Sicilian Folk Remedies

• The Sicilians are one of many cultures that believe in the Evil Eye, and many ailments are attributed to its influence. The Evil Eye is a curse that is caused when one person feels jealous or envious of someone else or the possessions of that person. In Sicily, people with blue eyes are thought to be more likely to have an affinity for the Evil Eye; this was most likely because blue eyes were not nearly as common in those parts. The saying of certain prayers known only to women is the cure for illnesses caused by the Evil Eye (mal occhio in Italian).
  
  Sicilians also practice a ritual cleansing a home before a newlywed couple moved in. Various remedies include sweeping the home with a new broom, sprinkling salt around the corners in the house.
  
  Some Sicilians practice a folk remedy that a man from Sardinia brought to them. The man was known as a healer and was able to cure fungal infections and burns by smearing saliva over the wound and reciting a certain ritualistic prayer.
  
  Some Sicilians believe they could cure quartan fever by bathing in the urine of a pregnant woman. Another Sicilian folk remedy to rid oneself of the quartan fever was to eat bedbugs mixed with eggs and wine.
  
  Cladodes are plants which were used according to Sicilian folk remedies to heal wounds. Cladodes are full of minerals and vitamins and are also used in traditional medicine. A 2003 study at the University of Messina, "Effect of Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill. Cladodes in the Wound-Healing Process" showed that a cream containing cladodes did heal wounds faster than the commercial ointment tested.