MEDICAL USE OF LEECHES

medicinal leech

You may know them as blood sucking worms used in medicine dating back as far back as 2,500 years ago. But, did you know that the medical use of leeches is still very much a thing even today.

Therapeutic use of leeches has been documented in ancient India and Greek medicinal handbooks, when they were used for the simple purpose of bloodletting which is the practice of blood withdrawal popularly known as Blood Transfusion in our modern day terms. Bloodletting was done back then to prevent illness and infections.

The ancients thought that bloodletting was the cure to everything from fevers to tuberculosis, and while bloodletting turned out to have limited efficacy, nowadays, leach therapy is still used for a variety of medical conditions including circulatory disorder and cardiovascular diseases. As well as different forms of cancer and arthritis.

Ancient form of bloodletting

Some patients with osteoarthritis have actually even said that leeches offer more pain relief than topical medications.

People may also benefit from the practice if they risk limb amputation as a result of the side effects of diabetes.

It has even become a popular practice among people undergoing reconstructive or cosmetic plastic surgery in which they risk losing soft tissue.

But what are medicinal leeches (Hirudo medicinalis) actually doing to you when you use them and how does it help?

Before we get the answer to that, let us take a brief look at what leeches actually are biologically.

Leeches are actually worm-like looking animals. They belong to the phylum Annelida. Phylum is a biological hierarchy of classification in animals. Just incase you have no idea, leeches are also hermaphrodites just like the earthworms but have no bristles and the external segmentation of their bodies does not in any way correspond with the internal segmentation of their organs.

Internal and external segmentation of a leech's body

Leeches have two suckers with which they use to suck blood and they are located at both ends of their body, the head and the tail. Some of them live in water while some live on land and marine environments. Medicinal leeches are known to be the best as they are used for medicinal purposes since they feed on vertebrate’s blood and invertebrates.

Leeches have a digestive system which starts from their jaws which has three blades set at a specific angle. While feeding, they slice through the skin of their prey leaving a Y-shaped mark and just behind the blades lies the mouth which it uses for feeding.

The three jaws of a leech

The digestive system of a leech begins from the mouth and then to the pharynx, then the oesophagus, crop, gizzard, and then the intestine. The crop is where the leech stores the blood it sucks and it is said that leeches can store up to five times the body mass of blood. In the crop, an anticoagulant is produced to prevent blood clothing which is why leeches were used for blood letting back in the days because the blood sucked by the leeches are kept safe and fresh in the bodies of the leeches. Funny enough, medicinal leeches can store enough blood in their bodies which could make them have no need to feed more than twice a year.

The digestive system of a leech

So how exactly does this work in the world of medicine?

When it comes to reattachment operations i.e when you have a part of your body cut or chopped off, leeches are known to be of very efficient use. They are also used during plastic surgeries.

They help in keeping the patient’s blood flowing in the damaged area which prevents blood clots and ultimately helps the veins gather together so the area can properly heal. It also improves circulation and prevents tissue death.

A medicinal leach renaissance was sparked in 1985 for this very reason. A five year old boy had gotten his ear bitten off by a dog and was facing amputation after the first reattachment had been rejected and the ear was turning black due to lack of blood flow to the cut off ear part. A plastic surgeon named Joseph Upton, had read about the effect of leeches on congested tissue and decided to give it a shot. After attaching two blood sucking leeches to the boy’s ear, blood started to flow to the cut off area and it began to regain its normal colour. And the ear was eventually successfully reattached.

The leech therapy renaissance is going strong today as it is a simple inexpensive way to prevent medical complications.

But for all the amazing benefits of leeches, there are some side effects. So what are the side effects of using leeches for the aforementioned medical purposes?

How leeches suck your blood

For instance, a leach may move from the area that requires treatment to another part of your body that doesn’t and you know the implication of that happening. It would suck all the blood in that area leaving it pale and lifeless. Leeches may also carry the risk of bacterial infections so it is very important to do the leech therapy in a well regulated environment.

CONCLUSION

While leeches may make you squeamish, there is a reason these suckers have been around for millennia. Do you already feel like giving it a shot yourself? Well do so in a well regulated environment or go to an expert, one that you are sure won’t make mistakes, else you would regret your very first leech therapy.

Till we meet again…I remain your humble tutor.