Duct tape is handy for those heavy-duty odd jobs around the home, such as taping down a tile or a loose carpet end - or removing a wart.
It’s the latest breakthrough technology that is being tested on the common wart by scientists.
In a research study, it was pitted against traditional cryotherapy, in which the warts are frozen off. Duct tape was cut to size to cover the wart, and a fresh piece was put on six days later.
In all, 85 per cent of patients had their warts removed successfully with the tape compared with just 60 per cent using cryotherapy. The only complication from the tape was minor skin irritation (Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med, 2002; 156: 971-4).
Strangely, 10 patients who were entered into the study group were 'lost'. Perhaps they got stuck somewhere . . .