Doctor Has Help for Dry Hands and Cuticles
Tired of suffering from chapped hands or split cuticles? Consider a Maryland doctor’s invention: Handaids, disposable lightweight plastic gloves filled with moisturizing cream.
The soft gloves mold to the hands and act like a mini-sauna, holding in body heat and allowing the skin to absorb the lotion, made of petroleum, aloe and vitamins A and E. They’re not messy either, because there’s no lotion outside the gloves.
Dr. Charles Schneiderman, a Rockville, Md., gynecologist, developed the gloves for himself, explaining that he suffered from sore, chapped hands, because, like most physicians, he must scour his hands 20 or 30 times daily.
He said he tried every home remedy and hand cream he could find and nothing worked for long. He even tried wearing cotton gloves over lotion-covered hands. But the gloves absorbed most of the lotion. If he didn’t wear gloves, “creams and lotions either wiped into your clothing or into the sheets and pillowcases if you were sleeping,” he said.
He recommends wearing Handaids 20 minutes if treating dry cuticles or fingernails; an hour or overnight for chapped hands. To order, send a check or money order to O & L Inc., P.O. Box 1227, Bristol, Pa. 19007; phone (215) 785-2220. A box of seven pairs of Handaids costs $8.95, plus $2.50 for postage and handling; 21 pairs for $26, plus $3.50 shipping and handling.
Sounding the Alarm on Off-Limits Drawers
The House Detective is a new, small light-activated alarm that sounds as soon as an off-limits drawer or door is opened. You also can use it in a briefcase and it could be handy for keeping children out of medicine cabinets or cleaning supplies.
The plastic, 3 1/2x2 1/2-inch alarm registers 95 decibels and runs on a 9-volt battery. It has a four- to seven-second delay, allowing the user to set it or disarm it.
House Detective costs $11.95 (battery not included), plus $3 shipping and handling. It’s available from Berk International, P.O. Box 5294, Garden Grove, Calif. 92645; phone, (714) 898-8648.
Journal Organizes Home Repair Records
If your household records are disorganized, you might need “The Home Owner’s Journal: What I Did & When I Did It.”
The little book contains a chapter for every room in the house, as well as for decks and patios, so you can chronicle room dimensions and the amount of paint or wallpaper required to cover them. You can store appliance service records and warranties and remodeling expense receipts. There is a section on record keeping for tax purposes.
The journal was written by Colleen Jenkins, a Midwestern medical librarian and 30-year home owner. She wrote her book after she ran out of paint while working on her kitchen, a mishap she realized wouldn’t have occurred if she had kept better records about her home.
In Southern California, the journal will be available in mid-June at Wallpapers-to-Go stores. It costs $9.95. If you can’t find it in your area, you can order it from Blue Sky Marketing, P.O. Box 21583-173, St. Paul, Minn. 55121; phone, (800) 444-5450. Add $2 for shipping and handling.