If you reach for an over-the-counter antibiotic ointment such as Neosporin or Polysporin after getting a cut or scrape, you may be contributing to an alarming rise of a strain of drug-resistant bacteria, at least according to new research.

In a new study, Japanese researchers looked at 261 samples of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), including 21 samples of a strain called USA300, also known as flesh-eating disease.