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Saturday, December 3, 2011 – Daily News 5A FEATURES Hussy's habits hounding hubby Dear Annie: I have a 35-year-old daughter with two children (ages 13 and 2), and they all are living with us. ''Micki'' moved in after leaving her common- law husband a few months ago. He was the third man in her life. Since Micki has been home, she has been going out every weekend. I am ''old school'' and believe she should come home from work and take care of my grandchildren. But if I open my mouth, my wife will toss me out. It has already happened once before. This situation is slowly killing me. My wife tells me Micki is still young. I say, so what? That doesn't mean she can go to bed with every Tom, Dick and Harry. I don't know what to do next. Any suggestions? — One Step from Leaving Dear One Step: Micki is not as young as your wife thinks. At 35, she is closer to middle-aged. Unless your wife wishes to enable her daughter to remain irresponsible, the two of you need to set some ground rules regarding Micki's behavior. A social night out once a week is fine. A weekend sleeping around is not. Encourage your wife to put her grandchildren's welfare first and see if you can come to an agreement regarding Micki's responsibilities at home. Dear Annie: My family is deal- ing with a sad and disturbing situa- tion. My mother died a few years ago, and a mentally ill sibling is Annie's Mailbox by Kathy Mitchell and Marcy Sugar still living with Dad. ''Joyce'' is financially and emotionally exploiting him and is isolating Dad from the rest of the family. The house is full of garbage and is overrun with mice and bugs, and yet my father says if it weren't for Joyce, he would be in a nursing home. (She threatens him with this every day.) I don't understand how he can abandon his children to live in this filth, especial- ly when my mother kept that house spotless. Please tell us what our options are. — Desperate Dear Desperate: Your father hasn't abandoned you. He is fright- ened and has become dependent on Joyce. Would you or another sib- ling be willing to take Dad in, at least temporarily, until you can straighten this out? If you want to wean him away from Joyce's care, you will need to be more directly involved. Call the Eldercare Loca- tor (eldercare.gov) at 1-800-677- 1116. Explain the situation and see what services are available in Dad's area. Dear Annie: I am now a moth- er-in-law and have a wonderful relationship with my children and their spouses. I am also a daughter- in-law and can tell ''Michigan'' that the best way not to lose her son is to always include the wife as part of the family. My husband and I have been married for many years, and I have always felt like an outsider in his family. When we married, my mother-in-law tried to undermine our relationship. According to her, everything in our home is ''his,'' nothing is ''ours.'' When she calls our house, she barely speaks to me. She immediately asks to talk to my husband. She makes it clear that he is her priority and the children and I are just baggage. But the good part is, she has taught me what not to do as a moth- er-in-law. I never drop in on my children. I always call first. I spend the same amount of money on my kids as I do on their spouses for birthdays, Christmas, etc. I never ask personal questions about their marriages or finances. If they are not able to come for a function, I don't get upset or make them feel guilty. I try to be supportive and loving. It is the small, everyday gestures that will make your children's spouses feel like part of the family and that will help you maintain a great relationship not only with your own child, but with all the new children that come along through marriage. — Loving All My Chil- dren in Virginia Annie's Mailbox is written by Kathy Mitchell and Marcy Sugar, longtime editors of the Ann Landers column. Please e-mail your questions to anniesmailboxcomcast.net, or write to: Annie's Mailbox, c/o Creators Syndicate, 5777 W. Century Blvd., Ste. 700, Los Angeles, CA 90045. Three treatment options for warts Q: I have ugly warts on my hands. I've heard that if I wait it out, they may go away. But I hate looking at them and would like to treat them now. What are my options? A: Warts are generally harmless. They do usually disappear on their own over time. But, as you point out, they can be unattractive. And some, like those found on the soles of the feet, can make walking and exercise painful. Dr. K by Anthony L. Komaroff, M.D. usually be your first choice. Salicylic acid costs little, has minimal side effects, and comes in various over-the- counter prepara- tions, including liq- uids, gels and patches. To treat a wart, soak it for 10 to 15 minutes (you can do this in the Although your warts will probably go away without treatment, that can take many months, so it's reason- able for you to try to speed up the process. Unfortunate- ly, getting rid of warts can be a challenge. But fortunately, the most effective treatments are the least invasive. Warts crop up when your skin cells grow faster than normal due to a human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. Among the 150 strains of HPV, about 10 cause skin warts, including those classified as common, plantar and flat warts. Some sexually transmit- ted types of HPV are impli- cated in cervical and other genital and anal cancers, but the strains that cause skin warts are not linked to can- cer. All of us come into con- tact with HPV repeatedly — when we shake hands or touch a doorknob, for exam- ple — but only some of us develop warts, and that's hard to explain. Children and people with immune system abnormalities are particularly vulnerable. For unclear reasons, so are peo- ple who work as meat, fish and poultry handlers. But the most likely explanation is that some people are sim- ply more prone to warts than others. Utility offers winter savings tips Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) Thursday announced the launch of its annual Winter Gas Savings program, which gives eligible residential and business cus- tomers an automatic bill credit when they reduce their nat- ural gas usage over the next two months compared to the previous three winters. Last winter, some 2.7 million cus- tomers earned bill credits totaling $70 million. Customers who conserve up to 10 percent will receive an equal percentage credit on their February or March gas bills. Customers who conserve 10 percent or more will receive a 20 percent credit. To make the baseline compari- son valid, usage data will be adjusted for weather. "Our customers have shown their commitment to using energy efficiently time and again," said Steven Malnight, PG&E's vice president of Customer Energy Solutions. "We James W. Tysinger, Jr. M.D. Eye Physician & Surgeon Fellow American Academy of Ophthalmology We accept Medical, Medicare & most Insurances Office Hours: Tues-Wed-Thurs 8am-4:30pm Mon & Fri 1pm-4:30pm For Emergencies, After Hours, Week-ends, Call 530-567-5001 345 Hickory St. Red Bluff Tel: (530) 529-4733 Fax: (530) 529-1114 BOOK BARN 619 Oak St., Red Bluff (530) 528-Book 2665 HOLIDAY HOURS Closed Tuesday thru Saturday Dec. 27th to 31st Reopen: Tuesday, January 3rd Delivering Our Best Get your presents to loved ones on time for Christmas. OVERLAND POST 859 Washington St. Red Bluff • 529-2777 overlandpost.com HOLIDAY HOURS Mon.-Fri. 8:30-5:30 Sat. Dec. 10 & Sat. Dec. 17 9:00-2:00 UPS • FedEx Every package we ship comes with tracking and insurance automatically. TEA AND BOUTIQUE Fri., Dec. 2nd 10AM to 3PM 25076 Sycamore Avenue, behind La Corona, Los Molinos 9AM to 8PM Sat., Dec. 3rd , 2011 , 2011 are excited to offer the Winter Gas Savings program, which rewards customers who conserve and helps them to lower their bill." Customers can take simple steps to reduce their gas con- sumption and save money: •Lower the thermostat to 68 degrees during the daytime (health permitting) • Set water heater to 120 degrees or the "normal" setting •Wash clothes in cold water instead of hot •Open blinds and drapes on sunny days • Microwave small amounts of food instead of heating them up in the oven Customers can find informative tips, tools and resources for conserving gas by visiting www.pge.com/wintergassav- ings. 36th Annual Magic of Christmas Cone & Kimball Plaza Santa's Workshop Dec. 3rd 10-2pm Dec. 17th & 10th Kids do present making at no cost to parents 10-2pm Arts & Crafts Festival Sponsored by Downtown Red Bluff Business Assoc. Please don't forget to help your Red Bluff neighbors in need this Holiday season. Without you there will be no Christmas for them. Donate to The Salvation Army and make a difference to local families in need. Hundreds of children are helped each year by The Salvation Army in Red Bluff. 1-800-SAL-Army SalArmyRedBluff.org Skin warts aren't very contagious. They can spread from person to person by direct contact, mainly through breaks in the skin. Theoretically, you can also pick up warts from surfaces such as locker room floors or showers, but there's no way to know how often this occurs. Warts on one part of your body can be spread to other areas, so it's important to wash your hands and any- thing that touches your warts, such as nail files or pumice stones. About half of all warts go away on their own within a year, and two-thirds within two years. So "watchful waiting" is definitely an option for new warts. If you'd prefer not to wait it out, you have several treat- ment options, including these, considered to be the top three: SALICYLIC ACID. This is similar to the ingredi- ent in aspirin, and it should shower or bath). Then file away the dead warty skin with an emery board or pumice stone, and apply the salicylic acid. Do this once or twice a day for 12 weeks. Warts in thick skin, like the bottom of the foot, may respond best to a salicylic acid patch that stays in place for several days. Continuing treatment for a week or two after the wart goes away may help prevent recur- rence. FREEZING. In this treat- ment, also called cryothera- py, a clinician swabs or sprays liquid nitrogen onto the wart and a small sur- rounding area. The extreme cold (which may be as low as minus 321 degrees F) burns the skin, causing pain, redness and usually a blister. Getting rid of the wart this way usually takes three or four treatments, one every two to three weeks. After the skin has healed, apply sali- cylic acid to encourage more skin to peel off. DUCT TAPE. Duct tape does appear to work for treating warts. One research study compared duct tape with cryotherapy. Subjects wore duct tape patches over their warts for six days. Then they removed the patches, soaked and filed the warts, left them uncovered overnight, and reapplied the tape in the morning, leaving them in place for another six days. They repeated this process for two months. The study found duct tape was about 45 percent more effec- tive than cryotherapy. This study used silver duct tape — clear duct tape does not appear to have the same effect. Why duct tape works isn't known. It may deprive the wart of oxygen, or per- haps dead skin and viral par- ticles are removed along with the tape. Some people apply salicylic acid before covering the wart with duct tape. Some skin cancers resemble warts at first. If you have a wart that doesn't change much in size, color or shape, you probably don't need to see a clinician. But if you're in your 50s and develop new warts, consult a dermatologist. Be suspi- cious of any wart that bleeds or grows quickly. When compared with other health problems, warts are bit players. But since they can be unsightly and sometimes uncomfortable or even painful, we under- stand why you're worried about warts. What are you Grateful for? The wisdom of our We are Grateful for... senior citizens Coupon Seniors 55 & older younger generations on all New & Previously Loved Jewelry Good 12/3 - 12/10 40% off Tell us something your grateful for to win one of 12 Fantastic Prizes. No purchase necessary. One entry per person per day. See store for details Gold Exchange M-F 10am-5:30 pm • Sat. 10 am-4 pm "Come in and be treated like family" www.redbluffgoldexchange.com 423 Walnut St., Red Bluff • 528-8000 Thank you for all the years of support to the Coupon