PETERSBURG, Va. -- It's the old fashion way but one that works the best.
Good old soap and warm water is the best way to get your hands clean and the best way to stop the spread of germs.
While many continue to reach for a quick squirt of hand sanitizer, those in the medical profession say parents should be teaching their children the importance of washing their hands.
That includes watching and scrubbing for at least 20 seconds.
"I think hand washing is the most important method of erradicating any bacteria or micro-organisms that are going to be on a surface that kids may touch when they are playing with other children, playground, in the school setting, the day care," says Teresa Burton, a RN at Southside Regional Medical Center and one of the hospital's Infection Control Practitioners.
At Walnut Hill Pharmacy, sales of hand sanitizer remain brisk and while it is good to use when there is no alternative, if at all possible, hand washing is best way to get your hands clean and to help prevent the spread of viruses like the enterovirus, norovirus and the rotavirus.
Pharmacist Jarrett Rockwell says if asked he always will tell customers hand washing is the best answer.
For Rose Jeter, the use of hand sanitizer is only a last resort and only done when visiting at the hospital.
The Jeter family doesn't use hand sanitizer at home and when it comes time to clean up they use regular hand soap and not anti-bacterial.
