Please send your questions for publication to prudence@slate.com.

Dear Prudence,

I need to ask you a question about my sister. I don't want to unload on her if her behavior is normal, but I have my doubts. Whenever we're in a public restroom, she will wash her hands (afterward) and then take a paper towel or toilet paper to turn off the faucets, then use it to open the door to leave. She does this so she doesn't have to touch anything with her bare hands. How crazy is that?

--Sally

Dear Sal,

You have perhaps come to the wrong person. It has occurred to Prudie that maybe she's the secret love child of Howard Hughes because of her own slight phobia about germs. Actually, your sister's routine with the paper towels is merely one of taking precautions. What is the point, after all, of washing your hands only to then touch a surface that a non-hand-washer has touched? Prudie is so concerned for health, in fact, that she travels with a physician.

--Prudie, antiseptically

Prudie,

I am the mother of two beautiful children (4 and 6) who were both adopted from Russia. Both were amputees and therefore wear artificial limbs. I can't count the number of times people have rushed up to me and said, "Poor children, what happened?" Or worse, "What kind of drugs did you take when you were pregnant?" (This, of course, is always in front of the kids.) My standard response is to stare calmly and ask, "Why do you need to know?" I am writing for two reasons: The first is to remind people that this is not a Jerry Springer society, and everyone does not have the right to ask about a stranger's disability. The second is to ask if you have any great retorts for these morons?

--J.D.