Treatment with leeches. Hirudotherapy: placing leeches at home, what it treats, pros and cons of whether treatment with leeches

The method of hirudotherapy (treatment with leeches) is very ancient; Hippocrates used it in his practice. However, even in our time, many patients turn to treatment with leeches, and hirudotherapy rooms appear.

Let's find out what diseases their use is indicated for and what is the principle of operation of this method?

What diseases are effectively treated with leeches?

Treatment with leeches gives good results for those diseases in which blood circulation is impaired, where blood stagnation and vascular sclerosis are observed. Leeches have a good effect on the condition of the blood vessels of the head and small pelvis. They are often used for hypertension, thrombophlebitis, constipation, excess weight, heart failure and many, many other diseases. Correctly placed leeches can improve vision.

They affect connective tissue. And if, say, you have a rupture of nerve fiber and blood vessels as a result of a fracture, a leech will help them heal. Moreover, if a person’s ear is suddenly torn off, then the only remedy that can help regrow it without delay is a leech. It also dissolves fresh scar tissue until it is completely invisible. Unless, of course, the scar is not old yet and has not become rough. American specialists use this ability of leeches in cosmetic surgery, placing them around a freshly formed suture.

Leeches can be and are placed on any area of ​​the body. In case of pathology, in the nose, and in the mouth, and in the corners of the eyes (but not in the eye itself, of course), in the perineum and even in the vagina. This, of course, is done by specialists. Before the procedure, the patient undergoes a medical examination to take into account his particular characteristics and special training. In particular, for hypertension, a special abdominal massage is performed. After all, in a person, all internal organs are interconnected. Of course, if a person has a sore shoulder or knee, that is, some peripheral organ, leeches can be applied without special preparation.

What is the therapeutic effect of hirudotherapy?

The leech is known to suck blood. But that is not its main therapeutic effect. Try simple bloodletting, you won’t achieve a comparable effect. The whole point is in that substance - hirudin, which the leech regurgitates into the wound. A total of 50 components of active substances come from the leech. This is its main value. With its enzymes, first of all, it anesthetizes the wound and increases blood flow. If you cut a sucked leech and apply its blood to a sore spot, the healing effect is obvious. This blood is well absorbed, and leech enzymes enter the body with it. Some medicinal properties of the leech are well known and their mechanism has been studied. And some are known, but little studied. In some cases, placing leeches can lead to unexpected reactions.

Sometimes placing leeches in large numbers (15-20 pieces) can cause fillings to be ejected from the teeth. Not necessarily, but maybe. Sometimes allergies and swelling are observed. This picture is possible. Today, say, a woman was given leeches, and the next day she went to dye her hair. The dye doesn't apply, her hair is piebald, like Kisa Vorobyaninov's. And so far there is no reasonable explanation for this. In short, you need to use leech treatment with great caution and under the supervision of a specialist, and you need to be aware that leeches can help or they can harm.

Hirudotherapy indications and contraindications

Those who decide to use leeches on their own should first be sure to read one or two popular brochures on hirudotherapy. They are inexpensive and available. And be sure to consult a doctor.

Of course, negative reactions are not that common. But we must not forget about them. Particular care must be taken if you have diabetes. After all, a leech cuts the skin, just like a triangular bayonet. And this wound in a diabetic can be very difficult to heal. Here it would be good to rely on the doctor’s discretion - how much hirudotherapy is possible and how impossible.

When a hypertensive patient applies leeches, the blood pressure decreases in 90% of patients. The person rejoices and stops taking the prescribed medications. And after a day or two, the pressure, according to the law of the pendulum, flies up, higher than before. Therefore, you should not stop taking medications for hypertension under any circumstances. You can only reduce the dosage by a quarter or half if the pressure has dropped too much.

We must not forget that something cannot be completely cured with leeches. They are good in complex therapy, they relieve, but do not cure. A person must approach the use of hirudotherapy independently creatively, carefully listening to the advice of doctors, smart books, and his own body.

Hirudotherapy at home

The placement of a leech should begin with an enema. It is necessary to rinse the intestines so that the skin does not itch. You can place different numbers of leeches at the same time.

How often and for how long occupational therapy sessions can be performed is again prescribed by the doctor. For one patient every day, for another - every other day, or even once a week. And the duration of the course is also determined by the doctor.

After placing the leeches, traces of the wounds they inflict remain for a long time. Leeches, by the way, stick better where the body temperature is higher, where help is needed. Wounds from leeches are not cauterized by anything. Still, bleeding will last from 6 to 24 hours, depending on blood clotting. A more “bloody” appearance of leeches occurs on the full moon, also during menstruation. When the leech falls off, the wound should usually be washed with pharmaceutical hydrogen peroxide and bandaged tightly. If you need to change the bandage, use hydrogen peroxide again.

And one more thing - we draw your attention to the fact that a used leech restores its hirudin after 1-2 months, the leech must starve, so it is not recommended to reuse the leech.

Based on materials from print media

Treatment with leeches(hirudotherapy, bdellotherapy) is a method of treating various diseases using medical leech.

In this article I will talk about my experience of treatment with leeches and its results.

In addition to my review (and I treated varicose veins with leeches), I will also talk in general about hirudotherapy: about the indications and contraindications of treatment with leeches, about the peculiarities of placing leeches: how many and in what places they are placed, about the health benefits of leeches, and so on and so forth . However, if any of this is not interesting to you, then you can immediately go to the section of this article that interests you:

Benefits of leeches

ABOUT benefits of leeches a lot has been written. The therapeutic effects of their use begin with the obvious - this is an increase in blood supply to the area of ​​the body where the leeches were placed, as well as organs located in the area of ​​this area or closely connected with it by blood vessels, and the elimination of venous congestion. In addition, when a leech bites, substances that have an anti-inflammatory and analgesic effect enter the bloodstream. All this leads to improved blood microcirculation, a decrease in swelling or even complete subsidence of edema, a reduction in the likelihood of blood clots, as well as the destruction of existing ones.

What else are leeches useful for? According to Wikipedia, hirudotherapy has more than 30 different healing effects on the body, of which the most important (in addition to those already mentioned):

• Reduced blood clotting
• Improving the supply of tissues and organs with both the blood itself and the oxygen it brings
• Reduction (normalization) of blood pressure
• Good drainage effect (outflow of all sorts of nasty things from places of inflammation)
• General reflex effect
• Improving neuromuscular impulse transmission
• Breakdown of fat deposits
• Improving the permeability of the vascular wall
• Destroying microorganisms that caused the inflammatory process (that is, it acts as an antibiotic)
• Stimulation of the immune system, generally increasing and strengthening the immune system

Thus, the benefits of leeches are very, very extensive; there are plenty of positive health effects of hirudotherapy treatment. What diseases are treated with leeches?

What do leeches treat? Indications for hirudotherapy

A completely unambiguous answer to the question “ What do leeches treat?" gives V.A. Savinov (a certain famous folk healer) used the title of his book - “ Leech cures everything" However, whether this is true or not, I don’t know. I had the opportunity to leaf through this book several times while I was waiting for my turn at the hirudotherapy clinic. In it, the author cites cases of various diseases and ailments with which people came to him, and successful experience in curing them. I couldn’t find where you can download this book for free, search on the Internet, or buy it somewhere.

Personally, I decided to conduct a course of hirudotherapy with the aim of treatment of varicose veins. I have already heard a lot about the benefits of leeches for varicose veins. Accordingly, leeches also help with all other problems with veins - thrombophlebitis, hemorrhoids, etc. However, at the hirudotherapy clinic I went to, people came in with different problems. And judging by what I heard, they also had some positive changes. Some, by the way, use leeches for weight loss. But in any case, about specific indications for hirudotherapy, and even more so about whether any specific disease of yours can be treated with leeches or not - it is better to find out about this in your hirudotherapy clinic, from a hirudotherapy doctor, and not from someone on the Internet.

Contraindications to hirudotherapy

The very first contraindication to treatment with leeches- this, of course, is an allergy to their secretion, that is, the saliva they secrete, or to something specific in its composition. How it manifests itself allergy to leeches, I don’t know (thank God I didn’t encounter this). If you're interested, Google it.

Of course you can't go through hirudotherapy course, if you have a blood clotting disorder, especially if you suffer from hemophilia, since leech saliva works in such a way that it prevents blood from clotting, and bleeding (with normal clotting) can continue for up to a day. And with blood clotting disorders, who knows how it could all end. Other contraindications to hirudotherapy:

• Oncological diseases
• Severe anemia
• Persistent hypotension (severely low blood pressure)
• Hemorrhagic diathesis
• Menstruation, PMS, pregnancy

Perhaps some of the above contraindications are not strict, and it all depends on the individual case. There may also be restrictions on treatment with leeches for diabetes, some other body conditions or diseases. But again, it’s best to learn all this from an experienced specialist.

Age, of course, also plays a role, and leeches are administered to older people with great care.

Is it possible to get infected from leeches?

Where are leeches placed? Places and points of placement of leeches

Leech placement points vary depending on the type of disease or characteristics of concerns with which a person comes to a hirudotherapist. But there are still basic places and points where leeches are placed, regardless of the type of disease - so to speak, for “warming up” and general preparation of the body. In the clinic where I took a course of leeches, the sequence was as follows:

• First session: leeches on the liver— they placed 3 pieces right along it.
• Second session: leeches on the stomach- 2 in the lower abdomen: one on the left, the other on the right, and 2 at the top of the abdomen: also one on the left, the other on the right, and 1 leech at the top of the abdomen in the middle.
• Third session: leeches on the tailbone(sacrum) - 3 pieces, and 2 leeches on the back(namely on the kidneys- one for each).
• From the fourth procedure until the end of the course, leeches are placed specifically on those places and points that are associated with the existing disease.

The above leech placement scheme was used in the hirudotherapy clinic where I was treated. I don’t know how widespread and universal this scheme is. But the hirudotherapist who carried out the treatment clearly had considerable experience, and she is also a member of the association of hirudotherapists, so it seemed to me that she knew her stuff.

Of course, leeches are used not only for medicinal purposes, but also for cosmetic purposes. So, some people put leeches on their face to rejuvenate it. I read that this actually has a rejuvenating effect, but some people have scars from leech bites that never go away completely. In this case, smaller leeches are used for the face than for other parts of the body, so that the wounds are smaller.

They also put leeches behind the ears- this is done both for cosmetology purposes and to improve blood supply to the brain, eliminate blood stagnation in the head - for the same purpose they usually put leeches on the neck in the area of ​​the spine.

How many leeches to place per session

During the first hirudotherapy procedure, it is necessary to determine how a person tolerates leech bites (some are allergic to leech secretions), so they usually start with a small amount - in my case, for the first time it was 3 pieces, and delivered them to me to the liver. From the second session until the end of the course they put on 5 items.

How many leeches can you place in principle? I read that leeches are applied in larger quantities than 5 - perhaps it depends on the disease, on the specific case, and perhaps on the views of the doctor himself performing the procedure.

What is the duration of sessions and hirudotherapy treatment in general?

As for the duration of the course, my doctor recommended 10-12 procedures, maximum 15 , and after that take a break (if treatment is still necessary) for two months. The indicated number of procedures is universal and does not depend on the type of disease. I finally passed 11 hirudotherapy sessions.

Each hirudotherapy session lasted 30-50 minutes, and other patients had the same session duration. The leeches continued to be kept on the body until they clearly got drunk, which is why they became fat. Some fell off on their own during the procedure, having sucked in plenty of blood.

Treatment with leeches at home

It’s up to you, of course, and in order to save money, and also if you have the opportunity to buy leeches, you can treatment with leeches at home. But still, I would not recommend doing this.

Of course, if you've passed hirudotherapy training courses If you have really learned this craft well, then you can put leeches on yourself, although there will be difficulties with placing them on your back. But if you just read about hirudotherapy, even if you found the right diagrams with points for placing leeches, studied the whole process from start to finish, I still think it’s better not to do this. But, as you know...

Bleeding and blood after leeches

Bleeding after leeches there were different intensities. And this depended not only on the area where the leeches were placed, but also on specific places, that is, the leeches could be quite close to each other, but the bleeding from the wounds was of varying intensity. The largest blood losses I experienced were when applying leeches. on the sacrum(coccyx) and some areas calf muscle(this was already when I was directly dealing with varicose veins).

Bleeding, especially profuse bleeding, is, of course, an unpleasant moment in hirudotherapy and its slight disadvantage, especially in situations where the blood goes beyond the dressing. During the course of leeches, my clothes, bedding, and even the chair at my desk, which once leaked from my tailbone, were stained with blood more than once. :)

Blood after leeches should be bright red, if there is no stagnation, and at the same time liquid. If the blood is thick and dark, it means there is blood stagnation, and it is very good that you took up leeches in the first place, since it is thanks to them that the stagnation will be eliminated. It happens that the stagnation is very strong and the blood comes out not just thick, but like a dense jelly-like mass. This happened to me too, but fortunately, not in such volumes as it happens and as I have seen a couple of times in others. But, procedure after procedure, the blood normalizes and takes on a healthy bright red appearance, congestion is eliminated, the blood flows thin, and everyone is happy. :)

By the way, I read that leeches actually suck not blood, but lymph, into which blood enters from the capillaries.

How to care for wounds after a hirudotherapy session

In general, there are different opinions on the Internet on this matter. Many people write that they need to smear the wounds with something, but I didn’t treat them with anything at all.

In the clinic where I was treated, the system was as follows: they put leeches, removed them, applied a cotton pad to each bite, then a feminine pad on top, and covered everything with a sticky bandage. In the evening it was only necessary to bandage it, again without any treatment. The next morning, shower, and then, if the bleeding still continues, apply a new dressing. All. Treatment with hydrogen peroxide or something else is only optional, apparently. I assumed that leech saliva itself has an antiseptic effect, so I didn’t apply anything.

Moreover, you should not smear anything on the wounds after leeches while the blood is flowing. That is, you need to let the blood flow until it stops on its own.

I also had reaction to leeches as skin redness in the area of ​​the bites. And all this was sometimes accompanied by quite severe itching. If you have one too itching after leeches, scratch more carefully - do not touch the wounds themselves, so as not to pick them off. You can probably smear the irritated areas with something so that the itching is felt less and the redness of the skin goes away faster, but I didn’t smear anything, I endured it.

Leech bites usually itch on the second or third day after the procedure, then the itching and redness disappear.

Condition after a hirudotherapy session

What can I say about the condition after the hirudotherapy session? Immediately on the day of the procedure, weakness and apathy most often set in. I wanted nothing more than to lie there and be dumb. :) In such cases, the hirudotherapist recommended restoring the supply of iron, which decreased in the body with blood loss, and in general, this is what caused the bad condition to happen. I myself began to be drawn to carrots and dried apricots— they are full of iron. The doctor herself recommended taking the drug “Fenuls” - in fact, it is iron. And in general, on the day of the leech procedure, it is recommended to reduce activity, move less and rest more.

But the next day, and sometimes one or two more, a completely opposite state arose - lightness in the body and in the head, clarity of thoughts, good mood. After the first procedures this was felt most vividly, then it was not so vivid (maybe because it became habitual).

Leech marks (wounds, scars)

Wounds after leeches- this, of course, is a minus of hirudotherapy, and even more so the scars that may subsequently remain. The doctor told me that after a leech bite and complete healing of the wound, a small whitish, barely noticeable dot remains - actually, a scar. But some people have no traces of leeches at all.

Since I completed the course of hirudotherapy not so long ago - a couple of months ago, some of my wounds are still red - those on my legs. Those in the liver and abdomen area have already completely healed, and I can state that they are not noticeable at all, even if you look closely - in general, I simply could not detect the bite sites. However, I came across information that someone had scars after leeches, and apparently quite noticeable ones. Well, or someone is just too suspicious. :)

Treatment of varicose veins with leeches. Review

In general, fortunately, these horrors passed me by. There were no allergies, no negative reactions to leech bites, and the treatment went smoothly. What about the results?

Leech treatment for my varicose veins ended in two ways. More precisely, I don’t even understand myself whether everything has only gotten better, or in some ways a little worse. In general, those dilated veins that were visible disappeared (by the way, they put leeches in the area of ​​​​the calf muscle). In addition to the dilated veins, I also had long-standing swelling in that leg that caused my right leg to be slightly thicker from the lower calf to the shin than my left leg. So, this swelling has completely gone down. But some time after it went away (after finishing the course of leeches), a couple of veins appeared in the place where it was. At the same time, I cannot say that these veins are painfully dilated - they seem to be just veins. It seems to me that the point here is that the blood flow improved after the leeches, so blood began to flow through these veins more actively, and they increased accordingly. But this, of course, is just my speculation. It’s hard to say how it really is.

But in the lower part of the calf muscle a tangle of dilated veins became noticeable. But again, I don’t understand whether it appeared as a result of the course of hirudotherapy, or whether it was there, but simply became more noticeable after the swelling went down. By the way, this is the place where I had the most leeches. In general, I am at a loss about this.

I will add that during the course of hirudotherapy, the existing swelling after leeches increased for a couple of days, but some time after the end of the course it went away completely.

What I can say with absolute certainty is that the sensations in my legs have become better. Before, I didn’t particularly complain about any unpleasant sensations in my legs, for which, by the way, thanks to the period of raw food diet and the work on Turbo-Suslik (), but after treating my legs with leeches, they became noticeably lighter or something.

In general, I will not definitely recommend treating varicose veins with leeches. It's still an individual matter. If you're interested, try it, of course. Leeches for varicose veins can really help a little. But they are unlikely to be able to completely cure varicose veins. That is, in any case, the effect of hirudotherapy in terms of treating varicose veins is temporary, it simply allows you to reduce symptoms for some time. So then, in some way you will have to relieve the symptoms of varicose veins again - with leeches or something else. Varicose veins can be cured, I think, only with an integrated approach to health - so serious that the body is literally transformed. But you can still try leeches - maybe not specifically in relation to the treatment of varicose veins, but at least in general for improves blood flow and blood purification.

I’ll close the topic of hirudotherapy for varicose veins with a couple of rules that you need to follow if you put leeches on feet(taken from a conversation with a hirudotherapist with whom I took a course):

1. Do not place leeches directly on the veins and it’s better not closer than 1 cm to them. If you place a leech on a vein, the vein may rupture, which may even require stitching.
2. You can't put leeches on your feet to the shin area and on everything that is below it (that is, on the foot too). Very often, it is in the area of ​​the lower leg that varicose veins appear, primarily under it on the inside of the leg. But no, you can’t put leeches there! I don't remember the explanation for this. But at a minimum, this should not be done due to the abundance and frequency of veins in this area.
3. It's better not to put leeches directly for swelling— it is optimal to place it above it along the blood flow.

I hope my review of the treatment of varicose veins with leeches was useful to you. However, whatever you take from it, consider this point: I have already suffered vein removal surgery on both legs, I also underwent procedures several times microsclerotherapy(removal of veins using injections), and I managed to become disillusioned with all this, since manifestations of varicose veins arose for me again and again. Hirudotherapy for me was just another way to try to improve the condition of my legs. However, I am not saying that vein removal methods are ineffective or evil - for some they may be the most effective. So just study the topic, think, decide and choose. But still, before resorting to conservative methods of treating varicose veins, it is better, of course, to try something less harsh. It's in my queue turpentine baths according to Zalmanov- Let's see what effect they will have. :)

Treatment of hemorrhoids with leeches. Review

In general, this was not planned by me. I went to the leech specialist specifically for the purpose of treating varicose veins. However, if the result of hirudotherapy in relation to the veins of the legs is still not very clear to me in some ways, then in terms of treatment of hemorrhoids with leeches everything is clear - there is a positive effect, or more precisely, sorry, butt. :)

Leeches for hemorrhoids traditionally placed on 2 areas:

1. On the coccyx (sacrum).
2. Directly around the anus.

Since I did not have a goal to treat hemorrhoids (I am in the initial, not particularly bothersome stage), I did not resort to the second option. They put leeches on my tailbone twice. So, if before the course of hirudotherapy I sometimes had unpleasant sensations in my butt after defecation (about once every couple of weeks), then after the course I completely forgot about them. Therefore, to alleviate hemorrhoids, if you have them, I can recommend hirudotherapy.

Summary of leech treatment

You can try. If you want. If you don’t want to, you don’t have to try. :) I can't really say anything else. But this is what concerns treatment of varicose veins. I just don’t know about the success of treating some other diseases with hirudotherapy - maybe for some diseases it really is a panacea or, at least, a very effective remedy. Then, of course, go ahead, treat yourself with leeches! Well, or again, if you try remedy after remedy to treat some of your illnesses, go for it too. Maybe it will help.

I probably won’t be treated with leeches anymore, at least not in their natural form. Perhaps I will take some kind of leech-based remedy, nothing more. Well, in any case, these are my intentions now.

Before practicing hirudotherapy at home, it is strongly recommended to take several courses from experienced professionals. Of course, you can limit yourself to studying the relevant literature, but it is much more practical to learn from specialists who will share with you the secrets of dealing with these natural healers and show you the right points.

How to properly apply medicinal leeches at home (with video)

Of course, many modern hirudotherapists advise resorting to the services of specialists. And they are somewhat right. In particular, at home you should not place leeches on mucous membranes. But, in general, there is nothing difficult in using leeches independently for treatment. And if you follow our recommendations, everything will work out for you.

Of course, it’s a good idea to get your first experience with leeches in the office of a hirudotherapist. This will give you the opportunity to see how leeches are placed, to learn the techniques and some of the subtleties that are known to the doctor. And then it will be much easier for you to treat yourself with the help of leeches.

Depending on the disease, as well as the characteristics of each person, leeches are placed differently.

To use leeches in home hirudotherapy, it is advisable to study the recommendations of experienced doctors and only then begin self-medication. Hirudotherapy is indeed a very good way to improve your health, but it is also a medicine, and, as you know, reasonable caution should be exercised with medicines. You won’t swallow handfuls of headache pills if you suddenly have a stomach ache, will you? The same is true here: you need to know how to apply leeches at home, where and in what quantity to use these natural healers in order to benefit your body.

If you visit a hirudotherapist at least once, then you will see with your own eyes how a specialist handles leeches and what tools he uses in his work. At the same time, using leeches at home will be somewhat easier.

But you can easily master hirudotherapy on your own, the main thing is to be patient and strictly follow all the recommendations.

When you have purchased leeches, carefully choosing the healthiest and most attractive of them, and brought them home, you can only use hungry and active individuals for treatment. They move quickly in the water, nimble and active. If the leeches are flaccid or have a sticky surface of the skin, they are not suitable for treatment. It is best to put them in a separate jar and monitor their well-being.

As for the patient who is going to resort to treatment with leeches at home, he needs to take a shower before the session. Avoid scented washes - leeches are very sensitive to odors, and are most attracted to the scent of a clean body. To apply leeches at home, both the hirudotherapist and the patient are not recommended to use deodorants and perfumes.

Devices and materials for using leeches at home

Hirudotherapy (treatment with leeches) at home requires not only theoretical knowledge, but also the availability of the necessary materials and devices.

Before treating with leeches at home, prepare the “front of work” for yourself. You may need the following things:

• a test tube or medicine bottle with a narrow neck;
• tweezers;
• hydrogen peroxide;
• a jar of clean water into which you will transplant the used leeches;
• sterile bandage;
• cotton swab.

At least for the first time, it is better to apply medicinal leeches at home with an assistant. Firstly, it is not always convenient to do this on your body. Secondly, no one knows how your body will behave. And leeches are mysterious creatures. So the person next to you will not bother you.

The only thing to remember before using leeches at home is that your assistant should not be too sensitive to faint at the mere sight of these natural healers. Otherwise, instead of helping during a session of home treatment with leeches, you will get unnecessary complications.

How to properly use leeches at home?

First, conduct a hirudotherapy session on another person. Before using leeches at home, place the patient on the bed. Bare the areas of the body on which you will place the specimens. Areas of skin covered with hair are best shaved, as these natural healers prefer smooth skin. Again, let us remind you: shave with unscented baby soap, and rinse your skin thoroughly with water after this procedure.

Before properly placing leeches at home, for more active suction of individuals, rub the areas of the skin on which you will place them: this will increase the temperature, increase blood flow, and the leeches will be more willing to start the “meal”. You can also moisten the patient's skin with sweetened water or glucose solution.

Next, when using leeches at home, carefully pick up the individual by the tail with tweezers and place it in a test tube or bottle. Press the neck of the test tube to the desired place on the skin and wait until the leech attaches.

Having sucked, natural healers will fall off on their own. After setting up leeches at home, fallen off specimens should be carefully placed in a jar of clean water. Apply a sterile napkin to the suction sites, a cotton swab and a bandage on top. Leave the bandage on for at least 12 hours, because after suction, blood may appear - this is normal, and you should not be afraid of this.

You will carry out treatment with leeches at home in approximately the same sequence on your own body, but it is better not to do this alone. A hirudotherapy session can make you feel relaxed and drowsy, but the results will not be very happy: the leeches, having had enough, can simply crawl away in different directions.

It is advisable to re-use leeches at home no earlier than after 5-6 days.

After a hirudotherapy session, itching may appear around the wound. Of course, you shouldn't scratch your skin. You can lubricate itchy areas of the skin with a mixture of ammonia and petroleum jelly in a 1:1 ratio.

When treating with leeches on your own, you usually place from 5 to 7 individuals in one session. In order to enhance the healing effects of hirudotherapy, leeches are placed on acupuncture points.

It should be noted that these mysterious creatures themselves choose the most active points of your body, to which they stick.

What sensations await you? This is a question that many beginning hirudotherapists ask themselves. After all, it would seem, what could be more frightening than putting a bloodsucker on your own body? In fact, nothing particularly terrible awaits you. You may feel a slight burning or itching, but all discomfort will pass in a few minutes. And after the bite, a mark similar to a Mercedes badge will remain on your skin.

A video on how to apply leeches at home clearly demonstrates the process of an independent course of hirudotherapy:

Two methods for treating with leeches at home

There are two ways to be treated with leeches at home: traditional with hemorrhage, or aspiration; newer without hemorrhage, or non-aspiration.

How to properly place leeches at home using the traditional method? In this case, individuals are placed on the skin and removed only when they are satiated, that is, they fall off on their own. This method is more than three thousand years old. It has been used at all times. Modern hirudotherapists also most often resort to this method of placing leeches.

The non-aspiration method was developed by Professor A. S. Abuladze in the middle of the 20th century and consists in not allowing the leech to get enough. As soon as it begins to suck blood, which is noticeable by the movements of its skin, it is removed from the patient's skin. The author of this method believed that a therapeutic effect could be achieved, but no blood loss occurred. Thanks to this, it is possible to use a significantly larger number of leeches during one session. They can be supplied up to 20 pieces or more at a time.

How are leeches removed using the non-aspiration method? Of course, leeches cannot be removed from the patient’s skin. A leech is a delicate creature, and thus you can harm both it and the patient.

When treating with medicinal leeches at home using a non-aspiration method, in order for the individual to fall off the skin, a cotton swab dipped in alcohol, iodine or lightly salted water can be applied to its back.

After a leech bite, a small amount of blood is usually released from the wound. At the same time, the wound can bleed for up to a day and this frightens many patients. There's really nothing wrong with that. With self-treatment using hirudotherapy, residual bleeding is normal. The only thing you need to take care of is the bandage so as not to stain your underwear and clothes with blood. In addition, germs can enter a bleeding wound, so an aseptic dressing should be applied.

You need to apply a cotton swab to the bite site and secure it with an adhesive plaster or apply a bandage.

When the bandage is saturated with blood, another cotton swab is placed on top of it and bandaged again. However, you should not remove the old bandage.

Where to place medicinal leeches at home: treatment plan

Points for placing leeches during hirudotherapy at home are:

• heart area- to cleanse blood vessels;
• liver area- to cleanse the liver;
• limbs- for thrombophlebitis and varicose veins;
• area behind the ears- for heart failure and atherosclerosis;
• back of the head- for hypertension, as well as for general cleansing of blood vessels;
• back- for general cleansing of blood vessels.

To place leeches, you can follow the diagram. Under no circumstances should you place leeches on your own in those places where the veins are located close to the surface of the skin, in particular on the temples, eyelids, and scrotum.

There are several classical schemes for setting leeches at home.

When starting point-by-point treatment with leeches at home, remember some important things. First of all, consult a specialist and clarify your diagnosis. It’s good if you can find a qualified hirudotherapist and find out from him how hirudotherapy is indicated for you. You should not study the symptoms of a particular disease in medical encyclopedias. Even medical students admit that when reading textbooks, they subconsciously “pull the diagnosis by the ear” and look for its confirmation in their own body. Don't harm yourself! So, consult a specialist.

If for some reason it is impossible to undergo leech treatment for the first time under the control and supervision of a qualified hirudotherapist, you need to remember some recommendations.

In particular, with thrombophlebitis, the point where leeches can be placed at home is the area directly above the vein. Avoid thin areas of skin where veins are visible.

The leech can bite through a vein, thereby causing bleeding. For thrombophlebitis, you can also place leeches on both sides of the thrombosed vein in a checkerboard pattern at a distance of 5-6 cm from one another and 1 cm away from the vein.

Where to put leeches at home for hypertension, migraines, headaches and cerebral thrombosis? In this case, hirudotherapy is performed on both sides of the head on the mastoid processes behind the ears, approximately 1 cm away from the ears. It is impossible to place leeches closer, because there are superficial veins near the ear, damage to which can cause bleeding. The lowest point of placement of leeches is located 1 cm above the earlobe. Place the next leech 1.5-2 cm above the first, etc. Also, for these diseases, leeches are sometimes placed on the tailbone, closer to the anus. But under no circumstances should you carry out this operation yourself and do not leave the leech uncontrolled. There have been cases when leeches, having sucked blood, climbed inside the patient.

In case of inflammatory processes, leeches are placed on inflamed areas of the skin or on the projection of the diseased organ.

The points where to place leeches at home during eye floods are the temporal region, and in some cases individuals are placed on the mastoid processes.

For diseases and congestive processes in the gall bladder and liver, leeches can be placed on the area of ​​the right hypochondrium.

When the nerve trunks are inflamed, leeches are placed on the painful area. In case of radiculitis, they are placed on both sides of the spine, and in case of inflammation of the sciatic nerve, they are placed along the course of the nerve.

The point for placing leeches during hirudotherapy at home to treat inflamed processes in the joints is the area directly around the diseased joints.

For skin diseases, the method of placing leeches without bleeding is usually used. Leeches are placed on or around the affected area of ​​skin, allowed to bite through the skin and immediately removed.

The point of hirudotherapy at home in case of myocardial infarction is the area of ​​the heart on the left.

Kidney diseases are treated by placing leeches above the lower back, on the projection of the diseased kidney.

Using medicinal leeches at home for prevention

At home, you can conduct a preventive general health course of hirudotherapy. This is not difficult to do. What to expect from this course? General improvement of the body, activation of the immune system, normalization of metabolism, regardless of the presence of diseases.

You can carry out a wellness course 1-2 times a year at almost any time of the year, but it is best to do it in spring or autumn. It is during these periods that it is easiest to place leeches.

The wellness course will take you about a month, as it consists of 7 hirudotherapy sessions at intervals of 3-4 days. You need to acquire 30-40 healthy, suitable for use hungry leeches. It would be a good idea to use a small glass to set the leeches. At the same time, you will limit the space where leeches can stick, but give them freedom to maneuver, and your nimble “healers” will be able to choose the most effective biologically active point for the bite.

Watch the video “Treatment with leeches at home to prevent diseases”, and then you can start self-therapy:

Hirudotherapy at home: points to set at the 1st session

Leeches are placed on the liver projection area. This zone is located on the right side, slightly below the hypochondrium. Why are leeches placed on the liver in the first session? The liver works around the clock, supplying your body with all the necessary substances, and this biological “factory” should be helped. But this is not the only reason.

Most hirudotherapists recommend first placing leeches on the liver projection area, since in this way it is possible to identify individual intolerance to the active substances secreted by the leech. Placing leeches on the liver projection is also convenient because you can observe their behavior and see what the blood loss will be after a bite, and it will be quite convenient to care for the wound. The last reason is that by placing leeches on the liver area, you thereby normalize the functioning of the liver itself.

Before placing leeches, wipe the area of ​​skin with a cotton or gauze swab moistened with warm water. Transfer leeches (3-4 pieces) into a glass or small jar in advance.

During the first session, it is best to lie on your back. Bring the glass with leeches to the projection of the liver, quickly turn it over and press it tightly to the skin. The edges of the glass must be pressed tightly, otherwise the leeches will try to get out. Hold the glass in this position until the leeches stick to the skin. How to determine this moment? It’s very simple: the leech’s head becomes motionless, and the body pulsates smoothly. This means that the leech has attached itself and started the “meal”. After this, the glass can be carefully removed.

At the first hirudotherapy session, you can remove the leeches earlier, 20 minutes after suction. This is done using a cotton swab soaked in iodine or alcohol. Touch the swab with odorous substances to the head of the leech and hold it for a while. The leech will detach from the skin, then transfer it to a separate glass jar and close it. Treat the wound - wipe the skin around the bite site with a swab dipped in alcohol. After this, lightly moisten the swab with alcohol, apply it to the wound and secure it with a bandage or adhesive plaster. Place a waterproof baby wipe over the cotton swab to protect your clothes from blood.

You can clean, dispose of “fed” leeches, or place them in a separate jar: let them live until they get hungry, until the next use. The water will need to be changed frequently as it becomes dirty quickly. It has been noticed that after the first 2-3 sessions, leeches rarely survive, because a large amount of all kinds of toxins accumulate in the human body, and leeches cannot cope with them. But after the third session, the body becomes much cleaner and healthier and the leeches feel great.

How to be treated with leeches at home: setting scheme for the 2nd and 3rd sessions

The second session of hirudotherapy is carried out 4-5 days after the first, depending on the blood loss after the first session. If the blood has stopped 2-3 hours after a hirudotherapy session, you can have a second session 3-4 days later. If the wounds bled for more than 3 hours, it is better to do this after 5-6 days.

This time, the scheme for placing leeches for treatment at home is transferred to the coccyx area. Here you cannot do without an assistant, because installing them yourself will not be very convenient. Leeches are placed on this zone in the treatment of a number of diseases, in particular hemorrhoids, inflammation of the bladder, and uterus. Usually 2 leeches are placed on the tailbone area for 20-25 minutes. But this time you can leave the leeches until completely saturated. It is more convenient to place leeches when the patient lies on his side or sits. The sequence of actions is the same as during the first session.

In the third session, leeches are placed on the kidney projection area. It is better to place the patient on his stomach. Leeches are placed on the projection of the kidneys on the right and left. Place 3 leeches on each zone and leave until completely saturated until they fall off on their own.

How to properly place leeches at home during the 4th and 5th sessions

During the fourth session, medicinal leeches are placed on the projection of the heart at home. This is done for a number of diseases, such as cardialgia, coronary heart disease, angina pectoris, etc. For prevention, this session is carried out 3-4 days after the kidneys are projected. 3-4 leeches are placed, the patient should lie on his back. Leeches “work” until they are completely saturated.

When placing leeches on the heart area, it may happen that one of the leeches becomes saturated very quickly, after which it falls off to the side, and bleeding appears at the site of the bite. Don't be alarmed: this is completely normal and is related to the patient's individual anatomy. Wipe the bite area and apply a tampon to the bleeding area. Hold it until the increased blood flow stops.

In the fifth session, leeches are placed on the mastoid area behind the ears. They are located closer to the earlobe. 2 leeches are placed behind each ear at a distance of 1-2 cm from the auricle. The patient can sit or lie on his stomach. The session lasts 30-40 minutes until the leeches are completely saturated.

Points where to place leeches at home during the 6th and 7th sessions

The sixth session of placing leeches is carried out on the coccyx and liver area. It is convenient to do this when the patient is sitting or lying on his side. Leeches are placed 3 pieces per zone. The hirudotherapy session continues until the leeches are completely saturated.

Where should you put leeches during home treatment at the final stage?

Men are not given the seventh session, limiting themselves to six sessions. For women, leeches are placed on the projection of the appendages - 3 leeches on the right and left lower abdomen. It is best to conduct the session while lying on your back. The leeches should be completely satiated.

Like many other nuts, the fruits of Juglans regia (walnut) are widely used in both cooking and medicine. Of course, due to the high calorie content...

How often can leeches be applied? A similar question is asked to specialists not only by supporters of the hirudotherapy method, but also by people who for the first time decided to experience the therapeutic effect of these unique living creatures. This article talks about the use of leeches for therapeutic and prophylactic purposes and how their optimal amount required for one session is determined.

Indications for hirudotherapy

Hirudotherapy is one of the most ancient methods of healing the body, which has become quite popular and in demand today. Leeches, which have a multifaceted effect on the human body, are used in almost all areas of medicine, even in the treatment of chronic diseases. These tiny healers not only help relieve the blood flow, but also inject more than one and a half hundred biologically active components into the blood of their “victim”. Among them are anticoagulants, painkillers, histamine-like, antithrombotic, vasodilating and anti-inflammatory substances, lipolytic enzymes that break down fats, etc.

There is a whole list of diseases for the treatment and prevention of which hirudotherapy is indicated:

• atherosclerosis;
• arthrosis;
• arterial hypertension;
• osteochondrosis;
• back pain of various etiologies;
• bronchial asthma;
• varicose veins, thrombophlebitis;
• vegetative-vascular dystonia;
• gynecological pathologies;
• fatty hepatosis;
• lymphostasis;
• migraine;
• skin diseases and cosmetic problems;
• postoperative adhesions, etc.

This is not a complete list. It can be used in combination with other therapeutic techniques or as an independent procedure. When correcting a particular pathological condition, leeches must be applied in strictly defined quantities and only at special points (stimulated during acupuncture), at time intervals established by the rules of the procedure.

At the Yellow Emperor clinic:

We apply an individual approach to all patients.
Request a call and get a free consultation with a specialist!

• How often during the year can leeches be applied?

In the absence of contraindications to treatment, the number of sessions is determined by the hirudotherapist individually for each patient. This takes into account age, gender, constitutional characteristics, immune status, blood pressure, diagnosis, presence of concomitant diseases, as well as individual tolerance of the procedure. Experts advise taking no more than 2-3 courses per year. On average, the duration of one course of treatment is 7–10 procedures.

• How often can you place leeches and how many pieces at a time?

Sessions are held at intervals of 3-4 days, and in some cases a week. For one procedure, from 2 to 8, maximum 10 leeches are used. On average, a course of treatment lasts from 3 weeks to 1.5 months and may require 30–50 animals, or even more.

• How many leeches are used in the first session?

In the first session, hirudologists recommend placing 2–4 individuals. The next time, if necessary, their number increases to 6. Each blood-sucking one absorbs from 5 to 15 milliliters of blood at a time, after which the same amount is released from the wound. Along with the reserve capabilities of the patient’s body, this is also taken into account when determining the required number of leeches. That is why treatment should be trusted to an experienced hirudotherapist who thoroughly knows the intricacies of his craft.

• What are the number and frequency of sessions for chest pain?

For angina pectoris accompanied by intense pain, the first 3–5 procedures are performed daily, then three procedures every other day and another 3–4 once a week. For setting, take 2, then 4 and at the very end 6 leeches.

In all other cases, the frequency of sessions determined by the anatomy and physiology of a particular organ of the human body must be observed. You should also constantly monitor test results, allowing you to evaluate the hirudotherapy being carried out and more accurately determine the duration of the course of treatment.