August 9, 2005

Duct Tape and Warts

I have warts on one of my feet. I'm not going to tell you which one, lest you stop touching it. I went to the doctor about it. She told me that duct tape was rumoured to work. Duct tape is about 80% effective while salicylic acid is about 60% effective. I asked why it worked and the doctor said "We don't know why." It's the "we" of the Relgion of Science, it means "The priests have not told us yet." I've noticed this a lot with doctors, they don't seem to be able to think for themselves. Well I have a theory, and a brain. It might be wrong but theories are where all discovery begins. Here is is.

Warts like to grow in dead skin, in calluses for example. They need to be in skin on a living body but they like to be on the surface. Maybe they need air. If you keep filing off the dead skin and covering them with duct-tape, it produces a new top layer of dead skin, that blocks the air. The wart tries to move up into the duct tape, to get air. Maybe it knows to move away from the living flesh. Its cells get stuck on the glue of the duct tape and then get ripped off when it is removed, filing further removes the cells.

The duct tape draws the wart up and out whereas the salicilic acid drives it down deeper, which I have experienced. It seems that it so many areas, it is easier to get what you want by encouraging behaviour rather than attacking.

I still love my feet and I encourage you to as well, warts and all.