Injuries. Side effects of hirudotherapy Bruises appeared after a leech bite

Dear patients, hirudotherapy services are temporarily not provided at the clinic.

I would especially like to dwell on the side effects of hirudotherapy. This issue is poorly covered in available sources of information, and this gives rise to a lot of gossip, myths and fears. Side effects and complications are not the same thing. Side effects are considered acceptable and do not pose any danger to the health of patients. With complications the opposite is true. So, there are six side effects. These are: pain with a bite, post-leech bleeding, scars at the site of bites, a prefix reaction, a decrease in blood hemoglobin and a decrease in blood pressure. Let's look at each effect in detail.

Pain when bitten

Many patients say that in their lives they were attacked by leeches while swimming in natural bodies of water, and then they did not feel pain. But when the procedure for placing leeches takes place, this happens very rarely. Pain is almost always felt, varying in intensity depending on the individual pain threshold. It only hurts in the first minute, when the leech cuts the skin. When blood begins to flow out of the capillaries, the leech relaxes and the pain goes away. Thicker or blood-poor skin requires more leech work, so the severity of the sensations is stronger. They can be described as the pain from a mosquito bite, or, with greater intensity, like the pain from a needle being pricked slowly around an axis. As practice shows, women are less sensitive to the pain of leeches than men. Why do leeches bite painlessly in nature, but during procedures they don’t try to numb their bite? The answer, obviously, lies in the peculiarities of their origin. A leech living in a river or lake is forced to feed very quickly and, if possible, unnoticed - its life depends on it. So she numbs her bite. And the leech, grown under artificial conditions, in a biofactory, was forced to feed from birth until it was full, without running the risk of being eaten or crushed. Why does she need to secrete painkillers? Even leeches don’t like to do extra work. Therefore, all patients of the hirudotherapist during the session feel some pain, however, very tolerable.

Scars at the site of bites

After the wound stops bleeding, a dry clot remains at the site of the bite and a bruise around it about 1-2 cm in diameter. The bruise disappears after a few days, the blood clot disappears, leaving in its place a small hole, which quickly turns into a red and then a whitish scar of about 2-3 mm. In order for the bite mark to become completely invisible on the skin, at least two months must pass, usually up to a year, depending on the individual characteristics. To minimize the cosmetic defect, you can begin special treatment a week after the bite. Typically, the hirudotherapist warns the patient in advance about possible consequences and, if necessary, avoids placing leeches on unwanted areas.

Post-leech bleeding

Everyone is very interested in the answer to the question: how much blood is lost during the procedure. This issue is especially acute if blood comes out in large quantities. Quite large dressings become soaked through (for example, an adult diaper when treating hemorrhoids), they have to be changed several times, and this cannot be ignored. When saturated, the leech drinks, according to its original size, from 3-4 to 7-10 milliliters of blood. Since the leech cuts the skin to a depth of 1 - 1.5 mm, capillary bleeding occurs, and not pure blood comes out, but a mixture of capillary blood with intercellular fluid and lymph. Additionally, in the period from 3 hours to 24 hours (depending on individual characteristics), the human body loses blood into the external environment during post-leech bleeding in a volume of 10 to 30 milliliters. If not one leech, but several, is used, then calculating the volume of blood loss by ordinary arithmetic addition will be incorrect, since leeches working in a group secrete less enzymes in total than leeches working separately. As soon as the fluidity of the blood and the tone of the blood vessels reaches the state necessary for the leech, it stops secreting additional saliva and simply draws blood onto itself. It is easier for a group of leeches to do this job than for individuals. Thus, an overdose does not occur, and blood loss is reduced. On average, after a hirudotherapy procedure, a person loses about 50 - 70 milliliters of blood. Since this process lasts many hours, the body has enough time to use reserves and compensate for losses, and other than autonomic vascular reactions, visible changes are usually not observed.

Prefix reaction

The most unpleasant side effect of leech treatment is considered to be a prefix reaction. Its cause is considered to be activation of the immune system, accompanied by the release of inflammatory mediators from mast cell granules into the tissue. The reaction manifests itself as redness, swelling and itching of the skin at the site of leech bites. Most often, complaints continue to bother you especially intensely during the first two days. They then go away spontaneously, even if no treatment was given. Depending on the individual sensitivity of the skin and the activity of the immune system, this reaction can look different: from complete unresponsiveness to pronounced swelling of the skin (up to 5-10 cm in diameter) and itching. Usually the prefix reaction is confused with an allergy and this is where treatment with leeches ends. However, everything is not so simple and scary. We've all been bitten by mosquitoes at some point. Their bites cause itching, swelling and redness of the skin. After some time, the symptoms disappear. They manifest themselves differently in different people. Some people don't react at all. Others suffer from itching for a week, scratching the bites until they bleed. In such cases, marks remain on the skin. And if a midge bites, then such life experience is retained in memory for years, especially if the skin of the face is damaged. Swelling and unbearable itching cause discomfort for several days. And these phenomena are not considered allergies. Why? Because these insects bite us all our lives, and other than minor scratching, there are usually no troubles. In a true allergic reaction, each new entry of an antigen into the human body causes the formation of more and more antibodies, which leads to an increased immune response in response to each subsequent exposure. Therefore, allergies tend to progress and the severity of its symptoms usually requires emergency hospitalization. With mosquitoes, midges and leeches the picture is completely different.

The prefix reaction does not occur in all people. Older and overweight people are more likely to suffer. In children, the reaction is minimal or absent. It does not occur on the mucous membranes at all, which is an additional difference between a prefix reaction and a true allergy. Usually, after the first application of leeches in life, at least 5 to 7 days must pass before the reaction develops. Once an immune response to leech aggression is formed, the body’s memory of this factor remains for life, and placing one leech even after ten years will lead to itchy skin the very next day. An interesting fact, but if, despite the swelling and itching, you continue the course of applying leeches, the prefix reaction eventually loses its severity and disappears completely. And after a pause in treatment for a period of 3-4 weeks, it returns. So, every patient who is going to undergo treatment with leeches should be prepared for the fact that he may have to endure some discomfort associated with severe itching and redness of the skin at the bite sites. It is important to realize that these are not symptoms of a purulent infection or an allergy, and the experience of the first three days of treatment will prove the correctness of this statement.

Decreased blood hemoglobin and decreased blood pressure

Treatment with hirudotherapy for diseases such as hemorrhoids, thrombophlebitis, hidradenitis, and some others is usually accompanied by heavy bleeding and loss of a certain amount of iron by the body, which is reflected in laboratory blood tests by a decrease in hemoglobin levels and the number of red blood cells. Since this condition does not develop as a result of a chronic wasting disease, but as a result of post-leech bleeding, with adequate nutrition the body quickly recovers. As a result of the leech’s intervention in the processes of internal regulation of vascular tone, as well as a psycho-emotional reaction to an unusual procedure and the type of blood, some patients, often young women, may experience a reflexive decrease in blood pressure, which is manifested by darkening of the eyes and dizziness. These symptoms go away on their own within a few minutes and do not pose a health hazard.

In the vast majority of cases, negative aspects during treatment with leeches arise in the absence of explanatory work among hirudotherapists among their patients, which leads to their inadequate reaction to the safe side effects of therapy. Bleeding is usually assessed as a consequence of trauma to a large vessel, and, accordingly, requiring urgent surgical intervention. A prefix reaction can be regarded as an infectious purulent process of the subcutaneous tissue or an allergy to a leech bite.

Treatment of hematoma with hirudotherapy

Hematoma can be treated with leeches. has proven itself to be the best. Undoubtedly, the more you delay treatment procedures, the less likely they are to be effective.

The positive effects of leeches are as follows:

• Tissues in which a hematoma is observed are regenerated with great success as a result of optimization of blood circulation parameters.
• During the first day after the start of the procedure, pain is relieved.
• The affected tissue is saturated with leech saliva. The blood thins under the influence of this saliva, which creates an obstacle to the formation of blood clots in the hematoma. All this contributes to the speedy start of the process of resorption of the bruise.

Leech therapy for serious tissue damage

Of course, every person at some point receives a minor injury like a scratch or bruise. This phenomenon is quite common, but it does not bring us much discomfort. The same cannot be said about more severe injuries, such as fractures, burns, and severe bruises. But in this case a solution has been found. Hirudotherapy will help get rid of such unpleasant phenomena as scars and severe bruising. It should be noted that the use of hirudotherapy occurs without taking medications.

In the case of extensive swelling caused by car accidents, falls from great heights, sports injuries, which are accompanied by a huge number of hematomas, the use of hirudotherapy sessions could not be better. In case of extensive damage to the tissue, a larger number of leeches are placed on it, which contributes to a speedy recovery of the person, and not even a trace remains of the bruises.

We can say with confidence that in case of extensive bruises, accompanied by extensive swelling and bruising, the best choice for treatment will be hirudotherapy. It has a high level of effectiveness and is absolutely safe for the patient’s body.

All these fears are greatly exaggerated. I will try to clearly demonstrate what leech bites look like and how to treat them.

Post-attachment marks after hirudotherapy

So, bruises after a leech bite resemble indecent kisses and do not appear in all patients; most often such blue spots or red swellings occur with:

• liver diseases,
• diseases of the pancreas,
• in individuals with severe red dermographism (increased parasympathetic response of the autonomic nervous system),
• in elderly patients,
• in those taking aspirin or other blood thinners
• in those who are starving or on a strict diet.
• ATTENTION! During fasting or fasting, leeches must NOT be placed! Blood clotting decreases and there may be not only bruises, but also bleeding!

Sometimes the bite sites also itch.

Such signs of leech bites are often mistaken for an allergic reaction. But this is not an allergy! A blood test in the patient does not show changes characteristic of allergies: the level of immunoglobulins E and eosinophils does not increase.

On the contrary, hirudotherapy is sometimes used to treat allergic diseases.

Hirudotherapists call this reaction “post-prefix” reaction, “prefix” reaction, “post-prefix” or “post-aggressive” syndrome, but the essence is the same.

It is characteristic that this may not happen on the first session, but after the second session of hirudotherapy or even after the third.

Is it possible to somehow check whether there will be a prefix reaction or not?

Can. Test for dermographism: with the back of a pencil, draw a line across the abdomen with slight force. If the red mark is diffuse, bright and lasts for several minutes, then we are talking about red dermographism. Red dermographism is a sign of a special response of the autonomic nervous system.

If against the background of pink skin there is a trace with a thin red stripe bordered by a diffuse white stripe, then this is white dermographism or mixed, if both red and white features are very bright.

Sometimes we see during the bite itself: the leech seems to be sitting in the center of two circles - red and white.

Individuals with bright red or mixed dermographism are more likely to have a post-attachment reaction.

Do all leeches have the same prefix reaction?

In my experience, stronger post-prescription reactions occur after using oriental medicinal beer Hirudo orientalis.

Naturally, small animals leave small bites, they heal faster. Bite marks and scars from small leeches dissolve faster. And the size of the leech does not affect post-constipation syndrome.

Do I need to do anything to avoid permanent changes on the skin?

• Firstly, the prefix reaction must be taken for granted; it is a natural response of the skin and skin vessels to the biologically active substances of leech saliva. A prefix reaction is normal!
• Secondly, you need to let the leech suck on blood and wait until it falls off on its own. It is IMPOSSIBLE to remove the leech with rough movements or pull it by the body! The leech will vomit and the contents of its stomach will fall into the wound. The result of such violence against an animal may be inflammation at the site of the bite.
• Thirdly, there are a lot of simple ways to reduce itching at the bite site: you can lubricate it with a weak solution of vinegar or apply snow or ice to the area.

You can reduce the attachment reaction by applying a spray with leech saliva extract. I like LEEVIT SPRAY, it relieves itching and speeds up the resorption of all traces: bruises and scars. About Piyavit spray - read the article to the end.

Can there be scars after a leech bite?

They can. The scars look like a "Mercedes sign". Large leeches can leave scars for a long time – several years! Therefore, it is better to place a small leech in open places. A small leech may leave no trace at all.

For people with a tendency to develop rough, raised scars (keloids), leech scars can be ugly! Keloids are a relative contraindication to hirudotherapy.

I buy small and cosmetic leeches at the GIRUD.IN factory in Balakovo, Saratov region. The leech can be ordered online.

So, post-prefix reactions are:

Light – 1st degree. The diameter of the red spot around the bite is no more than 4 cm. The itching is slight. No treatment required

Average – 2 degrees. The diameter of the swelling and redness around the bite is from 4 to 16 cm. Intense itching of the skin. Sometimes the lymph nodes become enlarged and painful. For treatment in this case, I use PIYAVIT SPRAY.

Severe - very rare. Diffuse swelling, body temperature rises, lymph nodes enlarge, in the center of the bite there may be a black dot - necrosis. This reaction must be differentiated from inflammation or an allergic reaction. Treatment is not only local, but also general, according to all the canons of treating bites:

How often do prefix reactions occur?

From my practice, almost half of new patients experience prefix reactions. But if you take all patients with a post-prefix reaction, then in 95% of cases it is a mild prefix reaction.

5% had a prefix reaction of moderate severity.

A severe post-attack reaction with fever, diffuse edema, etc. is extremely rare. It is necessary to carefully collect anamnesis and not take anyone “suspicious” of a disorder of the immune system for therapy.

I would like to draw your attention to the fact that post-attachment reactions do not occur when leeches are placed on the mucous membrane.

Prefix reaction after leeches and its treatment

So, to treat or not to treat? I believe that post-constipation reactions of the first and second degree do not need to be treated! It is necessary to allow the body to fully “react” to the healing bite of a medicinal leech.

NO antibiotics or antihistamines should be used internally!

What to do about itching, swelling and bruising?

Patients often ask: “The leech bite is swollen, is it an allergy to leeches?” or “The leech bite is itchy, what should I apply?”

It is possible to reduce and prevent the prefix reaction. The best remedy in my opinion is PIYAVIT SPRAY.

Leech Spray is a mixture of leech extract and eucalyptus oil. Piyavit spray is designed specifically for the treatment of bites, for the resorption of bruises and hemorrhages, subcutaneous hematomas. Spray Piyavit relieves itching, reduces swelling, and speeds up the resolution of the post-attachment reaction by approximately two times. This is especially important on the face and exposed parts of the body.

I buy LEEVIT SPRAY at the Girudin factory in Balakovo, Saratov region, where I also buy leech. I order through the factory website. The spray is inexpensive.

• Every hirudotherapist should have Piyavit Spray in her first aid kit!

Spray Piyavit was developed jointly by the scientific team of Moscow State University (under the leadership of Professor Baskova) and the company "GirudIN.N". PIYAVIT, as a medicinal substance, is patented and the only manufacturer of the PIYAVIT substance in the Register of Medicines is the Girudin Balakovo factory in the Saratov region.

All other creams, gels and cosmetics with leech extract are much more expensive than LEECH SPRAY and have a lower concentration of LEECH EXTRACT in their composition.

That's why I use Piyavit Spray, produced at the Girudin factory, and only that!

And finally

You should always be on alert:

• We must remember about the perverted reactions of the immune system in people with autoimmune diseases and immunodeficiency.
• We must remember that patients with chronic hepatitis, pancreatitis, cirrhosis of the liver, people on a vegetarian diet or during religious fasts, have peculiarities of the blood coagulation system. Women need to find out how much and how long their periods last. In men, how long does bleeding last after domestic injuries.
• It is also necessary to carefully examine the patient’s body for the presence of keloid scars.

And then the leech bites will be predictable.

If you don’t have enough information about the prefix reaction, post-prefix reaction, then I recommend reading the scientific literature on hirudotherapy.

How to get rid of bruises - herudotherapy or how to feed a leech

A hematoma, otherwise known as a bruise, is an injury that occurs in each of us. Small bruises “pass by our attention,” but what to do when a bruise appears in a visible place (especially on the face). A person with a visible large hematoma will experience great discomfort. But, fortunately, you can get rid of bruises using folk remedies.

How does a hematoma appear? A blood vessel ruptures and blood accumulates under the skin. To get rid of a bruise, you need to “remove” the blood. There are subserous (superficial) hematoma and subdural - intramuscular, intracerebral, etc. We will get rid of superficial (subserous) bruises. Signs of subserous hematomas are swelling, pain, fever, change in color of the skin surface from yellow-green to lilac-red. The hematoma usually resolves on its own. Sometimes it can fester, become infected, or form a false cyst. In this case, seek medical help immediately.

How to get rid of bruises yourself. After the blow, immediately apply a cold compress to the damaged area (1-3 hours), you can use a vodka compress. Bruises can only be heated on the second day (for this you need to use heated salt).

With the help of leeches, hematomas resolve almost instantly. 2-3 leeches are placed on the bruised area. We need to give them the opportunity to drink until they fall off on their own. The method can be repeated the next day.

Answering the question posed, you can jokingly answer: “You.” But seriously, the leech that lives with you does not require any feeding. The leech must be hungry to come to your aid. Do not try to feed the leech sugar or honey, as some “experts” advise. The leech feeds only on blood and nothing more. Its mouthparts are adapted exclusively for biting through skin and sucking blood.

By adding sugar, you only harm the leech. Sugar promotes rapid acidification of the water containing the leech. And the water must be clean.

A leech is not an aquarium fish, don’t worry about the questions “what to feed a leech”, “what can you give it that’s delicious” so that it lives long. A leech can live up to six months without food. During this period, you will most likely already be using a leech.

Leech cleansing is the emptying of the gastric pouches of the sucked leech. Purification is used to reuse the leech. You can clean a leech using irritants: salts, acids, etc. The sucked leech is placed in a slightly salted water solution or in a solution with wine (table) vinegar. The irritants act on the leech's skin, and the leech regurgitates the contents of its stomach. Mechanical methods are also used for cleansing, simply squeezing the blood out of the leech with your hands. All of the above methods are used when placing leeches at home!

It is surprising that people who are far from hirudotherapy claim that leeches are reused in hirudotherapy offices.

Why can't even an unscrupulous doctor reuse a leech?

This is not a profitable business, that's why. It's easier to buy leeches than to bother with cleaning them! The survival rate of leeches after cleansing is negligible. Therefore, do not be afraid that they will give you a used leech in your office. Used leech in hirudotherapy rooms is destroyed.

If you wish, you can take “your” leech with you and clean it at home. You can not clean it, but release the leeches into a jar of clean, settled water (2/3 water), cover with a canvas napkin, and secure the napkin with an elastic band so that the leeches do not escape.

By the way, the second option is preferable. Be prepared for the water to turn an unpleasant brown color. You need to change the water very often. At first, 2-3 times a day. The brown color of the water is leech excrement. A well-fed leech often defecates, so constant frequent changes of water are necessary. With the second method of keeping (a well-fed leech), the survival rate is about sixty. That is, out of ten leeches, about six survive. The next time the leech is ready to attach itself no earlier than after 3-6 months. This indicator is very individual. A leech, like any creature, is not a mechanism whose action is programmed. Leeches have different “appetites”. The most active, indiscriminate and efficient (what is required of a leech) is the glutton leech.

The leech stores food in several stomach pouches. Bags of food are consumed gradually, unused food is preserved under the influence of special substances and remains suitable for leech consumption for a long time. This is the kind of adaptive tool that leeches have in order to survive. Provisions are stored in the leech itself, so there is no need to feed the leeches.

From my own experience I realized that leeches really help against many diseases.

Prices for hirudotherapist services

A long time ago I wanted to try out such a procedure as hirudotherapy. Here, as they say, it’s better to try once than to hear a hundred times. My friend tried to dissuade me from everything, justifying this by the fact that bruises and scars might remain. But of course I didn’t listen to her.

I didn’t look for a doctor or a clinic, since my husband’s aunt is an expert in this regard and accordingly went to her. We placed 5 pieces, 3 of them in the navel area, one to the left of the navel and one more to the right of the navel.

Of course, I didn’t experience any severe pain during the procedure, but I also can’t say that it was pleasant. At the moment when the leech attaches itself, a slight tingling sensation is felt, like after a mosquito bite. The process of “feeding” for leeches takes about an hour, after which they fall off on their own. After this, blood began to flow quite actively from the bites. The bite site was treated with peroxide, a regular pad was applied and covered with a band-aid. I had to sleep like that all night, but that's no big deal. The bleeding stopped completely only the next day.

There were small bruises at the site of the leech bite. During the procedure or immediately after, it is recommended to eat a chocolate bar or drink sweet tea. This is necessary in order to avoid severe weakness. I had this condition in the morning. After about 3-4 days, the wounds heal and begin to itch very much.

Complete healing of the wounds occurs in about a month or two. For some it may be faster or, on the contrary, longer.

Now let’s talk about why I went through all this torment:

Hirudotherapy also has its contraindications. The procedure is not recommended for people who have problems with blood clotting.

Almost a month has passed since the procedure. I feel great. All the problems that were associated with the stomach went away. I lost 3 kilograms. Immunity increased noticeably. Also got rid of erosion.

Bruises after leeches

Side effects of hirudotherapy.

To begin with, let us clarify that side effects during treatment are not the same as complications. The presence of side effects, with any type of treatment, is considered an acceptable evil because These effects, as a rule, do not pose a real danger to the patient. Complications are a completely different conversation. If you try to classify side effects during treatment with medicinal leeches, you will get something like this. The patient experiences, albeit small, but still painful sensations. After the procedure, post-leech bleeding is observed for some time. At the end of the full course of treatment, small scars may remain on the patient’s body at the site of the bites. In some patients, there is a reaction to the placement of a leech (attached). You need to remember about the decrease in the level of hemoglobin in the patient’s blood and the decrease in blood pressure. Now let's look at each of these effects in more detail.

Many patients of the hirudotherapist have experienced leech bites in their natural environment. For example, when swimming in ponds, but they all note that they did not experience pain, but when carrying out the procedure for placing medicinal leeches, the feeling of pain when bitten is always present. Every patient of a hirudotherapist experiences pain from a bite, but the intensity of the pain is different for everyone. Here, the pain sensation is directly dependent on the patient’s pain threshold. Pain during the procedure is felt only in the first moments (no more than a minute) and this happens when the leech cuts the skin. As soon as external blood flow begins and the leech enters a relaxed state, the feeling of pain goes away. If the patient's skin is thicker or depleted of blood, then more effort is required from the leech. Accordingly, the feeling of pain increases. The practice of hirudotherapy shows that women tolerate pain from a leech bite much easier than men. Why do leeches in the natural environment bite humans or animals completely painlessly, but during medical procedures they cause pain? The answer to this question lies in the origin and living conditions of the medicinal leech. A leech in nature must protect itself when it bites and for this it injects a fairly strong painkiller into the skin of the intended target. Beer, grown in a biofactory, read artificially, took food from birth forcibly, without any fear for its life (it cannot be eaten or crushed). Then, in this case, why should it produce, much less secrete, pain-relieving enzymes when biting a patient? In nature, everything is reasonable and no one likes extra work. This is why during hirudotherapy procedures, unlike in the natural environment, patients feel pain when bitten.

Residual scars after bites.

After the leech placement procedure is completed, bleeding from the bite site continues for some time. When the bleeding stops completely, a dry blood clot and a small bruise remain at the site of the leech bite. In a few days the bruise will go away and the blood clot will fall off. Here, at the site of the fallen thrombus, a small dimple remains, which is first reddish in color and then turns whitish. This is how a scar is formed after a leech bite, but patients should not be too afraid of this. This scar, left after a leech bite, finally disappears in a time interval of two months to one year. The duration depends only on the characteristics of the patient’s body. But today there are drugs that can minimize the consequences of this cosmetic defect. Every hirudotherapist knows about this problem and therefore the course of treatment is structured in such a way as to avoid placing leeches in unwanted places

Residual (post-leech) bleeding.

Quite often, before undergoing a hirudotherapy procedure, patients try to find out how much blood they will lose. This question arises when, after the end of the procedure, the patient begins to bleed profusely. Although in the case of hemorrhoids treatment, a diaper for an adult has to be changed quite often, and in other cases, fairly large tampons become soaked with blood. Of course, the patient begins to pay close attention to this. Let's start with the leech. Before reaching saturation, the leech (adult) takes about ten ml from the patient. blood, but after the leech fell off, cut skin remained and capillary bleeding occurred. It is not pure blood that flows from the wound, but a mixture of blood, lymph and intercellular fluid. After the procedure, the patient’s body loses about thirty ml more due to such bleeding. blood. But here, when calculating blood loss, you cannot make a mistake by simply taking the number of leeches that took part in the procedure and simply multiplying them by the data on blood loss from one leech. Here's the thing. If the leeches on the patient’s body are in a group, then they secrete less enzymes than if one leech were working. When biting in a group, leeches achieve a certain blood fluidity and vascular tone faster than one leech alone, and as soon as these indicators begin to suit the leeches, they stop releasing the enzyme base into the bloodstream and proceed to the actual blood sampling. In a group, it is much easier for leeches to achieve this state than for individuals, and that is why there is no overdose of leech saliva enzymes, and due to this, blood loss is reduced. If we take the average indicators, we will arrive at the following result. During and after the treatment session, the hirudotherapist's patient loses about sixty ml. blood. Considering that the process of blood loss is prolonged, the body has enough time to compensate for such blood loss and there is no danger to health, and certainly not to the life of the patient.

Decrease in blood pressure and hemoglobin in the blood.

When treating a disease such as hemorrhoids using hirudotherapy methods, the patient is always accompanied by heavy bleeding, which can last for 24 hours. With such bleeding, iron deficiency inevitably occurs in the blood, which is almost always indicated by laboratory tests. Along with the loss of iron, the blood loses normal hemoglobin levels and the number of red blood cells drops. But this should not cause the patient to feel anxious. The fact is that the bleeding is not caused by a chronic, debilitating disease, but by the effect of post-leech blood loss. With normal nutrition, the patient’s body quickly restores the loss of both hemoglobin and red blood cells. The enzymes in the secretion of leech saliva, when bitten, enter the bloodstream, actively interfere with the processes of internal regulation of the tone of various vascular groups. The result of such an intervention, as a rule, is a reflex decrease in blood pressure in the patient’s body. Everything listed in this section poses absolutely no danger, either to the health of the patient with hemorrhoids, much less to his life. A (qualified) hirudotherapist must, before starting the procedures, hold an explanatory conversation with the patient, where he will describe in detail all the side effects that occur during treatment using hirudotherapy openings. But besides the side effects from a leech bite, hirudotherapy also has a number of contraindications, and we also cannot help but inform you about them.

Bruises after leeches

What traces and consequences remain after hirudotherapy?

Is it possible to use antibiotics while taking a course of leeches?

• anticoagulants,
• alcohol,
• external use of large doses of mercury preparations.

The use of antibiotics and medicinal leeches is quite possible and justified

I have been experiencing migraines for several years. The attacks last for 2-3 days, 3-4 times a month. Can I be given leeches if my working pressure is 100 over 60. Nothing helps or relieves pain.

We performed another hirudotherapy session at home, but for some reason, 12 hours after the session, severe redness appeared in the area of ​​the therapy and after 24 hours blisters filled with liquid formed. Is this an individual reaction of the body?

Can hirudotherapy help if a boil appears on the skin?

My husband and I started treatment with leeches. They placed 5 pieces on the liver projection area. On the first day, the reaction was slight, and then redness began, which spread to almost the entire abdomen, but no decay was visible. I also had 5 pieces placed on the cervical-collar area, no problems. Leeches from one jar. He is very worried, why this reaction and what to do next?

I am worried about fatigue and heaviness in my legs, I noticed capillary networks. Tell us how hirudotherapy works in this case?

How to store and care for leeches?

Take a glass jar, fill it 2/3 with non-chlorinated water, close it with a cloth with a good rubber band (leeches can crawl out without it - the smallest hole is large enough for them).

Keep in mind, leeches need to breathe (they can breathe through fabric, but not through a plastic cover)

Change the water every 3-6 days (depending on the number of leeches in the jar).

In what water is it better to store medicinal leeches?

In clean water, without chlorine. Avoid placing leeches in chlorinated water. Leeches are sensitive to substances such as chlorine, copper and other chemicals. Non-chlorinated tap water in most areas of the city is suitable for leeches. Do not use only distilled water, as its exceptional purity may be harmful to the leech's metabolic balance

How can I get rid of chlorine in my drinking water?

You can simply let the water sit for 12 hours or simply install a filter on your kitchen faucet.

How often should leeches' water be changed?

Every 3-6 days, depending on the number of leeches in the jar. Even if the water appears clear, it is better to change it.

How to change water for leeches?

Cover the opening of the jar with gauze and drain the old water. The gauze will absorb everything from the jar (pieces of old leech skin, its excrement, etc.) Then pour fresh water into the jar.

Sudden changes in temperature can harm leeches, so keep your fresh water containers in the same area where you keep your leeches.

How many leeches can you keep in a jar?

The amount depends on the size of the leech itself. If the leech is medium, then no more than 100 pieces in a 3-liter jar. The more space the better.

What temperature is ideal for leeches?

Any temperature in the range from 5-27 C.

How long can I keep leeches in the plastic container they were delivered to me in?

Do not keep leeches in the container, it is too small and we only use it for transport purposes. Transfer to a glass jar.

Do you need to feed leeches?

Leeches can live up to one year without food, so you don't need to feed. Leeches feed only on blood; there is no need to try to feed them with sugar, honey, etc.

How long do leeches live?

In a hungry state for up to 6 months, before they came to you they starved at the factories for at least 3 months. If a leech feeds on time and its living conditions are suitable, it can live up to 10 years.

Side effects of hirudotherapy

Dear patients, hirudotherapy services are temporarily not provided at the clinic.

I would especially like to dwell on the side effects of hirudotherapy. This issue is poorly covered in available sources of information, and this gives rise to a lot of gossip, myths and fears. Side effects and complications are not the same thing. Side effects are considered acceptable and do not pose any danger to the health of patients. With complications the opposite is true. So, there are six side effects. These are: pain with a bite, post-leech bleeding, scars at the site of bites, a prefix reaction, a decrease in blood hemoglobin and a decrease in blood pressure. Let's look at each effect in detail.

Pain when bitten

Many patients say that in their lives they were attacked by leeches while swimming in natural bodies of water, and then they did not feel pain. But when the procedure for placing leeches takes place, this happens very rarely. Pain is almost always felt, varying in intensity depending on the individual pain threshold. It only hurts in the first minute, when the leech cuts the skin. When blood begins to flow out of the capillaries, the leech relaxes and the pain goes away. Thicker or blood-poor skin requires more leech work, so the severity of the sensations is stronger. They can be described as the pain from a mosquito bite, or, with greater intensity, like the pain from a needle being pricked slowly around an axis. As practice shows, women are less sensitive to the pain of leeches than men. Why do leeches bite painlessly in nature, but during procedures they don’t try to numb their bite? The answer, obviously, lies in the peculiarities of their origin. A leech living in a river or lake is forced to feed very quickly and, if possible, unnoticed - its life depends on it. So she numbs her bite. And the leech, grown under artificial conditions, in a biofactory, was forced to feed from birth until it was full, without running the risk of being eaten or crushed. Why does she need to secrete painkillers? Even leeches don’t like to do extra work. Therefore, all patients of the hirudotherapist during the session feel some pain, however, very tolerable.

Scars at the site of bites

After the wound stops bleeding, a dry clot remains at the site of the bite and a bruise around it about 1-2 cm in diameter. The bruise disappears after a few days, the blood clot disappears, leaving in its place a small hole, which quickly turns into a red and then a whitish scar of about 2-3 mm. In order for the bite mark to become completely invisible on the skin, at least two months must pass, usually up to a year, depending on the individual characteristics. To minimize the cosmetic defect, you can begin special treatment a week after the bite. Typically, the hirudotherapist warns the patient in advance about possible consequences and, if necessary, avoids placing leeches on unwanted areas.

Post-leech bleeding

Everyone is very interested in the answer to the question: how much blood is lost during the procedure. This issue is especially acute if blood comes out in large quantities. Quite large dressings become soaked through (for example, an adult diaper when treating hemorrhoids), they have to be changed several times, and this cannot be ignored. When saturated, the leech drinks, according to its original size, from 3-4 to 7-10 milliliters of blood. Since the leech cuts the skin to a depth of 1 - 1.5 mm, capillary bleeding occurs, and not pure blood comes out, but a mixture of capillary blood with intercellular fluid and lymph. Additionally, in the period from 3 hours to 24 hours (depending on individual characteristics), the human body loses blood into the external environment during post-leech bleeding in a volume of 10 to 30 milliliters. If not one leech, but several, is used, then calculating the volume of blood loss by ordinary arithmetic addition will be incorrect, since leeches working in a group secrete less enzymes in total than leeches working separately. As soon as the fluidity of the blood and the tone of the blood vessels reaches the state necessary for the leech, it stops secreting additional saliva and simply draws blood onto itself. It is easier for a group of leeches to do this job than for individuals. Thus, an overdose does not occur, and blood loss is reduced. On average, after a hirudotherapy procedure, a person loses about 50 – 70 milliliters of blood. Since this process lasts many hours, the body has enough time to use reserves and compensate for losses, and other than autonomic vascular reactions, visible changes are usually not observed.

Prefix reaction

The most unpleasant side effect of leech treatment is considered to be a prefix reaction. Its cause is considered to be activation of the immune system, accompanied by the release of inflammatory mediators from mast cell granules into the tissue. The reaction manifests itself as redness, swelling and itching of the skin at the site of leech bites. Most often, complaints continue to bother you especially intensely during the first two days. They then go away spontaneously, even if no treatment was given. Depending on the individual sensitivity of the skin and the activity of the immune system, this reaction can look different: from complete unresponsiveness to pronounced swelling of the skin (up to 5-10 cm in diameter) and itching. Usually the prefix reaction is confused with an allergy and this is where treatment with leeches ends. However, everything is not so simple and scary. We've all been bitten by mosquitoes at some point. Their bites cause itching, swelling and redness of the skin. After some time, the symptoms disappear. They manifest themselves differently in different people. Some people don't react at all. Others suffer from itching for a week, scratching the bites until they bleed. In such cases, marks remain on the skin. And if a midge bites, then such life experience is retained in memory for years, especially if the skin of the face is damaged. Swelling and unbearable itching cause discomfort for several days. And these phenomena are not considered allergies. Why? Because these insects bite us all our lives, and other than minor scratching, there are usually no troubles. In a true allergic reaction, each new entry of an antigen into the human body causes the formation of more and more antibodies, which leads to an increased immune response in response to each subsequent exposure. Therefore, allergies tend to progress and the severity of its symptoms usually requires emergency hospitalization. With mosquitoes, midges and leeches the picture is completely different.

The prefix reaction does not occur in all people. Older and overweight people are more likely to suffer. In children, the reaction is minimal or absent. It does not occur on the mucous membranes at all, which is an additional difference between a prefix reaction and a true allergy. Usually, after the first application of leeches in your life, at least 5–7 days must pass before the reaction develops. Once an immune response to leech aggression is formed, the body’s memory of this factor remains for life, and placing one leech even after ten years will lead to itchy skin the very next day. An interesting fact, but if, despite the swelling and itching, you continue the course of applying leeches, the prefix reaction eventually loses its severity and disappears completely. And after a pause in treatment for a period of 3-4 weeks, it returns. So, every patient who is going to undergo treatment with leeches should be prepared for the fact that he may have to endure some discomfort associated with severe itching and redness of the skin at the bite sites. It is important to realize that these are not symptoms of a purulent infection or an allergy, and the experience of the first three days of treatment will prove the correctness of this statement.

Decreased blood hemoglobin and decreased blood pressure

Treatment with hirudotherapy for diseases such as hemorrhoids, thrombophlebitis, hidradenitis, and some others is usually accompanied by heavy bleeding and loss of a certain amount of iron by the body, which is reflected in laboratory blood tests by a decrease in hemoglobin levels and the number of red blood cells. Since this condition does not develop as a result of a chronic wasting disease, but as a result of post-leech bleeding, with adequate nutrition the body quickly recovers. As a result of the leech’s intervention in the processes of internal regulation of vascular tone, as well as a psycho-emotional reaction to an unusual procedure and the type of blood, some patients, often young women, may experience a reflexive decrease in blood pressure, which is manifested by darkening of the eyes and dizziness. These symptoms go away on their own within a few minutes and do not pose a health hazard.

In the vast majority of cases, negative aspects during treatment with leeches arise in the absence of explanatory work among hirudotherapists among their patients, which leads to their inadequate reaction to the safe side effects of therapy. Bleeding is usually assessed as a consequence of trauma to a large vessel, and, accordingly, requiring urgent surgical intervention. A prefix reaction can be regarded as an infectious purulent process of the subcutaneous tissue or an allergy to a leech bite.

Hirudotherapy - treatment with leeches

What leeches are used for hirudotherapy?

Indications for hirudotherapy

The effect of hirudotherapy on the human body

Leeches placed on the body at the right points have the following types of therapeutic effects on the human body:

• Reflexogenic – in this sense, hirudotherapy is similar to acupuncture. Leeches land on biologically active points associated with certain organs and systems, and they do this consciously. And biting the skin and sucking blood has a much more pronounced stimulating effect on the active point than placing needles using the su-jok or zhen-ju method;
• Bleeding - one leech sucks out from 5 to 10 ml of blood in one procedure, depending on the duration of the session and the size of the worm, and bleeding from the wound continues for another 6-24 hours after removing the leech, since its injected substances interfere with blood clotting. Thus, congestion is effectively relieved and small vessels compressed by edema and clogged with blood clots are unblocked;
• Decongestive – the leech enzyme hyaluronidase opens drainage pathways and promotes active lymph flow in diseased tissues and organs, due to the breakdown of hyaluronic acid and resistance to human heparin. Thus, during the hirudotherapy procedure, the permeability of cell membranes greatly increases and the deepest drainage effect is achieved;
• Anticoagulant - another important leech enzyme, hirudin, normalizes blood clotting, resists the formation of blood clots, provides an anti-ischemic effect and promotes cell saturation with oxygen. But it is cellular hypoxia that is the main cause of all non-inflammatory pathologies, including oncology;
• Immunostimulating - local effect is achieved due to bacteria living in the digestive tract of leeches, which penetrates the wound and causes an immune response in a person. The number of lymphocytes increases, macrophages are activated and the body’s defenses are strengthened;
• Hypotensive - active lymph flow, elimination of edema, release of blocked vessels and capillaries, combined with an actual decrease in the amount of blood as a result of suction, leads to a natural decrease in blood pressure;
• Anti-inflammatory - leeches not only help immune cells cope with microbes and bacteria, promoting the synthesis of interleukins and removing histohematic barriers, but also release substances into the blood that are similar in their action to antibiotics and destroy pathogens right at the site of the leech;
• Painkiller - the leech injects substances into the wound that act as a local analgesic, and also increase the level of endorphin and reduce the level of bradykinin. Thus, hirudotherapy can help cope with muscle, joint and headaches;
• Anti-sclerotic - substances secreted by the leech accelerate the breakdown of fats, normalize the lipid balance of the blood and help reduce the level of LDL (“bad” cholesterol). Therefore, hirudotherapy is indicated for obesity and vascular atherosclerosis;
• Regenerating – the hirudotherapy procedure activates cellular regeneration processes, which promotes a speedy recovery after injuries to soft tissues and joints;
• Neurotrophic - substances contained in the saliva of leeches support the viability of neurons, stimulate their development and activity, and therefore help the functioning of the brain and strengthen the nervous system as a whole.

The saliva of medicinal leeches contains the following biologically active substances:

• Hirudin;
• Inhibitors of plasmin, trypsin, alpha-chymotrypsin, chymazin, elastase, subtilisin, cathepsin, kallikrinin, neutral granulocyte proteases and blood clotting factor 10;
• Enzymes hyaluronidase, apyrase, destabilase, collagenase, cholesterol esterase, triglycerindase;
• Prostanoids, antihistamines, analgesics and many others.

What leeches are used for hirudotherapy

More than four hundred species of these annelids are found in nature: from the tiniest, a few millimeters long, to the huge forty-centimeter giants. But only the medical leech (Hirudo medicinalis) and its three subspecies are used for medicinal purposes. They are grown in laboratory conditions and sold through the pharmacy chain.

Indications for hirudotherapy

You need to start treatment with leeches with an examination and consultation with a doctor, since this technique is not always relevant and has a number of contraindications. A qualified hirudotherapist, having your medical record and test results in hand, will be able to determine exactly whether leeches will help you, where, in what quantity and for how long to place them, and how many sessions need to be performed. Patients with serious illnesses or injuries are recommended to undergo procedures in a hospital, under the supervision of a physician, since undesirable effects and complications may occur during the session.

• Hypertension, migraine, chronic headaches and menopausal hot flashes - leeches are placed vertically on the mastoid area behind the ears, as far as possible from the veins passing nearby;
• Thrombosis, thrombophlebitis and varicose veins - leeches are placed directly above the diseased vein or venous node, unless the skin in this place is too thin - then the leeches should be placed nearby, at a distance of 1 cm, on both sides of the diseased vein;
• Local inflammatory processes, injuries, bruises, swelling, hematomas - directly at the site of inflammation and around it;
• Diseases of the liver and biliary tract - leeches are placed on the tailbone and in the area of ​​the right hypochondrium;
• Kidney failure and nephritis - just above the lower back;
• Nail felon, furunculosis and other suppurations - next to the lesion, in the most painful area.

You can carry out home hirudotherapy procedures for alcoholism, loss of strength, chronic fatigue, as well as to speed up rehabilitation after injuries and operations, including heart surgery, but before this a thorough examination and consultation with a doctor is required.

List of diseases that can be treated to one degree or another with leeches:

• Pulmonary ailments – bronchial asthma, chronic obstructive bronchitis, pleurisy, pneumonia, tuberculosis;
• Skin lesions – psoriasis, neurodermatitis, eczema, alopecia, acne, rosacea, pyoderma, furunculosis;
• Diseases of the cardiovascular system - angina pectoris, ischemia, hypertension, atherosclerosis, varicose veins, thrombophlebitis, vegetative-vascular dystonia;
• Pathologies of the gastrointestinal tract - gastritis, gastroduodenitis, cholecystitis, pancreatitis, cirrhosis and fatty liver hepatosis, enterocolitis, gastric ulcer;
• Diseases of the kidneys and urinary tract – pyelonephritis, urolithiasis, cystitis, chronic renal failure;
• Women's diseases - fibroids and cervical erosion, endometriosis, ovarian dysfunction and cysts, PMS and severe menopause, secondary infertility, obstruction of the fallopian tubes, adhesions in the pelvis, mastopathy;
• Male diseases - chronic prostatitis, prostate adenoma, erectile dysfunction and impotence;
• Diseases of the endocrine system – diabetes mellitus, obesity, gout, thyroid cysts, adrenal gland disorders;
• Neurological problems - radiculitis, osteochondrosis, hernias of the spine and joints, paresis and paralysis, increased intracranial pressure, migraines, sleep disorders;
• Diseases of the ENT organs - acoustic neuritis, sinusitis, chronic rhinitis and otitis media;
• Injuries – bruises, fractures, dislocations, hematomas;
• Cosmetic defects - cellulite, wrinkles, acne, rosacea, sagging skin.

Hirudotherapy should not be considered as an independent and only method of treatment; it is much more effective to combine treatment with leeches and acupuncture, physiotherapy, homeopathy and traditional drug therapy. Moreover, the effect of the drugs can be significantly enhanced if a leech is placed at the site of the subcutaneous injection.

Treatment with leeches at home

Anyone can perform hirudotherapy at home; there is nothing complicated about it. But before starting treatment, you need to consult a doctor and determine the exact number of leeches, placement location and session time.

• Skin preparation. Wash the treatment area clean with baby soap and rub it vigorously with dry gauze until slightly red to stimulate the appetite of leeches, and do not use cosmetics with strong odors for washing - this will repel them.
• Setting up leeches. Take the leech using a clean vial or test tube and gently move it with the front suction cup to the desired point. If the leech does not want to bite, take another one, or try to lubricate the skin with sweet water, or lightly prick it with a sterile needle so that blood comes out. When placing leeches on active points using the hirudoreflexotherapy method, piercing is mandatory.
• The process of hemorrhage. At the moment of biting the skin (1.5-2 mm in depth), a slight burning sensation appears, which disappears within seconds as soon as the analgesics from the salivary glands take effect. The leech is sucked on by both suction cups and stays on the skin on its own, so the bubble can be removed. If it reluctantly sucks blood (wavy movements are almost invisible on the body), you need to moisten your finger in warm water and carefully stroke the leech from top to bottom along the back.
• Completion of the procedure. After a minute, the leech will be saturated and fall off on its own, but if, according to indications, the patient needs a shorter session (15-25 minutes, less is pointless), you need to remove the attached leech. To do this, simply bring a cotton swab dipped in any aggressive-smelling liquid to the front suction cup - alcohol, vinegar, iodine, ammonia. If this does not help, you can fumigate the leech with cigarette smoke. It is strictly forbidden to pull, cut or pick it out - any violent actions only cause the leech to bite into the skin more strongly.
• The period after the session. The wound, which is shaped like a three-rayed star, will continue to bleed slightly for 6 to 24 hours. This is normal, and even useful. Simply change sterile swabs or dressings. Under no circumstances should you disinfect or lubricate the bite area with anything. A small scar will completely disappear in 2-3 weeks.
• Disposal of leeches. Fed leeches should be destroyed by placing them in a container with chloramine. Even if they are not completely saturated, transferring to another patient a few months later can cause infection with the same pathogens that were in the blood of the first patient (staphylococcus, tuberculosis, HIV and many others).

On average, one treatment session takes from two to five leeches, less often - ten. It is not recommended to place more than four pieces on the head area. Before starting the hirudotherapy procedure, you can make subcutaneous injections of medicinal drugs so that during the session their entry into the blood and distribution throughout the body will accelerate. And after such a procedure, the blood sucked by the leeches, and they themselves can be used as raw materials for a therapeutic mask.

How to properly keep leeches

The very idea of ​​keeping leeches at home looks dubious, since even if they are used to treat the same patient, you will have to wait at least a year and a half until they get hungry again. However, if the procedures are carried out regularly over many years, you can keep several containers at home and mark them with the dates of the last use of leeches.

Side effects and complications of hirudotherapy

Adverse reactions to treatment with leeches are rare, here is a list of possible complications:

• Lymphadenitis – inflammation and enlargement of the lymph nodes, as a result of too active work. They usually go away on their own in a couple of weeks, but if lymphadenitis is accompanied by fever and pain, you need to seek help from a doctor - you may need antibiotics;
• Local allergic reactions - swelling, pain and itching in the area where leeches are placed, wounds that do not heal for a long time. This side effect is easily relieved by taking antihistamines;
• Common allergic reactions are rash, hives, difficulty breathing, and in severe cases, angioedema and anaphylactic shock. Urgent help is needed, and further treatment with leeches cannot be carried out;
• Darkening of the skin and pronounced scars - sometimes the skin pigmentation changes at the site of the bite, then you have to resort to vacuum therapy or injections of autologous blood;
• Prolonged bleeding may indicate hemophilia, a bleeding disorder. Such patients are not recommended to resort to hirudotherapy in the future;
• Massive hematomas are almost always the result of improper placement of leeches, too close to large veins.

Contraindications to hirudotherapy

There are diseases and conditions for which treatment with leeches is contraindicated:

Tendency to allergic reactions and a history of angioedema or anaphylactic shock;

Acute infectious diseases accompanied by fever;

Severe immunodeficiency conditions, including AIDS;

Poisoning of the body with poisons and heavy metals;

Some cancers (consultation with an oncologist is required).

The largest medical portal dedicated to damage to the human body

Question

Hello. After a car accident, my lower leg was broken and my knee was severely bruised. They put a cast on and treated me with medication, but my knee felt like an inflated balloon. Although there was no fracture in the joint, there was a hematoma, the swelling did not decrease, but increased even more, and the pain intensified. I was advised to undergo leech treatment sessions. How do they help with fractures and bruises? Will the swelling and pain go away?

Answer

Hello. If there is no pathological blood clotting at the site of a fracture or bruise of the joint with damage to soft tissues, treatment with leeches can be carried out with a cast applied. In these cases, leeches are placed locally, in the vascular zones closest to the injured joints or bones. First, 1-2 sessions of hirudotherapy are carried out in the liver area and 3-4 leeches are used for this. The swelling will subside, the hematoma will resolve, and the bruises will disappear after 4-5 sessions. Hirudotherapy can also be performed after the cast is removed.

Why is a leech useful?

Hirudotherapy is known from the Bible and the Koran, wall frescoes of Egyptian tombs, and medical collections of peoples around the world. Treatment technologies were described by Hippocrates and Pliny. The popularity of hirudotherapy has increased since the mid-18th century and has not decreased in our time thanks to the discovery of a substance in leech saliva - hirudin, which prevents blood clotting and more than 100 enzymes.

The round body of the annelid worm has 2 suckers. The three jaws of the front sucker of the small creature have about 270 teeth, with which it saws the skin to a depth of 1.5 m. During the first 5 minutes, the individual bites through the skin, then injects salivary enzymes, then sucks blood.

During one session, an annelid can suck out 5-15 ml of blood and increase its size by 9 times. Of the 400 species, only 2 types of individuals are used: medicinal and pharmaceutical. Usually up to 3-7 leeches are applied to the skin at the same time. Pharmacy specimens are considered sterile; they do not transmit infection. After use they are destroyed.

When using hirudotherapy, the victim receives the following therapeutic effect for fractures or bruises of bones:

• reflex, like acupuncture, since leeches bite the skin only in the area of ​​reflex biologically active points;
• biological - when bitten, the worm injects more than 100 useful biological substances along with saliva;
• mechanical effect - when a bite occurs, blood flow increases, bad blood is sucked out, and enriched blood delivers useful substances, microelements and oxygen to the problem area.

The saliva of leeches is saturated with the following basic substances that enter the human blood:

• hyaluronidase - an enzyme that promotes the hydrolysis of hyaluronic acids, which make up connective tissue. They activate the resorption of hematomas, bruises, adhesions, scars, and reduce swelling;
• destabilase – a unique enzyme that breaks down the bonds of proteins in blood clots and promotes their resorption;
• hirudin – a natural protein that prevents pathological blood clotting. It relieves inflammation and pain, eliminates thrombosis;
• eglins - groups of proteins that eliminate inflammatory enzymes at the site of injury, accelerating metabolic processes;
• a histamine-like substance that accelerates the flow of bad blood to the site of the worm;
• pseudohirudin with a different amino acid composition from hirudin. Substances such as leasing, glutamic acid and tyrosine are present in other proportions. Scientists have not yet fully studied the area of ​​​​its influence and effect;
• bdellins – natural proteins that have anti-inflammatory, anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects;
• destabilase complex - enzymes in the saliva of the glands of an individual that block platelet-vascular links. This prevents blood from clotting pathologically and prevents thrombus formation.

Hirudotherapy is contraindicated for pregnant women, in the presence of hemophilia, during treatment with drugs that prevent blood clotting, low blood pressure, and certain age-related characteristics.

Important. After the hirudotherapy procedure, rest and rest of the injured limb (area) is necessary to prevent bleeding of the wounds.

Conclusion. In case of injuries and fractures of bone tissue, recovery occurs faster: the healing of broken bones accelerates, the formation of callus and its further resorption without compromising the integrity of the fused bone fragments. Metabolic processes and immunity increase.