“Put some Windex on it.”

It is the only line I remember from My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Actually, I’m not even entirely sure I’ve even seen My Big Fat Greek Wedding so, more accurately, it’s the one line I — and anyone who has a lot as an osmotic awareness of My Big Fat Greek Wedding — can say with any confidence definitely comes from that movie. If I recall appropriately (either from the trailer or from just existing in society within the early 2000s), certainly one of the characters had the amusingly misguided belief that a spritz of Windex could cure skin ailments — an assertion so obviously incorrect that you just don’t need a dermatologist to let you know so.

“Put some Neosporin on it.”

This one’s not from a movie. It’s from my life and perhaps from yours, too. I heard my mom say it any time I got a no-big-deal cut. Much more often — brace for squick — I’d apply it to my cuticles because I used to be an unrelenting nail picker who’d find yourself with swollen fingertips from mercilessly yoinking out hangnails. The antibiotic gel gave the impression to be the smart thing to use to maintain infection at bay or help coax pus out from the tender yet stubborn borders.

The idea that Neosporin will help prevent or alleviate infection from minor skin wounds is way more reasonable than the entire Windex thing, especially considering that it’s marketed for exactly that. The Neosporin FAQ page states, “The mixture of antibiotic ingredients in each Neosporin product kills infection-causing bacteria.” But it surely seems a dermatologist may very well let you know not to make use of Neosporin for that (or anything). Actually, several have been doing the alternative of whatever singing its praises is (belching its denunciations?) in TikToks and Instagram reels over the past 12 months.

After I first saw the video board-certified dermatologist Ranella HirschMD, posted last 12 months — wherein text overlay asks, “Why do derms hate Neosporin?” — I immediately experienced certainly one of those mini existential crises that comes while you discover certainly one of your favorite celebrities might actually be sort of a jerk. Board-certified dermatologist Dhaval BhanusaliMD, more recently posted a video wherein he shares “things your derm wishes you’d stop doing.” Those things: using astringent toners, not bathing shortly after understanding, and using Neosporin.