Sociology

In correlation to the Thomas Theorem, one country has an interesting conviction to their cultures beliefs. The Philippines is known for its destinations, low-cost healthcare and others. But some westerners who are married to Filipinas find the superstitious beliefs of their culture to be a bit strange. There are countless Filipino superstitions and one that is popular even to the most urbanized cities in the country is that of usog. With no direct English translation, the term usog is a belief that a stranger may cause some bad effects to a child. It chiefly affects newborn and toddlers. When affected by usog, the child seemingly develops fever, convulsion, and gastrointestinal problems. A way of counteracting the effect of usog is for the stranger to put saliva on his thumb and then gently rubbing on to the childs abdomen or forehead. In some situations, when someone supposedly nausog (past tense of usog) a child, the stranger must have not done the practice. He or she must again come to do it for the negative effects to be gone, as he or she is the only one who supposedly can remove the usog.

However, science explains this phenomenon as purely coincidental. Usog is seen by medical professionals as the distress that a child may feel whenever approached by a stranger especially a person with a strong personality, boisterous, large physically and etc. The stimuli brought by the stranger are the cause the childs insecurity, anxiety and child may feel uneasy and may develop fever. The strangers act of gently rubbing could help reduce the tension that the child feels, and the saliva actually is clean with the persons good oral hygiene. After generations of passing this myth, there was actually a scientific explanation to it. Coincidences are the haven of myths and beliefs.  If someone believes so much in something, that may cause it to be true in mind.