LP10

• HealthCare Beliefs


  Filipinos, especially older adults, tend to cope with illness by relying on advice from family and friends, and by faith in God. Experiencing a complete recovery from an illness is often regarded as personally witnessing a miracle – greatly influencing how Filipinos view healthcare.
• Namaligno


  A Filipino belief that a disease is caused by an intervention of a supernatural or a mystical being. Marfan Syndrome has been associated with having a mystical etiology, where respondents believed a person with it looked like a kapre, a mythical tree giant. Namaligno is used as an explanation for conditions with no apparent cause, like sudden or unexpected nocturnal death syndrome (SUNDS).
• Pasma


  A common Filipino advice not to wash your hands right after finishing labor-intensive chores to avoid pasma – the reason for shaky hands, and numbness or pain in the hands. It is also believed that taking a bath after workout can lead to illness.
• Usog


  If you are not feeling well and you make bati with, or greet a baby, the baby will get usog, meaning you will pass the negative energy to the infant so it will get sick. To resolve this, you will have to rub your saliva on the baby's forehead or in the tummy of the baby.
• Sleeping with Wet Hair


  If you take a bath at night, you should wait until your hair is dry before your head hits the pillow. If you dose off, you could wake up blind or insane.
• Having a Kuliti


  Having a kuliti, or a sty, on your eye is proof that nanilip ka to someone who is taking a bath.
• An-Anong/ Naan-Anongan


  A Filipino superstitious belief that when you have a bad feeling or not feeling well, they will say that is "AN-ANONG" or "NA-ANANONGAN KA" so you should go to the person who gives the 'AN-ANONG' for you to get rid of it or they will use the malunggay then (isaplit saplit da kenka) and the remaining or the favourite cloth of the person who passed away.
• Laboring Women


  A laboring woman should place squash leaves on her abdomen and hold onto hard objects to lessen labor pains. Coconut water can also lessen labor pain.
• Nuno sa Punso


  You shouldn't play with punso, or small mounds of land commonly found near trees, because dwarves live there and they will make you sick. The punso is actually the dwelling of hundreds of termites, and what you'll get are insect bites.
• Sitting on a Pillow


  Anyone who regularly sits on pillows will have a slow recovery process when they get sick. Putting your butt on a pillow obviously cannot affect your health.
• Spreading Salt


  Spreading salt on the entrance of a new home will prevent its occupant from getting sick in the future. Nagsasayang ka lang ng asin.
• Dry Sweat causes Pneumonia


  You should always wipe off sweat because you will get pneumonia if it dries on your body. Pneumonia is caused by viruses, bacteria, or fungi in the air, not by dry sweat.
• Stepping over a child will stunt his or her growth


  The superstition is common to older generations, but no evidence.
• Sinok


  Cure a hiccup by affixing a thread wet with saliva to your forehead. That won't do anything but make you look foolish. Instead, try to hold your breath or drink a glass of water as quickly as you can.
• Putting one glass on the roof


  People put one glass on the roof or that area of the home called "mahamugan" and drink it in the next morning if you have severe cough and a deep/rough voice.
• Taboos during menstruation


  Eating sour food may cause blood clotting and menstrual cramps. Taking a bath or carrying heavy objects during menstruation may cause (matipdan) or sudden stop of menstrual flow which may lead to insanity or death. If you have mumps, look for a beehive and place it in the swollen area.
• Reassuring your host that you're human
• Blaming missing things on elves
• Respecting the elementals