Hygiene

Times are tough enough for Californians; they're even tougher for Californians' teeth. "One-quarter of all adults and 28% of children in California have untreated dental caries [cavities]," says Len Finocchio, a senior program officer at the California Healthcare Foundation, a health advocacy group. "Our research tells us that many people in California have been avoiding routine care that might have cost about $100 for a checkup and cleaning, and then find themselves in the emergency room, where they get only an antibiotic, a bill that can average over $600 and instructions to see a dentist."

Janelle Ricci hasn't been sleeping well. It's been more than a year, in fact, since she's had a decent night's sleep. Ricci, 21, a design student at Burbank's Woodbury University, says pressure to perform can keep her up for days at a time. Her longest stretch, she told me, was staying up for about 64 hours straight during one particularly stressful period. "It really affects my life," Ricci said. "I've started falling asleep at work. I sleep through my classes. " She's not alone.

In this luxury era, consumers will put TVs in cars, carry Louis Vuitton diaper bags and shell out $200 for a pair of jeans -- anything that identifies them as a shot-caller or overall VIP. It's gotten so that we don't even blink anymore when we hear what someone was willing to pay for the latest, must-have bling-bling item. But luxury has now made its way to the most unlikely of places: your armpits. High-end beauty and fragrance brands have recently begun launching luxury deodorants.

Know what I hate? Boat parades. I understand the allure, the fun-house reflections off the water. Pink palm trees. Blue reindeer. But boat parades don't remind me of Christmas. What boat parades remind me of is Victoria's Secret ads. Or Republican National Conventions, when they used to be down in Miami Beach. You know what we need more of? Well, everything, but you know the one holiday activity that should increase? Poker games. There's something about all that green felt. Reminds me of those funny tuxedos elves wear.

This November, voters in San Francisco are expected to weigh in on a controversial topic: whether parents should be allowed to circumcise their baby boys. The proposition, backed by members of an anti-circumcision group that calls its members "intactivists," has ignited heated debate. It's hardly a new issue. Historians have found evidence of circumcision dating to ancient Egypt. Since then, the practice has gone in and out of public favor for myriad reasons, including hygiene, religion, cultural norms and beliefs about masculinity.

Most Americans say they wash their hands in public restrooms, but a survey by observers posted in airport facilities revealed that only 78% of travelers actually lather up. Sponsored by the American Society for Microbiology, the survey found that the least hygienic travelers were at JFK International Airport in New York; more than 30% of them didn't wash their hands after using restrooms. Nearly that many (27%) didn't stop to wash their hands in Chicago.

When Guerrier Lejean feels nature's call, he creeps to the edge of his urban encampment and relieves himself in the bushes. He has been doing so since the Jan. 12 earthquake left him homeless, and so have most of his approximately 2,500 neighbors who huddle in shelters made of sticks and bed sheets. The crowded camp, wedged between an exhaust-choked boulevard and the Port-au-Prince airport, has no bathrooms. Many residents defecate into plastic shopping bags and hurl them into the fetid waters of a channel that runs along the edge of the camp.

How clean is too clean? How dirty can we be and still be healthy? No matter which hygiene question you prefer to ask, this is one matter best mediated by one hand washing the other. Let Dr. Gary Noskin explain. "Always stop to wash your hands when they are visibly soiled," said Noskin, medical director of infection control at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, who has conducted numerous studies on the subject.

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 (http://www.cfhinfo.

In a crackdown under a new state law, inspectors have issued citations to five Orange County salons, putting them on probation for clipping toenails and soaking feet in unsanitary conditions, officials announced Tuesday. Salons in Huntington Beach, Anaheim, Buena Park and Santa Ana are among 10 cited by inspectors from the state Board of Barbering and Cosmetology. Five citations were issued in Northern California. Salons found in violation are subject to fines of at least $500.

This November, voters in San Francisco are expected to weigh in on a controversial topic: whether parents should be allowed to circumcise their baby boys. The proposition, backed by members of an anti-circumcision group that calls its members "intactivists," has ignited heated debate. It's hardly a new issue. Historians have found evidence of circumcision dating to ancient Egypt. Since then, the practice has gone in and out of public favor for myriad reasons, including hygiene, religion, cultural norms and beliefs about masculinity.

Good oral health in children translates to healthy adult teeth. Here's how to help care for your child's pearly whites: •Take your child to a pediatric dentist by the child's first birthday or when the first teeth arrive, whichever comes first. •Begin helping your child floss by the time their last two molars come together, which usually happens when children are 21/2 to 3 years of age. "The minute the two last molars — the first and second baby molars — come together, flossing becomes a big way to prevent that plaque formation from taking place," says Dr. Indru Punwani, professor and head of the department of pediatric dentistry at the University of Illinois in Chicago.

A lot of stars live in L.A., or spend a lot of time here, so let's let them be our tour guides to another side of the city. From pre-game rituals to best place for a nightcap, we're looking for star picks from the everyday to the evanescent. To kick off our new feature, suit and boot for a spin around L.A. with Aubrey Plaza, the deadpan, 26-year-old scene stealer from "Parks and Recreation," "Scott Pilgrim vs. The World," and other don't-miss productions. Plaza has the effortless cool of an upstairs neighbor and more than enough chutzpah to hang with the boys.

Seated in the Venice coffeehouse Abbot's Habit , just hours before the Hollywood premiere of his road comedy "Due Date" last week, Zach Galifianakis was expounding on various subjects ? New York fauxhemians, improvisational acting techniques, dog masturbation ? when a memory from his not-so-distant past stopped the actor-comedian mid-sentence. "I used to wash my feet in the bathroom here," Galifianakis recalled, suddenly wide-eyed. He owns a home nearby and when construction workers turned off its water valve for retrofitting in 2000, the then-struggling actor and stand-up comic resorted to washing himself in the coffeehouse's sink.

FDA: Hire a food safety cop … please. It may not be able to get a food safety bill through Congress, but the Food and Drug Administration soldiers on in efforts to improve hygiene, sanitation and other elements of a safe food supply. On Friday, the agency released the results of a 10-year study that found that retail food establishments with certified food safety managers did significantly better in meeting safety standards than facilities that didn’t have them.

I forgot to feed the little guy one day — big deal. Another day, I accidentally sent him to school naked. Who cares? Because those were the only glitches during the long weekend his mother was away. Oh, there was the backyard campout I decided to stage at the spur of the moment. Let me just say that sometimes dads get all jazzed up about something and don't think it all the way through. It's an occupational hazard — part of the tradeoff for a fun and spontaneous suburban life.

A Bay Area market research company for the hospitality industry recently asked business and leisure travelers how their hotel stay was. Among their complaints: bloody towels, bird fecal matter on a lampshade, used condoms in the bathroom and a missing toilet tank top. Such scenarios are uncommon, but going on the road for business can be stressful, even without worrying whether your airline seat, rental car and hotel room will measure up to your hygiene standards.

A series of polls and studies has dished up some real dirt on the French: Fewer than half take a bath or shower each day. What's more, 40% of French men, and 25% of women, do not change their underwear daily. Fully 50% of the men, and 30% of women, do not use deodorant. Why is this so, in a nation that has done so much to set modern Western standards for polite behavior? It is not for want of means--almost every French household is equipped with a shower or bathtub.

She grew up in a dusty West Bengal village, where no one had access to toilets. Most of the female villagers headed to a particular field. But it was a bit of a walk and often required asking another woman to help shield you from lecherous men. Boko, a 35-year-old woman with a yellow sari and a big smile, now sweeps floors at a truck stop with toilets. It's a big improvement, says the woman, who identified herself only by her first name. A United Nations report released March 15 says that despite progress in the last two decades, 2.4 billion people around the world still lack access to basic sanitary facilities -- including an estimated 638 million in India alone.

When Guerrier Lejean feels nature's call, he creeps to the edge of his urban encampment and relieves himself in the bushes. He has been doing so since the Jan. 12 earthquake left him homeless, and so have most of his approximately 2,500 neighbors who huddle in shelters made of sticks and bed sheets. The crowded camp, wedged between an exhaust-choked boulevard and the Port-au-Prince airport, has no bathrooms. Many residents defecate into plastic shopping bags and hurl them into the fetid waters of a channel that runs along the edge of the camp.