The truth about antibiotics.

• Position: Living

The drugs we have relied on for 70 years to fight bacterial infections -- everything from infected cuts to potentially deadly pneumonia -- are becoming powerless, according to medical experts. Why? Because antibiotics are often misused by doctors, patients and even people raising animals for meat. And that misuse, which includes prescribing or using those drugs incorrectly, breeds "superbugs'' -- dangerous antibiotic-resistant bacteria that can't be controlled easily.

Often, when we're sick, we ask our doctors for antibiotics to treat problems that the drugs simply don't work against, such as colds or the flu. Those illnesses are usually caused by viruses, not bacteria -- and antibiotics don't work against viruses.

Doctors, of course, know that the drugs don't work for viral infections. But they're often all too willing to comply. That's partly because they want to make their patients happy, and partly because doing so is faster than ordering tests to confirm the cause.

In addition, many of us now use antibacterial cleaning products in our homes. "They contain triclosan or other antibiotics,'' says Urvashi Rangan, Ph.D., director of the Consumer Reports Center for Safety and Sustainability. "These products may promote resistance, and plain soap and water is enough to get most cleaning jobs done.''

Every time you use an antibiotic it kills some -- but not all -- of the bacteria in your body. The survivors might mutate, modifying their genetic material so that they are no longer vulnerable to the drugs. Antibiotics also kill off some of the "good'' bacteria that normally live in your intestines, which may allow resistant bacteria to fill the void.

What you can do

Consumer Reports recommends the following:

Keep hands clean. Washing up with soap and water for at least 20 seconds helps you avoid getting and spreading infections. Avoid antibacterial hand soaps.

Use antibiotic creams sparingly. Use over-the-counter antibiotic ointments containing bacitracin and neomycin only for cuts and scrapes that leave visible dirt behind. Wash all superficial wounds with soap and water.

Consider purchasing meat labeled "no antibiotics'' or "USDA organic.'' Rangan says, "buying meat raised without antibiotics supports farmers who keep animals off unnecessary drugs and helps...