Rite Aid Pharmacy Manager Randy Bachman fills a prescription for a customer at the Main Street store. While medication can relieve symptoms, doctors say antibiotics do not work against a cold or flu virus.

Stop smoking. Maintain a healthy diet. Wash your hands. Get an influenza vaccine.

Simple common sense steps to healthy living equal the ounce of prevention that’s worth a pound of aftercare.

Dr. Elliot Smith, who has an office in Evans City, says when it comes to illness, proactive measures are key.

“I always say the best infection control officer I know is the one who raised me,” Smith said, stressing the motherly advice like covering your mouth when you cough is more than polite.

Dr. Amesh Adalja, a board certified infectious disease physician at UPMC, explained that illnesses can have a lot of different origins, including fungus, parasites and ectoparasites like lice. But the two that generally get the most attention are bacteria and virus.

Bacteria are single-celled organisms that reproduce on their own, take in their own energy and can live independently of humans. Bacteria are present on everyone ... on our skin, in our immune systems and so on.

While some bacteria are helpful to humans, others — like staph and strep — can cause havoc.

A virus is considered “on the borderline of life,” Adalja said. A virus is entirely dependent on a host to complete its life cycle. Viruses infect a cell, and a reaction occurs. Viruses people may have heard of include influenza, HIV, West Nile, measles, mumps and chicken pox.

Bacteria and viruses reproduce quickly, allowing evolution and mutations at a high rate. These mutations might do nothing or they could allow the undesirable to become resistant to traditional forms of treatment.

Standard antibiotics do not work against viruses, just bacteria.

So people suffering from a cough, cold or flu virus do themselves a disfavor by demanding an antibiotic at the nearest clinic.

“Antibiotics are never the solution to those,” Adalja said. “If you have a virus, it’s better to take certain medications that relieve symptoms like ibuprofen, DayQuil, and Vicks VapoRub. These infections generally only last a couple days.”

For other ailments, like an ear infection, or a bacterial infection, both doctors advise weighing the totality of the situation before acquiring antibiotics. Other factors to consider are the patient’s age and overall health, and the length and severity of the illness.

“In our culture, if something is out of the ordinary, we believe it needs tending,” Smith said. “But the human body is good at curing itself.

“We should avoid antibiotics when possible, and allow our bodies to do what they were trained to do.”