it? If you have to prop it on a desk, it’s really just a computer with a smaller screen.

So you can bet most people will keep their tablets in their laps — and a quick Google search turns up plenty of complaints over what’s been dubbed “iPad Neck.”

You can add that to the growing list of pains caused by high-tech gadgets.

People get back pain from lugging around laptops, carpal tunnel from typing on them all day, BlackBerry thumb (or iPhone thumb) from the overuse of smartphones and who knows what’s coming next — Siri throat, perhaps, from the overuse of voice-activated features on their iPhones.

None of this — not the technology or the pain — is going away anytime soon. But that doesn’t mean you have to give up your tech to avoid the pain, either.

Just be smart about your smartphones, tablets and computers and how you use them. Go online and get some ergonomic pointers for your device — and don’t forget to get up every now and then, move around and stretch your neck, wrists and fingers.

And if you’re going to fire up the Netflix app or watch some YouTube cat videos on your iPad, take the Harvard advice and prop it up on your desk.

Your neck will thank you.

Everyone likes free stuff, and your doctor is no exception.

But when those gifts come from a big drug company, they come with strings attached: prescribe our drugs… prescribe them more often… and prescribe them for more people.

Soon, it’s going to be easier than ever to figure out if your doc is on the wrong end of one of these arrangements — because every drug company with even a single product covered by Medicare will have to report every last penny they give to doctors.

Doesn’t matter if it’s a $50,000 speaking fee for being a “thought leader” or a $50 lunch for his office staff — it has to be reported to the feds, who will then place it online for the world to see.

This has been a long time coming, but your doctor probably can’t figure out why. He thinks he can’t be influenced — that he might get a gift or cash from Big Pharma, but he can still think for himself.

The track record says otherwise: Docs who get cash and prizes from drug companies are more likely to use that company’s drugs and are even more likely to use them off-label for unapproved conditions.

One Big Pharma rep told NPR in 2010 that he could pay a doctor $1,500 to deliver a short presentation prepared by the company — and the following week that doctor will write up to $200,000 in new prescriptions for his company’s drugs.

That’s one heck of a return on investment.

So, starting later this month, you’ll be able to search a federal database and see who’s giving your doc what — from those mutually lucrative speaking fees to a cheap lunch.

Companies that fail to report payments and other gifts will be on the hook for fines of $10,000 per violation — but with a cap of $1 million a year, that alone is probably not enough to get the industry’s attention.

After all, drug companies routinely pay hundreds of millions and even billions of dollars in fines. Next to that, a million bucks is a bargain — the kind of spare change they might find in the CEO’s sofa cushions.

But the new law has some other penalties that could turn out to be a lot harsher than any dollar amount: A senior official — the CEO, CFO or the chief compliance officer — is going to be held responsible for the accuracy of each report.

And if it’s got a few missing pieces, he could face some consequences.

Fines might not get their attention — but that sure will.