DR. WALLACE: I'm a high school student, and a good friend of mine hit me up the other day to invite me to go with him to a blood drive in our community. Apparently the local hospitals and emergency rooms currently have a low supply of plasma and are looking for current donors to help build up their reserves.

I have no problem with this, even though I'm a bit squeamish with needles, but I know I can handle it, and I told my friend I'll be going with him a week from Saturday to attend this event.

To my surprise, my father told me it's not a good idea to donate blood at these events, as sometimes the people running them accidentally cross-contaminate the needles, and I would be at the risk of catching a potentially dangerous or even fatal disease. My father tends to be one who is always concerned about everything, projecting doom and gloom in every situation. I personally don't have any fear about this, but is there any chance my father could be correct here? — Dad Worries About Everything, via email

DAD WORRIES ABOUT EVERYTHING: Over the years I've reviewed a lot of work surveys and data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Public Health Service and the office of the surgeon general.

These organizations confirm there is no danger from donating blood at the blood bank. The needles used for blood donation are always brand-new, used only once and then destroyed.

Your father may like to be as cautious and careful as he can in every aspect of life, but he needs to look elsewhere to find something that would be truly concerning.

MY LITTLE BROTHER HAS A REALLY BAD MOUTH

DR. WALLACE: My younger brother thinks that swearing is funny, but it drives my mother crazy. My dad just seems to laugh when he does it, but my mom gets truly upset. My brother is 11, and he thinks he seems cool and older when he talks like that.

My mom wants to try to curb his behavior, but she doesn't know how to do it, especially when my father doesn't think it's a big deal. I told my mom she should write to you, but she asked me to do it for her, so here it is. Is there anything my mom can do? — Little Bro's a Potty Mouth, via email

LITTLE BRO'S A POTTY MOUTH: It's not good that your parents are not in sync on this issue. Your father is out of bounds here, in my opinion, because laughing at your brother's constant use of vulgarities and swear words is only going to foster and cement this bad behavior.

This should also cause him problems at school, if it has not already. At some point if he doesn't change his ways, he's going to suffer consequences that won't be pretty. Your mom should have a discussion with your father and tell him that she's going to implement rules and punishments for your brother for every instance she observes.

Your mother could also preemptively go down to your younger brother's school and have a talk with both the teacher and the school's administrators in an effort to get out in front of this. She can explain the problem, the current situation and her desire to immediately implement corrective behavior. Coupling punishments that your mom can dole out at home along with your brother's teacher in school on the lookout does present an opportunity to nip this bad behavior in the bud.

As far as the punishments go, your mother should take away things your brother enjoys, like his freedoms and ability to do things he likes to do. At some point, he will have to make a choice to stop swearing and be able to enjoy other things he wants to participate in, or to continue swearing and suffer the consequences. Finally, your mother should sit your brother down and tell him that he's fully in charge of his own behavior and can decide in advance if he wants to swear or not swear. The choice is his; right now he needs to know there will be consequences both at home and at school for continuing to verbalize his present uncouth vocabulary.

Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. Email him at [email protected]. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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