I'm not a doctor, but I play one.

I try to catch Dr. Oz most days. I like the fact that he often recommends simple home remedies for problems for which my own doctor would immediately hand me a prescription.

Dr. Oz takes a more common-sense, less chemical-remedy approach. Take, for instance, his recommendation a couple of years ago for dry skin in the winter. My skin, especially on my legs, gets so dry that it itches like crazy. I'd tried various lotions and salves, all to no avail.

Dr. Oz recommended safflower oil. Bingo! I bought a generous bottle of safflower oil at the supermarket and started applying it liberally to my legs after I shower. No more dry, itchy winter legs for me. And I've still got enough of that safflower oil to see me into my 100's.

Then there was Dr. Oz's recommendation for removing a wart. For some reason, while in Hawaii last year, I developed a wart on my right forearm. Very strange. I'm not prone to wartiness, if there is even such a condition. But there it was, on my forearm, and it bugged me.

Dr. Oz said to apply a small piece of duct tape to the wart, thus cutting off its oxygen supply. I ran to the kitchen junk drawer, found the duct tape, cut out a very small square, applied it to my new wart, and waited.

It took prehaps ten days to get rid of the wart, but get rid of it I did. Gone. No sign it was ever there.

Now, the big experiment which just might qualify me as an amateur surgeon: skin tag removal.

I had a skin tag for years right square in the middle of my chest, just below the bra line. I often feared I would accidentally tear it off, maybe with the nylon pouf thingy while in the shower.

Dr. Oz said to tie a piece of string or dental floss around the tag, cutting off its blood supply. I first used the only dental floss I had: waxed. Wrong choice, because I couldn't tie a good, tight knot with the waxed floss. After a few days of humoring the floss and the skin tag, I switched to a piece of string. Tied a good, tight knot. Waited a day or two and noticed Ms. Skin Tag had turned black. In another day or two she was noticeably withered. In another day or two she'd fallen off! No pain. No nuthin'.

So I've solved three problems so far without benefit of doctor's appointment or prescription. Tomorrow Dr. Oz will be discussing treatments for arthritis. I plan to tune in. I don't suffer from arthritis, but Ken does. I hope Dr. Oz suggests a simple home remedy for that.