I SAW MY FAMILY DOCTOR YESTERDAY. I had a small bump erupt on my face a few weeks ago. My daughter, who is a nurse practitioner, suggested I see a dermatologist.
My dermatologist has an opening in June. This is March.
I saw my family doctor yesterday.
He said he could freeze the bump, but it might discolor my skin.
Instead, he recommended I wear duct tape.
He said I didn’t have to wear it during the day, but I should wear it religiously at night.
I told him I could do religious.
“For two or three weeks,” he said.
As an alternative, he said I could use Vicks VapoRub.
Put some Windex on it
My doc was still talking when I started thinking of “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” and the father character who swore by the healing virtue of Windex.
Then there are the odd cures that Roman doctors used during the lifetime of Jesus. They’ve been preserved from first-century medical books written by a Roman named Pliny.
The medical books recommended spit and mud to heal eye problems. Jesus used both techniques.
“Jesus took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the town. Jesus moistened the man’s eyes with spit and then placed his hands on the man” (Mark 8:23 Casual English Bible).
“Jesus…spit on the ground and made some mud with it and put the mud on the man’s eyes,” (John 9:6-7).
My doctor said the science behind the duct tape and the Vicks is that these products irritate the bump. He said it’s pretty much the same way we irritate the bump when we scratch it.
The irritation itself is a bit like a smoke alarm beeping when the battery needs changed. Those doggone things always start beeping in the middle of the night.
Our first clue might be a 60-pound dog jumping into our bed.
We get up and change the blasted batteries.
Prod the immune system
My doctor said our immune system wakes up to the irritation caused by the duct tape or the Vicks product. Then our body’s defenders attack the bump until they level it.
Since I work out of a home office, I’m able to religiously wear the duct tape throughout most of the day, as well as at night. So maybe the bump will dissolve in one week instead of two.
God forbid, if I ever get some disease that requires an awakened immune system, I’m going to remember duct tape. If it works on my face.
Jesus, Roman MD
As for the unusual treatments in Roman times, some of which Jesus used, here’s a link to a four-minute video I did about that.
<3 A lovely message for Holy Week. Who knew duct tape played a role in modern medicine? I hope your face heals nicely and you and yours have a joyous Easter!
Then it’s true—duct tape really does fix anything!!