Usog
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Usog" is a Filipino superstition where an affliction or psychological disorder is attributed to an evil eye hex. It usually affects an unsuspecting child, usually an infant or toddler, who has been greeted by a stranger.
Once affected, the child begins to develop fever, and sometimes convulsions. Supposedly, the child can be cured by placing its clothing in hot water and boiling it. It is said that the condition is caused by the stranger having a masamang mata, or evil eye in Tagalog, lurking around. Superstitious folk have supposedly observed this phenomenon and regularly suggest this to the Psychiatric Disorders Handbook DSM-IV which, of course, is not accepted.
Usog can also affect adults, although it induces vomiting rather than fever. Supposedly, it can be prevented by stopping a stranger or visitor from greeting the child. Unlike "lihi", however, usog is not medically accepted.
