Superstitious or Super stitches?

I’ve always claimed that ‘You know you’ve been in Italy far too long when you have no qualms about going to the dentist.’ Now, I’ve had foot operations and root canals and am none worse for the wear. In fact, I think many many physicians are quite excellent and many many are just as deficient no matter where you are -- even if my favorite program uncovers yet another pseudo dentist practicing each week.
Last week, a friend’s daughter was given a cast on her foot without having taken an x-ray. Another was told she could leave the premises after a motorino accident; she would have, if she could have walked. In both instances, both ended up flying back to the U.S. for emergency operations.
But, what I love are some of the remedies for various ailments which I have whole-heartedly accepted. Not one for popping pills, I’m always up for trying a homeopathic cure, usually brought in from a distant memory of a long lost Sicilian grandmother.
Right now, I am boiling Roman lettuce (verva) to use as a compact for an infected tooth. Another friend puts hers in the microwave (well, she is American). She was told no, that’s not right, you’re supposed to iron it. What I can’t figure out is, if boiling takes away the nutrients, how can it serve any medicinal purposes whatsoever?
Twice this week I was told about how drops of oil totally dissipated in a bowl of water filled by those cursed with the mal’occhio. And a friend was given a red diary with a red pen this week – not for Valentines Day – but to ward off evil mal’occhio spirits.
I don’t know about you, but, I’ll take all the help I can get. So just to cover my bases, I’m thinking of tossing red food coloring into the Roman lettuce pot…