DR. WALLACE: I'm one of three siblings, and part of the list of chores we constantly rotate among us includes doing the dishes after our big Sunday family dinner.

A few weeks ago it was my turn, and since there were no guests visiting that weekend, there were fewer of us than there usually are. Because of this, once I had all the dishes and silverware cleared off of the table, I just decided to wash them in hot water and liquid soap in the sink rather than load the dishwasher with a partial load.

My younger brother saw me washing the dishes and putting them out to dry, and he yelped to my mother that I wasn't washing the dishes properly! He said it was gross to wash the dishes with just soap and water and not run them through the scalding hot dishwasher cycles! He claimed he could get sick from salmonella at our next meal.

My mother told him that he was overreacting, but he kept complaining about it for days! Do dishes really need to be run through a dishwasher cycle to be hygienically safe? — My Brother Says This Is True, via email

MY BROTHER SAYS THIS IS TRUE: Your brother needs to find a better use for his spare time than complaining about such a trivial manner. For his information, not everyone has a dishwasher; it is simply a convenience device, nothing more. People have been washing dishes by hand for centuries without any problems as long as they do a good, conscientious job.

I trust you did a good job washing and drying your dishes, and if your brother chooses not to eat off of those plates in the future, that will simply leave more food for the rest of your family and friends.

MY BROTHER'S VISIT LEFT ME SHOCKED AND SHAKEN

DR. WALLACE: I'm a 21-year-old female college student, and I live alone in a nice dorm room adjacent to my university.

My 17-year-old brother came to visit me last week, and something strange happened. He hung out with me for an afternoon, and we went out to get a bite of dinner together before he returned to our family's home. While he was in my dorm room, he asked to use the bathroom, and he locked the door and stayed in there for an extended period of time. He was literally in there for about 25 minutes. I was wondering what was going on, and just before I was about to say something, he finally came out.

Thinking about it later, I noticed that he became much more talkative during our meal than he was previously. The next day, as I was getting something out of my medicine cabinet, I happened to notice that some of the leftover medicine I had from a recent minor outpatient surgery seemed to be in a slightly different place than I remember them being. When I noticed this, I opened the bottles and found only one pill left in each bottle, and I know there were several more for sure in each!

I used them about a month ago and was careful to only take what I actually needed. I even broke some of the pills in half so I wouldn't take more than was absolutely necessary. I know for sure there were a handful of pills left in each vial when I stopped taking them entirely. Now I'm wondering if my younger brother might've actually taken the leftover medication and put it in his pocket since they were painkillers. I'm also wondering if his animated behavior at dinner might have been related to taking one or more of these pills prior to us going out. I can't be 100% sure, but no one else has been in my dorm room, and I highly doubt someone else took the remaining pills and left just one in each vial. Should I say anything to my brother, my parents or anyone? Or would it be better to say nothing and learn a lesson not to leave extra medication lying around where it can be seen? — Shocked Only One Pill Was Left in Each Vial, via email

SHOCKED ONLY ONE PILL WAS LEFT IN EACH VIAL: Absolutely contact your parents immediately about this. Meet them somewhere privately away from your brother, and explain exactly what you have told me here.

This will alert your parents to this apparent problem right away, and they can monitor his behavior immediately and also discuss between themselves when, where and how they plan to confront him about this situation. It's quite unfortunate, and you may be surprised to hear that what happened to you is a much more common thing than most people know or understand.

Individuals who get hooked on painkillers and similar substances absolutely make the rounds to every possible contact they can find, and they often make a beeline for every possible residential bathroom to see if there are some unprotected pills available. For everyone reading this, never leave painkillers out in the open where they can be taken by anyone who notices them. Once a medical situation concludes, and the painkillers are no longer needed, either destroy them immediately or tuck them away in a very secure hiding place outside of the bathroom. Never leave prescription medication sitting out in the open. Your brother may indeed have a problem, and it's up to your parents to take this information and speak to him about what is going on sooner rather than later.

Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. Email him at rwallace@thegreatestgift.com. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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