I have a friend who is obsessive about germs. She imagines them everywhere and keeps a supply of antibacterial hand sanitizer on her desk, in her purse and on her keychain. Her dishwashing liquid is antibacterial as is her hand soap in the bathroom. I have a bottle of hand sanitizer but I keep it in the bathroom and as long as I am in there, I usually just wash my hands so it doesn’t get used much. Is she really safer from germs than I am?

Not according to the Harvard Health Letter. In their January 2007 issue they state that in studies, washing hands with soap and water for 15 seconds reduced bacterial counts by about 90%. The alcohol based hand sanitizers are convenient because you don’t need water, but alcohol doesn’t kill everything. To top it all off, there is the issue of possibly worsening bacterial resistance to antibiotics. Plus, they state that to be effective, the sanitizer needs to come into contact with all surfaces of your hands.

The Harvard Health Letter suggests these steps to make sure you clean your hands thoroughly, whether you’re using soap and water or a hand sanitizer:

1. Spread cleaner over hands.
2. Clean backs.
3. Clean fingertips.
4. Clean fingernails.
5. Clean thumbs.
6. Clean between fingers.

Hand washing: Don’t give up on plain soap and water, from the Harvard Health Letter

If your doctor has recommended a low-sodium diet, you are probably doing all the right things to ensure you stay within the guidelines. You’ve taken the salt shaker off the table, you cook without adding salt, you choose low-sodium foods when dining out and always read the nutrition label at home.

But according to WebMD, there are foods that you would not suspect of being silently sodium rich, and you may be getting more sodium than you think if you eat them.

Included are things like onion soup mix (a favorite for cooking), spaghetti sauce, canned creamed corn and vegetable juice cocktail.

For an illuminating look at foods you didn’t know were high in sodium, check out the story at WebMD.

If you’re living on a fixed income, things like high heating fuel bills can be a frightening prospect. However, there are fuel assistance programs available and an easy way to find them in your area.

Not all assistance programs are created equal but many offer protection against shut-off if you can’t pay your heating bill in the colder winter months. There may even be an emergency assistance program that will deliver fuel to low-income residents.

To find out what programs are in place in your state, visit US Department of Health and Human Services’ Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program.

Identity theft is a growing concern and scammers are finding new ways every day to get sensitive personal information on consumers. With that information they can run up charges on credit card accounts, deplete bank accounts and set up new accounts in the name of the victim.

AARP has an online seminar called Preventing Identity Theft. To take the course you will need a network connection of 56kps or faster and you must be using Internet Explorer 6 or higher, Netscape 7.2 or higher or an equivalent browser. I was able to take the course using the Firefox browser.

In this course, you will:

* Know what identity theft is
* Do a wallet check to protect yourself from identity theft
* Take steps to protect yourself from identity theft in your home and on the road
* Recognize early warnings of identity theft
* Take the first steps if you’re a victim of identity theft
* Have the numbers to call to get help or more information

For more information on the course go here

When you are ready to take the course, click on the link at the AARP page or click here.