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Today's Globe: hand gel not enough, breast-cancer personality debunked

E-mail | Print | Comments () Posted by Elizabeth Cooney January 30, 2008 06:34 AM

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hand%20gel%20200.bmp Doctors and nurses on the go often skip soap and water in favor of an alcohol-based hand gel (as nurse Kari Rush, left, does at University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha), thinking the quick-acting goo will kill bacteria on their hands and curb the spread of infection. That's not enough, according to a study. In the Nebraska hospital, medical workers nearly doubled their use of the alcohol-based hand gel, but their generally cleaner hands had no bearing on the rate of infections among patients.

The idea that a woman's personality traits can make her more prone to get breast cancer appears to be nothing more than a myth, according to a Dutch study that tested the notion.

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White Coat Notes covers the latest from the health care industry, hospitals, doctors offices, labs, insurers, and the corridors of government. Chelsea Conaboy previously covered health care for The Philadelphia Inquirer. Write her at cconaboy@boston.com. Follow her on Twitter: @cconaboy.

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