I grew up with an abuelita who had a remedio casero–a natural remedy–for pretty much everything. Whether it was a headache, a burn, an upset stomach or the flu she had a remedy for it. Most, if not all of them, worked. But really, some of them were weird and smelly, but nowhere near as weird as Havac Cebic's eye ailment treatment. The 77-year-old woman from Bosnia apparently has a gifted tongue that can cure all eye problems. Yes, I said tongue. This woman cures people's problems by licking their eyeballs. How gross is that?
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I immediately cringed when I heard about Cebic's miracle cure. Just the thought of someone licking my eyeballs makes me squirm. But apparently this woman's eyeball licking really works. The Bosnian woman claims to have cured everything from dry eyes, eye splinters and even conjunctivitis Infection. Isn't that nuts?
Cebic discovered her miracle tongue when she was a little girl. Her brother complained of dry eyes and as a joke, she pinned him down and licked his eyeball. Supposedly he was cured after that and it inspired her to help family and friends with their eye problems. She's become so popular she even has people from other towns and villages going to her with their eye problems.
What I don't understand is how is she not infecting people with her tongue? Remember when that eyeball licking trend started happening in Japan? It actually started giving people eye infections like conjunctivitis and even abscesses in the lids and eye sockets. Cebic claims that she dips her tongue in alcohol before and after licking anyone's eye to avoid the spreading of bacteria.
I still don't know whether I actually buy any of this, but as I said I grew up with an abuela obsessed with remedios caseros so I've definitely experienced my fair share of strange remedies. Here are a few other bizarre home cures that really work!
Chicken bone marrow: A friend of mine who had very fine, short hair as a child claims her strands started to drastically grow longer due to an old family remedy her Puerto Rican abuela used to do on her. She would take the oil from chicken bone marrow bones and massage it on my friend's scalp once a week. Ugh, that sounds SO gross! But hey it must have been worth it because my friend has had waist-long hair ever since.
Foot odor: I recently discovered that vodka could actually cure funky foot odor. Can you believe that? All you have to do is wipe them down with a vodka-soaked washcloth a few times a week. Supposedly the alcohol helps kill any odor-causing fungus or bacteria that might be growing on your feet.
Fecal transplants: Last year the New England Journal of Medicine published a study on fecal transplants and yes it's exactly what it sounds like. Feces from a healthy person's gut is transplanted into the gut of someone with an intestinal infection. Supposedly it works better than antibiotics. That is SO gross though!
Yogurt: You won't believe how many women I know that have used yogurt to treat a yeast infection and I don't just mean from eating it. Doctors these days suggest that patients insert a small amount of plain, unsweetened yogurt into their vaginas. The Lactobacillus acidophilus found in the yogurt helps introduce healthy bacteria to your vagina and kills off yeast.
Horse urine: If you've ever taken drugs like Premarin or PremPro to treat your menopause symptoms than let me fill you in on a little secret. They are actually made with horse urine. Yes, horse urine and pregnant horse urine to be specific. Why? Because when horses are pregnant they produce an excess amount of estrogen in their urine. This isn't just gross–it's freaking weird!
Image via Corbis Images
