Q. I had a wart near my ankle and decided to try the duct tape treatment. I cut a small piece of duct tape each morning and after my shower, stuck it over the wart. I did this every day for three weeks.
I noticed the top "layer" of the wart seemed to come off each time I removed the tape. When the wart was quite smooth, I filed it gently with an emery board and it bled a little. Then I forgot about it. Three weeks later, I looked for the wart and it was GONE! Duct tape worked for me!
A. Controlled studies of home remedies are rare, so it is often hard to assess their effectiveness. In the case of duct tape, though, there have been a couple of trials. In one, the investigators found that duct tape worked better than freezing warts off in children (Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, Oct. 2002).
More recently, scientists reported that duct tape is only slightly better than placebo in schoolchildren (Arch. Pediatr. Adolesc. Med., Nov. 2006) and no better than placebo in adults (Archives of Dermatology, March, 2007). Although science suggests that you were fortunate, we have heard from other readers who also rid themselves of warts with duct tape and patience.
Joe Graedon is a pharmacologist. Teresa Graedon holds a doctorate in medical anthropology and is a nutrition expert. Their syndicated radio show can be heard on public radio. In their column, Joe and Teresa Graedon answer letters from readers. Write to them in care of this newspaper or e-mail them via their Web site: www.PeoplesPharmacy.org.
© 2007 King Features Syndicate, Inc.