- The use of leeches for blood-letting can be traced back to 5th century
- Egyptians used them to treat conditions including
headaches and gout - They believed leeches released impurities in the
body
By
Claudia Connell
16:39 EST, 9 February 2014
|
16:39 EST, 9 February 2014
The sensation is certainly a curious one. It feels like someone is trying to clean my hand with the nozzle of a vacuum cleaner, but every now and then I feel a sharp prickle as though I’ve brushed against a stinging nettle.
I’ve had a few unpleasant therapies in my time, but it’s the sight of what’s happening that’s hardest to stomach with this. I’m undergoing my first session of leech therapy.
Attached to my hand and hoovering up my blood at a rate of knots are two fat, juicy, black leeches.
Claudia Connell tests out the latest new health craze for her aches and pains – and is impressed with the results
When they started half-an-hour ago, they were the same thickness as a garden worm. But having treated the back of my hand and wrist like an all-you-can-eat buffet, they have quadrupled in size, engorged with my blood.
Swedish therapist Maryam Rahbari is the brains behind the UK’s first dedicated leech treatment centre, where an hour-long session costs £75. She’s evangelical about leeches’ healing powers and regularly undergoes treatment herself for aches and pains.
‘I was a beauty therapist for years,’ she tells me. ‘Then one day I read a story about how surgeons were using leeches in modern medicine to restore blood flow, and I quickly became fascinated by how they work.’
The use of leeches for blood-letting (draining a small amount of blood from the body) can be traced back to the 5th century, when Egyptians used them to treat conditions including headaches and gout. They believed leeches released impurities in the body.
When leeches suck blood, they release anti-clotting, blood-thinning chemicals, which allow continuous blood circulation
Of course, it was also thought that drilling a hole in the skull would cure headaches, and red-hot irons would sort out haemorrhoids at that time. Thankfully, times have changed but leeches are still administered — the NHS buys 20,000 a year. In most cases, they are used in plastic and reconstructive surgery.
When leeches suck blood, they release anti-clotting, blood-thinning chemicals, which allow continuous blood circulation. This is vital in procedures such as skin-grafting or limb, finger and toe reattachments.
In 2011, when a Swedish woman was horrifically injured in a dog attack, surgeons repaired much of the damage with the aid of more than 300 leeches.
Although a single leech only sucks blood for 20 to 40 minutes, the anti-clotting chemical they release keeps the blood flowing through the wound for at least another ten hours.
Many alternative therapists like Maryam are convinced by the healing power of leeches for other illnesses, too. There are scientific studies that suggest leech therapy may be beneficial for a host of ailments, including arthritis, shingles and varicose veins.
In one study, patients with arthritis in their knees reported no pain for an astonishing four weeks after just one treatment, thanks to the anaesthetic leeches secrete when they bite.
Other people like to use them as a beauty treatment, including Hollywood actress Demi Moore, 51, who travels to Austria for the leech therapy she credits for her youthful looks.
There’s also anecdotal evidence that leeches can help with migraines and headaches thanks to the pain- relieving chemicals in their saliva.
DID YOU KNOW?
There are almost 700 different species of leeches – some are land-based, some marine and some freshwater
This is why I visit Maryam — I suffer from lots of headaches, and painkillers don’t really work for me.
Maryam’s sterile, white rooms in London’s Harley Street look much like any spa, save for a giant jar of leeches swimming in water. Suddenly, the idea of them slithering over my face and neck doesn’t exactly delight me.
But, as it turns out, the leeches aren’t too thrilled at the prospect either. Maryam had already warned me not to use any heavy perfumes or body lotions as their smell can repel the leeches, stopping them from attaching. I had showered that morning in nothing but warm water but the leeches still weren’t keen. I’ve faced rejection in my time, but being snubbed by a leech is a new low.
‘Sometimes leeches just don’t take to a person,’ says Maryam. ‘It might be your shampoo, what you ate last night, or it could be that your blood is too thick or too sweet. They like the taste of salt though, so sweaty people are good.’
As my neck has been rejected, Maryam tries to attach a leech to my right hand. Being a writer means I have a repetitive strain injury in my wrist that is getting worse. Maryam assures me the leeches will sort it out — again thanks to their pain- relieving chemicals.
A leech eventually sinks its teeth in, and I feel a sharp nip like a bee sting. It’s quickly joined by another thirsty companion. This being my first treatment, I am only permitted to have two leeches as I am expected to bleed for a long time afterwards.
As you have more treatments, your body builds up immunity to the leeches’ chemicals, meaning you can subject yourself to a greater number. Maryam’s tells me her most regular client has 70 attached all over his body in a single session.
Demi Moore, 51, travels to Austria for the leech therapy she credits for her youthful looks
While I’m being eaten alive, Maryam explains that the leeches are a specially bred medical variety and supplied by a farm in Wales. They are hermaphrodites, meaning they have male and female reproductive parts, and each one has 300 tiny teeth and three sets of jaws.
At the end of their sucking session, each leech has consumed 50ml of my blood. I imagine they feel like I do after a big meal, when I need to undo the top button of my jeans and lie down on the sofa.
One of them falls away naturally but the other — greedy so-and-so — refuses to budge and has to be encouraged off by Maryam with a firm yank.
The bad news for the leeches is that, for hygiene reasons, this feast is their last supper as they are only used once then disposed of with a generous sprinkling of kitchen salt, which makes them shrivel and die.Â
After they’re removed, the blood flows and my hand is heavily bandaged to mop up the damage. Maryam tells me I should expect to bleed for 12 hours.
The next day, the wound is still wet but the bleeding has stopped. The leeches have each left a distinct Y-shaped mark where they sunk their teeth in — it truly looks as though I’ve been bitten by a vampire.
A fortnight after the treatment, the marks have still not faded — but my wrist has not hurt once. I’m currently writing a book and have been typing on my laptop more than ever yet I’ve not had a single twinge. Nothing.
Maybe it’s just the strangest of coincidences or maybe those slippery little suckers really do possess magical, if yucky, healing powers. I, for one, am convinced.Â
For more information see londonleechtherapy.com
or comment on this article
-
WARNING: GRAPHIC. Zookeepers kill ‘surplus’ baby giraffe
-
Porn star fears her illegal O-sized breasts could kill her
-
Squirrel hides nut in dog’s fur
-
A Fat Girl Dancing: Awesome routine launches ‘No body shame’…
-
Six killed, at least one injured in a freeway car accident
-
Lingerie woman is filmed doing a ‘NekNominate’ strip in Asda
-
American snowboarder Sage Kotsenburg wins first gold
-
Rude awakening: Pranksters launch man 50 meters in the air
-
Barack Obama hugs half brother as two reunite after 20 years
-
Ski jump champion’s horror crash
-
CCTV: Miami police release footage of Justin Bieber in cells
-
‘We all knew’: Barbara gets snippy with Elizabeth Vargas
-
Zookeepers kill healthy baby giraffe with a bolt gun because…
-
Woman jailed for trolling HERSELF: 24-year-old bombarded her…
-
My George, you’re a big bundle of joy now! Six-month-old…
-
Horror as family of four among six killed in ‘drunk driver…
-
Catfish oversight, weather radios and a Christmas tree tax:…
-
Hugely successful Flappy Bird iPhone game pulled by…
-
New Jersey paper admits ‘we blew it’ by endorsing Chris…
-
Always believing in Gold! Skater Gracie Gold beams after…
-
‘Dumb Starbucks’ tests coffee giant’s nerve in LA – but its…
-
Woman, 19, walks into a supermarket and strips to her…
-
‘The general consensus is you are absolutely smoking hot’:…
-
Basketball player suspended for shoving FAN he ‘heard…
Comments (62)
what you think
-
Newest -
Oldest -
Best rated -
Worst rated
The comments below have not been moderated.
bigted,
Norwich, United Kingdom,
49 minutes ago
Let’s cover Cameron in leeches? You never know, the little beggars might restore the blood supply to his brain!
Ned60,
WGC, United Kingdom,
1 hour ago
Absolute rubbish. Their use for encouraging blood flow after surgery is accepted, but that’s all they do – suck blood.
arisefromyourslumber,
Lisbon, Portugal,
51 minutes ago
deetes,
Aberdeen,
1 hour ago
I’d love to try it as I’m aching all over…..
emi7000,
NORTHAMPTON, United Kingdom,
1 hour ago
Its not a new fad its been going on for years.
StonedNotStupid,
Bottom Left Corner, United States,
2 hours ago
By all means, use them, the more my ex makes the less I have to give her.
colbro,
S Wales, United Kingdom,
3 hours ago
I understand the use of leeches for blood letting in the middle ages, when there was little scientific knowledge, but, since the advances in medical science, and other ways of drawing off blood e g syringes and the discovery of antibiotics. Is there any use for the continuing use of these creatures, as I have read they are still used in certain circumstances. Can any one tell me why.
Debs,
Norwich, United Kingdom,
2 hours ago
Just Me,
Down south, United Kingdom,
4 hours ago
It’s not the latest health fad, it has been used for centuries way before modern medicine got here.
sailorman_john,
POLLENSA, Spain,
2 hours ago
fishbait,
Inland NW,
4 hours ago
Donating blood once in a while is supposed to help prevent strokes because it thins the blood.
Euph,
A Portuguese somewhere in, Germany,
4 hours ago
Can the leeches fix her face too? If she looks like that with so many layers of makeup caked into her face, I dread to think of how she looks without…
Charlie01,
Chester,
37 minutes ago
rooster,
Very Cool,
5 hours ago
Demi can get a more authentic leech experience by marrying a young dude.
The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.
Find out now