I must admit I鈥檓 not sure if the woman is just an intellectual simpleton or a clever charlatan preying on the gullible.聽聽I suspect the former.聽聽In any case, here is the story.聽聽Upon invitation, and for a fee, this peculiar character travels from the Middle East to North America to rid people of the effects of the聽Evil聽Eye.聽聽Evil聽what, you ask?聽聽As featured in many cultures, the聽Evil聽Eye聽is a look directed at some unfortunate person, resulting in bad luck or outright harm.聽聽The perpetrator is usually believed to possess some sort of supernatural power, although in some cultures an envious person may cast the聽Evil聽Eye聽unintentionally.聽聽In either case, the poor soul who has been malevolently gazed upon must resort to some very unusual means to remove the curse.聽聽Such as sending for a witch doctor, for lack of a better term, who comes bearing the necessary tools of the trade: pieces of lead and some metal containers suitable for melting them.聽聽聽
Here鈥檚 the process.聽聽The victim of the聽evil聽eye聽sits on a chair, head covered with a towel.聽聽The witch doctor proceeds to heat up a few pieces of lead in a dish on the stove.聽聽Since lead has a relatively low melting point, it readily liquefies.聽聽The molten metal is then poured into a container filled with cold water held above the victim鈥檚 head, hopefully with a steady hand.聽聽Molten lead on the head is certainly not an attractive prospect.聽聽There鈥檚 an immediate sizzle as the lead hits the cold water and solidifies into a variety of randomly shaped pieces.聽聽Some of these, with a stretch of the imagination, resemble body parts and are picked out and displayed.聽聽These were supposedly the parts cursed by the聽evil聽eye, and their presence in the bowl means the curse has been removed.聽聽Fascinating stuff.聽聽Needless to say, absurd.聽聽And potentially dangerous.聽聽聽
How do I know about this nonsense?聽聽Because I had a call from an anxious lady who had been subjected to this bunk at the urging of her husband, who believed that her germophobia was the result of being targeted by an聽Evil聽Eye.聽聽She thought it was pretty much claptrap but agreed to be 鈥渓eaded鈥� for the sake of good marital relations.聽聽But all that the ridiculous process accomplished was to increase her phobias.聽聽Now she has something else to worry about.聽聽Could the lead have contaminated her stove so that every time it was now being used, toxic fumes of lead were being wafted into the air?聽聽Not an unreasonable question.聽聽Lead is an insidious toxin and even exposure to small amounts can cause harm.聽聽In this case, though, there was nothing to worry about.聽聽Since the stove had a ceramic top, it was easy to check if any lead had been spilled and solidified.聽聽None could be detected.聽聽The witch doctor may have been in need of some oiling of her mental machinery, but at least she was not sloppy.聽
Although not the case in this instance, inhalation of airborne lead can present a very legitimate risk.聽聽Radiator repair workers, for example, who commonly use lead solder, often have elevated blood levels of lead.聽聽So do lead smelter workers, as do their children.聽聽Lead tends to be absorbed by dust particles and contaminated dust is brought home on the skin, clothing, and hair of workers.聽聽It has been estimated that a two-year-old child consumes about 100 mg of household dust a day, and if it is contaminated, that is enough to seriously raise blood lead levels.聽聽Although there is no 鈥渟afe鈥� level of lead, it is generally believed that there is minimal risk if the level is below 10 micrograms per deciliter.聽聽Many children of smelter workers have been found to have levels in excess of 30, a real concern since lead affects virtually all organs as well as the immune system and the nervous system.聽聽Chronic low-level exposure has been linked with a multitude of problems ranging from anemia and decreased reaction times to increased blood pressure and impaired kidney function.聽聽Studies have associated increasing lead levels with a lower IQ, sometimes even with levels below 10 mcg/dL. 聽
Since the elimination of leaded gasoline and lead-based paints, blood levels of lead in the general population have been dropping, but lead contamination certainly has not been eliminated.聽聽We still have lead water pipes- brass components in plumbing systems can contain up to seven percent lead- and many old homes with flaking lead paint still present a risk for children.聽聽Lead paint, although illegal, still shows up on some toys, and jewelry trinkets for children sold in vending machines have been found to contain lead.聽聽In one case a child died from swallowing the pendant from such a necklace.聽
And there鈥檚 yet another way to be poisoned by lead.聽聽Ironically, the victims are people hoping to improve their health.聽聽鈥淭raditional medicine,鈥� common in developing countries, and increasingly so in North America, can be a source of lead encephalopathy, or brain disorder due to lead ingestion.聽聽A survey of the scientific literature reveals a number of fatalities and cases of residual neurological impairment after ingestion of traditional medicines originating in India, China, the Middle East, and Latin America.聽聽Sometimes the lead is due to environmental contamination of the herbs and plants used, sometimes due to contamination during manufacture, and sometimes lead is added on purpose as a supposed therapeutic ingredient.聽聽Incredibly, some lead preparations are applied to children to protect them from being cursed by an聽Evil聽Eye.聽聽These poor kids may grow up with a reduced IQ.聽聽Maybe that鈥檚 what happened to our witch doctor lady.聽聽And then her IQ was further lowered by her repeated exposure to lead fumes.聽聽So here she is, spreading twaddle, probably without realizing it.
