Hand sanitizers can be less drying to the hands than soap and water

I have become obsessive about washing my hands. All the news reports about the shortage of flu vaccine stress the importance of washing hands. Now they are red and rough and getting worse by the day. My work requires that I shake a lot of hands, and I can't always get to a bathroom to wash up. How effective are waterless hand sanitizers?

This might come as a surprise, but alcohol-based hand sanitizers are less irritating than liquid soap. They are as effective as soap and water and do not require wetting hands or drying them off. They work best if you put a dime-sized dollop in your palm and rub vigorously until the alcohol has dried and disinfected your skin.

Please help me locate Estring. I've been using it for a couple of years to alleviate vaginal dryness. My doctor gave me a new prescription but said it might be hard to find. My local drugstore told me in October that they would have it by November. Now they say the manufacturer stopped making it. What is going on?

The manufacturer of this low-dose vaginal estrogen delivery system has had Estring on back order since July. A representative for Pharmacia & Upjohn reassured us it is not a production or safety problem, but rather a paperwork snafu with the Food and Drug Administration. He was hopeful that you would be able to fill your prescription sometime in December.

In their column, Joe and Teresa Graedon answer letters from readers. Write to them in care of King Features Syndicate, 888 Seventh Ave., New York, NY 10019, or e-mail them via their Web site, www.peoples pharmacy.org.