Heloise: It's all about the wash

Dear Heloise: Please remind your readers, including school kids, how and how often to wash their hands. Thank you. -- P.F., Costa Mesa, Calif.

It's such an important topic. Proper hand-washing can help lessen the spread of disease, and it can help to keep us healthier. Here are the "hows," according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (www.cdc.gov):

* Wet hands with clean, running warm or cool water. Turn off the water and apply soap.

* Rub hands together to generate lather. Target the backs of your hands, palms, between your fingers and under your nails.

* Wash for at least 20 seconds.

* Rinse thoroughly under fresh, running water.

* Dry off using a clean towel or air blower.

As for the "how oftens":

* Before, during and after preparing foods, and before eating.

* When caring for a sick person, and/or treating a wound.

* After using the restroom, and/or changing a diaper.

* After blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing.

* After touching an animal, animal waste or trash.

If you don't have soap, hand sanitizer that is at least 60% alcohol can cut the number of germs on your hands. -- Heloise

Dear Heloise: You recently wrote about how to fall. May I suggest fall prevention?

As we get older, we take smaller steps, even shuffle, and sit a lot.

Check with your local Council on Aging. They have wonderful classes to get you up and mobile, strengthen core muscles and teach you to balance.

Our area offers a tai chi-based class that was created to assist with strengthening muscles in your legs. You create a "grunt force" memory to "catch" yourself and prevent a fall.

There are so many classes and so much assistance out there if you look! And it's also a social activity. -- Michelle C., via email

Dear Heloise: My middle-schooler was having trouble reading. I went to the public library and found the audio version of the book she was reading. I brought it home. It is much easier for her to read and follow along when she can hear someone reading the book! -- Nancy S. in Texas

Here's a Heloise hug for you both! If your library doesn't have the book title on CD, ask the teacher for another copy of the book. You can read it aloud to her while she follows along. Great family time. -- Heloise

Send a money-saving or timesaving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795001, San Antonio, TX 78279-5001, or you can fax it to 1-210-HELOISE or email it to Heloise@Heloise.com