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10-15-2002 - 7:39 a.m.
I think that maybe I�m Dreaming 5:15am, Our house. Groan. The clock radio clicks on, Ramon has it set to NPR, Morning Edition. Bombings in Bali, Giants win the Pennant, DC Sniper strikes again. New tropical storm gathering strength Double groan. I snuggle up close to him, knowing that he�s going to hit the shower in a few minutes and I won�t see him again for another 12 hours. He feels so warm as I listen to the radio all cocooned for just a few moments �God may have created the universe, but duct tape holds it together.� What? Have I fallen back asleep and dreaming or am I really hearing this being reported on NPR? 'Doctors have discovered that good old garden variety Duct tape can be used to cure warts on children's fingers.' Or it might be a dream I confess to having a very small wart on my left index finger that is aggravated by knitting. I�ve tried some of the over-the-counter products and the thing will go away for awhile but it always comes back. It's mildly annoying but not enough to go have it freezed off An hour later I am heading to work. I start thinking about the duct tape thing. I call Ray on his cell phone. �Did we hear something about duct tape curing warts on NPR this am?� �What�s the patho-phys on that?� he asks, because he teaches medicine to students and just can�t stop himself. �I dunno� I explain that I think I may have dreamed it and I am worried about my grasp on reality. I�ve been reading this Dean Koontz book, False Memory, which is about mind-control and I am a little vulnerable. Ray denies hearing it but he may have been in the shower by then. The NPR web site doesn�t post their stories until noon, so they are no help, but good old Google turns up several DUCT TAPE WARTS Hits. Here's one of them: Another Use for Duct Tape: Zapping Warts Tuesday, October 15, 2002 BY DEANNA BELLANDI THE ASSOCIATED PRESS CHICAGO -- Duct tape, the all-purpose household fix-it with hundreds of uses, can also remove warts. Researchers say over-the-hardware-counter duct tape is a more effective, less painful alternative to liquid nitrogen, which is used to freeze warts. The study was reported in the October issue of the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. The duct tape irritated the warts, and that apparently caused an immune system reaction that attacked the growths, said researcher Dean Focht III of Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. He said researchers did not test other kinds of tape, and so they cannot say whether there is anything special about the gray, heavy-duty tape. The study was conducted at the Madigan Army Medical Center near Tacoma, Wash., on 51 patients between the ages of 3 and 22. Of 26 patients treated with duct tape, 85 percent got rid of their warts, compared with 60 percent of the 25 patients who received the freezing treatment. Researchers did not test the duct tape on older adults and also did not study whether warts recurred. Oh good,it's true. I would hope my dreamlife would be better than Duct tape and warts
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