Diners beware

SIR – When it comes to germs (Letters, October 9), supermarket trolleys are not as bad as restaurant menus. Have you ever seen them wiped down? Brian Clarke

London W6

SIR – One of the many horrors of being in the dentist’s chair is to see the dentist, albeit with fresh gloves on, manipulating the overhead lamp, whose handles, I am sure, are not cleaned thoroughly between patients.

Only once have I attended a clinic where disposable polythene covered the handles. Christopher Jones

Preston, Lancashire

SIR – I have a cold. Can you catch germs through reading about them? Jacqueline Mccrindle

Prestwick, Ayrshire