Another Use for Duct Tape!

As a sailor and skier, I have used duct tape for many things including the occasional repair of actual ducts (for which it is not actually very good). Just this past weekend I used it to stop my boom from falling off the gooseneck, and to stop my broken inspection port from leaking. I also had a duct tape wallet for a few years. Now it turns out that researchers have proven that duct tape is more effective than cryotherapy for warts.

In patients treated with duct tape, 85 percent of the warts completely resolved, compared with 60 percent in the cryotherapy group. These results were statistically significant. Resolution of warts treated with duct tape usually occurred within the first 28 days of therapy. If there was no response within the first two weeks, the warts were unlikely to respond to a longer course of therapy. The main adverse outcomes with duct-tape therapy were difficulty keeping the tape on the wart and minor skin irritation. The main adverse effect in the cryotherapy group was mild to severe pain at the freeze site during and after the treatment.

The authors conclude that duct tape occlusive therapy is more effective than cryotherapy in the treatment of common warts. They also state that duct tape therapy is less expensive and has fewer adverse effects than cryotherapy.