Flu Alert: Brush Up on Oral Hygiene

To stay healthier, replace your toothbrush often, don’t share toothpaste or floss with anyone and store your brush in the bedroom--preferably bristles up.

That’s the advice of an Oklahoma dentist who believes such measures can dramatically reduce recurring colds, flu, sore throats, gastrointestinal distress and other ailments.

“Healthy adults should change toothbrushes every two weeks,” said Tom Glass, an oral pathology professor at the University of Oklahoma Colleges of Dentistry and Medicine, Oklahoma City. Children should change brushes every two weeks in peak flu and cold season, and every three or four weeks in other times of the year, he said.

In lieu of storing your toothbrush in the bathroom--which Glass considers the germiest room in the house--consider keeping it in the bedroom, stored so that bristles can air dry. In his research, Glass found that a cold sore virus can live only 48 hours on a dry toothbrush but seven days on a wet one.

“And if you get sick, throw everything out--brush, toothpaste and floss,” said Glass, who also recommends buying small tubes of toothpaste to cut down on waste in case of illness and to maintain fluoride levels. “If you buy the large economy size tube, much of the fluoride is lost within two weeks anyway because fluoride is a volatile gas.”

Not all of Glass’ colleagues agree that toothbrushes need to be pitched every two weeks. But most agree that measures such as hygienic storage are important.

“To cut down on germ accumulation, hanging them up is better than storing them in a drawer or putting them in a medicine cabinet,” said Richard Mungo, head of the pediatric dentistry division at Childrens Hospital of Los Angeles and a USC clinical associate professor of pediatric dentistry.

Technique is important, too. “Proper brushing could be one factor in reducing the number of colds you get in a year’s time,” Mungo said. “Studies show the average time adults spend brushing is 35 seconds. It should be two to three minutes.”

Contacts: Out of the Blue

When DuraSoft 3 Opaques--the contact lenses that can make even dark-brown eyes appear blue or violet--debuted two years ago, Southern California quickly became the manufacturer’s No. 2 market in total sales, behind New York City.

But the lenses, made by Wesley-Jessen of Chicago, may restrict peripheral vision, according to a report in this month’s Archives of Ophthalmology.

All but one of 10 patients tested had at least 5 to 10 degrees of peripheral, visual field loss, researchers reported from Louisiana State University Medical Center School of Medicine and Tulane University School of Medicine, based on tests of subjects, all women, with 20-20 uncorrected visual acuity.

“The dense coloring used in the lenses reduces the amount of light coming into the eye, and especially the light coming in at the periphery,” said Dr. Clifford Hendricks, a Tulane ophthalmologist and one of the researchers.

But consumers, he said, shouldn’t necessarily abandon the lenses, “though they should realize the (possibility of) visual field constriction is definitely there.

“We still sell the lenses and feel they’re a good product,” he said, adding the peripheral vision loss “doesn’t affect (visual) acuity.”

To minimize problems, Hendricks and his co-researchers advise eye-care practitioners to fit the lenses carefully. Jane McGloin, Wesley-Jessen spokeswoman, agreed, noting: “The lens should be fit so that it centers on the pupil and lens movement is kept to a minimum.” Removal of the lenses for eye exams is also advised.

Some Sweet Advice

If one cookie tastes good, five taste better. It’s a common if not logical train of thought during holiday get-togethers. And it can lead to what dietitians informally call holiday jitters or sugar highs--that headachy, nervous, shaky feeling that strikes after you’ve taken in more than your share of candy, fudge, cake and cookies.

That feeling occurs, dietitians say, when blood sugar rises a little and then insulin is released to normalize the sugar levels.

“Some people have a lag,” said Rita Storey, a Woodland Hills dietitian and a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Assn. “Insulin is released more slowly than it should be, and in excess amounts, after you eat sugar.”

Cheryl Rock, a registered dietitian at the UCLA School of Medicine, agreed: “Insulin release is one factor that might be related to the jitters.”

The antidote to holiday sugar highs? Besides the obvious advice to stop eating sweets, Storey and Rock suggested:

- Exercise. If you’re at work, it’s often not possible, Storey conceded. “But if you’re at the office party and there’s dancing going on, grab your partner. Exercise levels out the ‘peaks and valleys.’ ” Rock agreed: “Keeping active helps to normalize insulin levels.”

- Eat cheese or other fat-containing food. “It’ll work over time, but not immediately,” Storey said.

- Next time, learn to eat wisely before indulging your sweet tooth. “A better solution,” Rock said, “is to have a cookie after a balanced meal.”

Too Hot for Tots

Heating infant formulas and other foods in the microwave is handy. But sometimes dangerous. Some doctors report a growing incidence of babies being brought into emergency rooms with mouth burns from scalding infant formulas.

The temperature of the liquid in a bottle can easily be 20 degrees higher than the temperature of the bottle itself, experts say.

Two ways to prevent these burns:

- Heat formula at 80% power no longer than 1 or 1 1/2 minutes to bring it to a temperature of 100 degrees Fahrenheit, suggested a spokeswoman for Microwave Products of America, a Memphis-based manufacturer of microwave ovens.

- Use the old-fashioned wrist test, suggested Helen Guthrie, a dietitian at Pennsylvania State University, University Park: “Always test a few drops of formula on your wrist.”

Parents of older children sometimes trust their offsprings’ microwaving abilities too much, said Dr. Anne Missavage, director of the burn unit at the UC Davis Medical Center. Recently, she has treated several children, 4 and older, who microwaved their own food and burned themselves while eating it.