Wellnews by Scott LaFee

In grocery stores, offices and other places where people gather, hand sanitizer dispensers are reproducing with the exuberant frequency of, well, bacteria. In fact, hand sanitizing has become a $112 million-a-year industry, with sales up 19 percent over last year.

What's spurring the growth, of course, are fears and concerns about the looming flu season and the threat of H1N1 flu. Whether all of this hand sanitizing helps remains to be seen, but experts say it can't hurt.

The gold standard of cleanliness remains washing with soap and hot water for at least 15 to 20 seconds. The soap doesn't kill bacteria and other microbes, but a thorough washing does wash them away.

Sanitizers work by actually killing offending microbes. Health authorities and researchers say they appear to work reasonably well, but only if the alcohol concentration is greater than 60 percent. Some products have 40 percent. Little is known about the effectiveness of sanitizers marketed as alcohol-free.

To be effective, experts say use at least a dime- or quarter-sized dollop of sanitizer and thoroughly rub it all around the hands, including between fingers and into nail beds.

NUMBER CRUNCHER

A serving of six Gorton's crunchy golden fish sticks (104 grams) contains 250 calories, 126 from fat. It has 14 grams of total fat or 22 percent of the recommended total fat intake for a 2,000-calorie daily diet.

It also contains 20 milligrams of cholesterol (7 percent); 380 mg of sodium (16 percent); 20 grams of total carbohydrates (7 percent); 2 g of sugar and 11 g of protein.

MEDTRONICA

The health care blog

thehealthcareblog.com

It's been described as The New England Journal of Medicine meets Wired meets Facebook, whatever that means.

But one thing's clear: This is a well-sourced, comprehensive, no-nonsense site for news and critical thinking about health care issues, and that's as rare as nonpartisan support for a health care bill.

STORIES FOR THE WAITING ROOM

The oldest known functional prosthesis was a bronze leg dating to about 300 B.C. discovered in Capua, Italy. It was destroyed during a bombing in World War II.

British researchers declared in 2007 that they might have uncovered an even older prosthetic device: an artificial toe that was attached to a female mummy dating from 1000 to 600 B.C.

PHOBIA OF THE WEEK

Mageirocophobia — fear of cooking

BEST MEDICINE

A psychiatrist is making his rounds at a mental hospital. In one room, he finds a patient sitting on the floor, cutting an imaginary piece of wood with an imaginary saw. Above him, another patient hangs upside down from the ceiling.

"What are you doing," the doctor asks the patient on the floor.

"Making a chair."

"And what's he doing," the doctor inquires, pointing to the hanging man.

"Oh, he's crazy. He thinks he's a light bulb."

"Shouldn't you get him down from there? His face is turning red?" asks the doctor.

"What! And work in the dark?"

OBSERVATION

Middle age is when you choose your cereal for its fiber, not the toy.

— Unknown

CURTAIN CALLS

In 1978, Frenchman Noel Carriou confessed to killing both of his wives. The reason: They were poor cooks. The 54-year-old Carriou said he killed his second wife after she served him an overdone roast. Seventeen years earlier, he then admitted, he had killed his first wife after she served him an undercooked meal.

A sympathetic judge sentenced Carriou to eight years in prison, noting that good cooking is an important part of married life.

To find out more about Scott LaFee and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2009 CREATORS.COM