# Products that make it worse. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 23, 2009, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/products-that-make-it-worse/522357 "2009-12-23T19:34:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![randwill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@randwill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randwill)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/products-that-make-it-worse/522357/1 "2009-12-23T19:34:38Z")
What are your favorite products that make the thing they are designed to fix even worse? Bathroom Mildew Removers. Sure you spray the stuff on the bathtub tiles and the bleach eats away the black stuff growing between them. But then it runs down into the tub and leaves a brown-yellow stain that you practically have to sand away. Lip Balm. Dry cracked lips? Apply lip balm for a few weeks. Now you’ve really got dry cracked lips. Nasal Sprays. Stuffed up nose? Use for a few days and find out what a _really_ stuffed up nose is like. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/products-that-make-it-worse/522357/2 "2009-12-23T20:11:26Z")
By lip balm do you mean medicated lip balm? Regular stuff shouldn’t be doing that! I vote for anti-acne products that strip your skin of so much oil it goes into overdrive producing more. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/products-that-make-it-worse/522357/3 "2009-12-23T20:24:21Z")
Fuel and oil additives for automotive use. The majority do more harm than good. Nothing is better than top quality fuel without over-the-counter additives/treatments, and the same goes for oil. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/products-that-make-it-worse/522357/4 "2009-12-23T20:38:12Z")
_Head and Shoulders_ (or other antifungal shampoos) for dandruff. I guess it works, so long as you keep using it for the rest of your natural life. Or you could use a vinegar rinse once. Whichever. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/products-that-make-it-worse/522357/5 "2009-12-23T20:38:35Z")
My PC used to have a piece of software on it that was designed to protect the PC from crashes. It had a nack for making the PC crash in a way that was more difficult to recover from than a typical crash. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/products-that-make-it-worse/522357/6 "2009-12-23T20:40:49Z")
> [@randwill](#): > > Lip Balm. Dry cracked lips? Apply lip balm for a few weeks. Now you’ve really got dry cracked lips. I was surprised to find this is true. I gave it up for a couple of weeks and I still have dry, cracked lips…but not like when I was using balm. My brother had a puncture wound on his finger, so he applied Neosporin and bandaged it up. He developed an infection anyway and said the doctor told him not to use Neosporin anymore. My husband recently had a skin biopsy and was also told specifically “no Neosporin”. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/products-that-make-it-worse/522357/7 "2009-12-23T20:57:12Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > I was surprised to find this is true. I gave it up for a couple of weeks and I still have dry, cracked lips…but not like when I was using balm. Drink more liquids. If you’re lips are dry, it’s because you’re dehydrated. Lip balm soothes the lips, but doesn’t fix the cause. I don’t get chapped lips, nor do I use lip balm. I drink a lot of water, tea, and juices, and when I start to feel them getting chapped, I just have a glass of water. ---
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/products-that-make-it-worse/522357/8 "2009-12-23T21:02:34Z")
> [@Lobsang](#): > > My PC used to have a piece of software on it that was designed to protect the PC from crashes. It had a nack for making the PC crash in a way that was more difficult to recover from than a typical crash. Oh yes. I nomitate **every big-name anti virus program**. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/products-that-make-it-worse/522357/9 "2009-12-23T21:05:10Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Drink more liquids. If you’re lips are dry, it’s because you’re dehydrated. Rats. Should’ve known. ---
**Author:** ![redtail23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3e96dc/32.png) [@redtail23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/redtail23)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/products-that-make-it-worse/522357/10 "2009-12-23T21:07:51Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > I was surprised to find this is true. I gave it up for a couple of weeks and I still have dry, cracked lips…but not like when I was using balm. > > My brother had a puncture wound on his finger, so he applied Neosporin and bandaged it up. He developed an infection anyway and said the doctor told him not to use Neosporin anymore. My husband recently had a skin biopsy and was also told specifically “no Neosporin”. I used to be addicted to Carmex. Man, that was a bear to shake. Now I just use Blistex occasionally. A doc I spoke to the other day said that a lot of people develop reactions to Neosporin from over-usage, which cause more problems than not using it. ---
**Author:** ![randwill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@randwill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randwill)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/products-that-make-it-worse/522357/11 "2009-12-23T21:09:35Z")
> [@Cat\_Fight](#): > > By lip balm do you mean medicated lip balm? Regular stuff shouldn’t be doing that! > > I vote for anti-acne products that strip your skin of so much oil it goes into overdrive producing more. In my experience, regular use of any lip moisturizing products causes me to become dependent on them. The advice above about staying hydrated works better for me and also an old farmer’s trick; a little oil from the sides of my nose (the _out_ sides) applied to the lips works better than anything. ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/products-that-make-it-worse/522357/12 "2009-12-23T21:09:51Z")
> [@Larry\_Mudd](#): > > Or you could use a vinegar rinse once. Whichever. Wait, what’s this about? No one has ever told me. ---
**Author:** ![Valgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/products-that-make-it-worse/522357/13 "2009-12-23T23:22:37Z")
Drain cleaner. People use it when the drain is already plugged solid and despite the ads, it doesn’t magically dissolve whatever crap is in there. So what would have been simple to fix using a pipe snake (or perhaps removing the sink trap to unclog) is now complicated by the presence of a big slug of concentrated lye in the standing water. ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2009, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/products-that-make-it-worse/522357/14 "2009-12-24T00:35:21Z")
> [@RandMcnally](#): > > Wait, what’s this about? No one has ever told me. That’s what I thought, but I just now put vinegar dandruff into Google, and there are all sorts of pieces of advice on how to use it. I may try it. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2009, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/products-that-make-it-worse/522357/15 "2009-12-24T00:38:31Z")
> [@RandMcnally](#): > > Wait, what’s this about? No one has ever told me. [Just so.](http://www.ehow.com/how_4480406_rinse-hair-apple-cider-vinegar.html) Fixes the pH of your scalp and no more dandruff. Not as profitable as a manky shampoo that “visibly reduces the appearance of flakes with regular use,” I guess. When I was in my early twenties, I tried H&S (and, briefly, Selsun Blue) and all I got out of it was months of weird hair and more dandruff. Vinegar cleared it right up. Thank you, _Ladies’ Home Journal_ (or some such publication…) ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2009, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/products-that-make-it-worse/522357/16 "2009-12-24T00:42:59Z")
Lip balm and nasal spray don’t do that to me. And I tend to really over use nasal spray. Also Head and Shoulders worked fine for me. I don’t use it anymore and have no more dandruff. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2009, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/products-that-make-it-worse/522357/17 "2009-12-24T00:57:47Z")
Band-Aid “Activ-Flex” bandages. They are totally transparent, and the entire strip is adhesive, without the usual pad in the center. So not only can you watch the wound going through its revolting changes, but it sticks so well to the wound itself, that you cannot remove the bandage without re-opening the wound. ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2009, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/products-that-make-it-worse/522357/18 "2009-12-24T01:08:20Z")
Ooooh, that’s a good one: Band-Aids. My nurse mother wouldn’t give us little bandages like that because they trapped the water in, which germs like. “Wash it, let it dry and scab over. Done.” These days I convince students to put a layer of super glue over cuts and blisters. It really works. I’ve converted many kids to this system, and I use it myself. It keeps out the germs and the water. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2009, 8:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/products-that-make-it-worse/522357/19 "2009-12-24T08:36:24Z")
Acne face wash that dries your skin out so that it starts to peel and you get acne. ---
**Author:** ![Audrey\_Levins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Audrey\_Levins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Audrey_Levins)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2009, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/products-that-make-it-worse/522357/20 "2009-12-24T13:10:51Z")
> [@Cardinal](#): > > Ooooh, that’s a good one: Band-Aids. My nurse mother wouldn’t give us little bandages like that because they trapped the water in, which germs like. “Wash it, let it dry and scab over. Done.” > > These days I convince students to put a layer of super glue over cuts and blisters. It really works. I’ve converted many kids to this system, and I use it myself. It keeps out the germs and the water. I’m so glad I’m not the only one who thinks Band Aids are a waste of time. I see these commercials for Neosporin with little kids Band-Aiding every single tiny cut with Neosporin “every cut, every time!” and I think how pointless it is. I didn’t think about germs so much as keeping a cut “wet” means it takes longer to scab over, which means it hurts for longer. Within a few hours an exposed cut is dry and scabbed and sealed; problem solved. The only time I use them is if I’m at work; I bartend, so if I cut my finger I don’t want to contaminate peoples’ drinks, so I bandage it up…til the end of my shift. When I pour a little vodka on it and go on with my life. 😛 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/products-that-make-it-worse/522357.md?page=2)