Hirudotherapy is the oldest direction in medicine. Used to treat leeches thousands of years ago. This method was known in ancient India, Greece, Egypt. Hirudotherapy was mentioned in their writings and treatises Avicenna, Hippocrates.
History of hirudotherapy
In Europe, the peak of the popularity of hirudotherapy was in the XVII-XVIII centuries. In those days, doctors believed that almost all diseases were caused by "bad blood." To get rid of it, bloodletting was carried out to patients. In the Middle Ages, the notch method was used for this, which was made by a special tool - a scarifier.
But in hard to reach and very tender places, its use was difficult. And in these cases, medical leeches came to the rescue. Treatment at home allowed the doctor to put up to 40 leeches on the patient’s body in one session.
In the middle of the XIX century, European medicine underwent serious changes, many concepts radically transformed, and hirudotherapy faded into the background. But at the beginning of the 20th century, scientists again became interested in this method. They found beneficial substances in the leech saliva. During this period, hirudotherapy experienced a rebirth.
I must say that the "leech fishing" in our country was quite well developed and brought a high income. In the 19th century, Russia supplied more than 60 million leeches to European countries every year. But after official medicine refused hirudotherapy, the business of breeding, trapping and selling leeches practically came to naught.
Using
Medical leech refers to annelids. It lives on the territory of almost all European countries, but in recent years its number has decreased significantly due to mass catch. A medical leech is a parasite that feeds on blood. She lives in fresh water, attaching to various surfaces and waiting for the victim. Having stuck to it, the leech drinks in one session up to 15 ml of blood, increasing in weight up to 9 times.
How are leeches used?
Today, three ways to use leeches for treatment are common:
- In a live form. Live worms are placed on the patient’s skin. They suck and drink blood, releasing saliva into the wound. It contains substances that have healing properties.
- Extracts. They are prepared from leeches or from their salivary glands.
- Preparations. For their production, parasite genes are released that are responsible for the formation of various proteins. Then they are introduced into the DNA of microorganisms, after which they synthesize the substance necessary for treatment.
Three small teeth are located in the leech's mouth. With their help, she bites the skin and sucks (depending on the duration of the procedure) from 5 to 15 ml of blood.
Hirudotherapy, being partly a method of alternative medicine, is closely related to acupuncture. Most hirudotherapists also have acupuncture skills: to select leeches, they select points on the skin in accordance with the rules of acupuncture.
A leech provides for the suction of a small amount of blood. Due to this, local blood flow is unloaded and blood pressure is slightly reduced.
In addition, a biological effect is provided. Worm saliva contains bioactive substances that thin the blood and stimulate some biological reactions in the body. The composition of the saliva of leeches includes more than 60 substances. Some of them have a powerful therapeutic effect:
- Hirudin. This is a protein that is an anticoagulant. It inhibits blood coagulation. Interestingly, this substance is part of the poison of some snakes.
- Collagenase and apyrase. Enzymes that prevent platelet adhesion. They improve blood flow.
- Proteinase Inhibitors Substances that block proteinase enzymes that break down protein molecules. They have an analgesic effect. That is why during the procedure a person does not feel the pain of a leech bite.
Leech treatment at home
There are situations when a person cannot visit the hirudocenter. In this case, you can invite a specialist to your home or carry out the procedure yourself, having previously received detailed instructions from a hirudotherapist.
The fact is that before starting treatment with leeches at home, it is very important to know the points where these “doctors” are placed, to determine their exact number, and the duration of the session.
How is the procedure performed?
It should be divided into several stages:
- Skin preparation. Wash the area where the leeches will be placed thoroughly with baby soap and rub it well with dry gauze until the skin turns slightly red. Do not use cosmetics with strong aromas - this will repel parasites.
- Staging. Take a leech using a clean vial or tube and hold to the desired point. Here the first question arises for those who first conduct treatment with leeches at home - where to put it? It depends on what disease you are treating. We will talk about this below. If the leech does not want to bite, take another. You can lubricate the skin with sugar-added water or make a small puncture with a sterile needle so that a drop of blood comes out.
- Hemorrhage. At the time of the bite, the patient may feel a slight burning sensation, which disappears after 20 seconds. It starts to act analgesics contained in the salivary glands. With both suction cups, the leech is sucked and held on the skin by itself, so the tube can be removed.
- The completion of the procedure. After almost an hour, the leech saturates and disappears. Sometimes, for medical reasons, when treating with leeches at home, the patient needs a session of no more than 25 minutes, in this case, the bloodsucker is removed as follows: bring a cotton pad moistened with any aggressively smelling liquid - vinegar, ammonia, alcohol, iodine to the front suction cup. Tugging, cutting, tearing off a leech is strictly prohibited - violent actions will only make it deeper into the skin.
What to do after the procedure?
A sterile dressing should be applied to the site of the bite: for several hours (sometimes a day), blood will ooze from the wound, which has the shape of a three-beam star. This is completely normal. Just change your dressings regularly. Do not disinfect or grease anything on the bite. The tiny scar will completely disappear in two weeks.
Leech disposal
Well-fed leeches are destroyed by placing them in a container with chloramine. Even if they are not fully satisfied, putting them on another patient after several months is fraught with infection by pathogens that were in the blood of the first patient.
On average, one to two leech treatment sessions at home require from two to five bloodsuckers, much less often ten. On the head do not put more than four pieces in one session. If you are prescribed subcutaneous injections, then it is better to do them before the procedure: during the session, the drugs will more actively enter the bloodstream and spread throughout the body.
Hirudotherapy in cosmetology
This is a special area involving the use of various funds from leeches. The most popular of them are the following:
- Creams based on the complex (bioactive) medical leeches HM1. These compounds are used to combat irritation, dryness, peeling of the skin. In addition, their use is justified for sensitive, aging skin.
- Creams made on the basis of an aqueous extract of leeches, which is subjected to biochemical treatment, - HM2. They are used to combat diseases of a psychosomatic nature.
- Based on the saliva of leeches, HM3 creams are used that can fight inflammation, stress, and aging skin.
- The main component of the Hirudo gel is the HM1 complex. He has proven himself to eliminate edema and bruising after surgery.
- Bath tablets may have a different composition. They are used to increase tone or, conversely, for relaxation.
Now let's see if leech treatment at home helps with serious health problems.
Osteochondrosis
This is a disease that causes physical suffering. In this case, leeches are installed in the area of the vertebrae, more than others affected by pathology.
As a rule, treatment is carried out comprehensively: in parallel with hirudotherapy, manual therapy, physiotherapy, and massage are recommended.
Treatment for varicose leeches at home: reviews and opinions
It should immediately be said that specialists treat the treatment of varicose veins with leeches ambiguously. Some argue that this is a safe and effective treatment, while others find it unacceptable.
Proponents of this method believe that it has a number of useful effects:
- blood flow improves at the place of leeches;
- swelling is reduced;
- blood liquefies;
- blood clots are prevented;
- pain disappears;
- the walls of blood vessels are strengthened.
Opponents of this method do not deny its beneficial effect on the affected vessels, but they are categorically against the treatment of varicose veins with leeches at home, especially if the procedure is performed by an inexperienced person.
First of all, it is necessary to remember that for applying leeches it is necessary to have knowledge and special skills, therefore it is undesirable to use this method for independent treatment. Before you begin therapy, you should undergo a survey. It will help to identify pathologies that may become a contraindication to this procedure. It is necessary to pass several tests:
- prothrombin index;
- blood test (general);
- for fibrinogen.
Patients need to know that the effect of treatment does not appear immediately, you need to be prepared for long-term treatment. You must undergo at least eight procedures. When symptoms return, after six months, the treatment is repeated. The points at which leeches are placed are important. They must be determined by the doctor during the examination.
Before starting the main treatment, the liver and pelvic organs are cleaned. To do this, during the first visit to the doctor, several leeches are put on points located in the region of the liver. At the next visit, three are placed in the abdomen. During the third visit to the doctor, three leeches are planted in the sacral region. After that, one is placed on the back, in the region of the kidneys.
In the following sessions, leeches are placed on problematic varicose zones. The doctor fixes two leeches in a sick area. After that, he determines the length of the vein and places along it several more individuals on both sides. The duration of treatment is determined by a specialist. The first procedure lasts an average of twenty-five minutes.
According to reviews of patients who underwent a full course of treatment with leeches, they were able to completely get rid of the disease. The disadvantages of treatment are most of them include the unpleasant appearance of natural healers.
Liver disease
We have already mentioned that instructing in "communication" with leeches must be obtained in the office of an experienced hirudotherapist. You will see how to properly put leeches, learn techniques and some secrets that are known to doctors. This allows you to treat your liver with leeches at home. But even in this case, the doctor must monitor the condition of the patient.
With liver diseases, leeches are placed on the stomach in the problem area. With stagnant processes, they are placed in the zone of the right hypochondrium. A contraindication to this procedure is hemophilia - blood clotting. The course of treatment with leeches at home for liver diseases is at least 12 procedures. In each case, the duration of treatment is determined by the doctor.
Hemorrhoids
Treatment of hemorrhoids with leeches at home can be carried out by a person who has experience in such procedures, after additional consultation with a hirudotherapist. Treatment will be effective only in the initial stages of the disease. In advanced situations, a positive effect should not be expected.
Timely treatment started will help relieve inflammation of the nodes, in some cases they disappear completely. Most often, hirudotherapy in the treatment of hemorrhoids is prescribed as an adjunct in medical treatment. Leeches in this case prevent thrombosis. It is important to know that treatment with leeches is used only for external hemorrhoids.
During the procedure, the patient should lie on his stomach. A leech is placed in the anus, in the coccyx, often on inflamed and enlarged nodes. Usually apply no more than four pieces.
Reviews
Most patients find leech therapy at home an effective treatment. Reviews suggest that it helps with many diseases. However, it must be remembered that the procedure should be carried out by an experienced person, it is better if it is a hirudotherapist. With independent treatment with leeches at home, the points at which individuals are placed must be well remembered.
Such treatment has helped patients with varicose veins, hypertension, osteochondrosis, diseases of the liver and gall bladder, as well as other ailments. They advise to consult a doctor and undergo the necessary examinations before starting treatment.