MENTAL HEALTH

The first line of defense against 21st century bioterrorism is ... hand washing? Last week the postmaster general and the surgeon general urged Americans to take that most elemental precaution when opening the mail. And in case you’ve forgotten exactly how best to wash your hands, some health Web sites are offering advice. The Council on Family Health, a nonprofit based in Washington, D.C., which educates families on the risks and benefits of drugs, has posted on its site (https://www.cfhinfo.org) a feature called “Don’t Let Germs Hitch a Ride. Wash Your Hands.” Highlights include: Wash your whole hand; wash for at least 10 seconds; use warm, running water; and don’t wait for hands to be dirty. The site insists that we can’t wash too often--but fails to give advice on how to handle chapped, over-washed hands.

In addition, the site recommends liquid soaps, which are especially good for kids whose hands are too small to handle a soap bar. Yet antibacterial liquid soaps actually may contribute to the overuse of germ-fighting agents, which researchers say can lead to more resistant bacteria. Like everything else these days, hand washing appears to be getting more complicated.

For more tips, visit the American Society for Microbiology’s sites, https://www.microbe.org/washup/washup.asp and https://www.washup.org.