Dear Readers: Today's Sound Off is from a nurse who works in a physician's office. - Heloise
"Dear Heloise: Please tell your readers to leave their young children with a friend, relative or professional sitter when they visit the doctor's office. First, the child can pick up a disease from another patient. Second, the nurses cannot and will not babysit your child. We have too much work to do.
"If someone needs to drive you to the physician's office, be sure it's only ONE person. Sometimes the waiting room gets filled up with patients' relatives and there is little room left for those who are sick." - A Nurse in Illinois
Fast Facts
Dear Readers: Here are some other uses for the little pots that plants come in:
- Scoop potting soil from a bag.
- Start new seedlings.
- Place weeds in while weeding the garden.
- Heloise
Adios To Appliances
Dear Heloise: I discovered that if I have something that's still serviceable and still of value, such as an old dishwasher, dryer, etc., if I put it out at the curb with a sign stating: "It still works and it's yours for free," by morning of the next day it's gone! - Latrice W., Koontz Lake, Ind.
Chocolate Stains
Dear Heloise: How can I get chocolate stains out of my son's T-shirts? - Odette in Arizona
Odette, this is a popular question, especially for young moms. The first thing you'll need to do is to soak the T-shirt in cold water. Next, rub liquid laundry detergent into the stain while the fabric is wet. Then rinse and launder in warm water. If you want to know how to remove a number of other stains on garments, you'll find the solutions in my pamphlet Heloise's Handy Stain Guide for Clothing. To get a copy, send $5, along with a stamped (70 cents), self-addressed, long envelope, to: Heloise/Stains, P.O. Box 795001, San Antonio, TX 78279-5001. Or you can order it online at www.Heloise.com. It's not difficult to remove a stain if you know how, and my pamphlet is an easy-to-read guide for removing all kinds of stains, from antiperspirant to wine. - Heloise
Young Blood Scam
Dear Heloise: There is a new scam in town: infusing plasma from a young person's blood into an older person as a way to treat Alzheimer's disease, memory loss and almost anything related to aging. It's about as effective as snake oil. Since the Food and Drug Administration has warned the public about this scam, there are fewer and fewer companies trying to push this bogus treatment, but some still persist. Do not fall for this scam. - Frederick in Los Angeles
Shred Those Papers
Dear Heloise: Please inform your readers that if they don't own a shredder, they may want to invest in one. A cross cutter is best. It's important to shred bills and all financial documents that are no longer needed or are stored online. - Viola R. in San Antonio
King Features Syndicate