Common indications for leech therapy Leech medicinal benefits therapy increases of side effects for blood circulation. Therefore, when leeches are applied to areas of the scalp that have become thin or bald, increased blood circulation helps distribute and concentrate nutrients that help strengthen hair follicles. The therapy can help promote hair growth. As with all treatments, results will vary from individual to individual. People suffering from alopecia caused by fungal infections or dandruff can also benefit from the antimicrobial properties inherent in the saliva of leeches. This helps prevent local infection and also helps fight any established infection. Leech therapy as treatment Boils are deep skin infections. The boil starts as a red, painful area and gradually becomes tender and hard. Inflammation occurs and a central "eye" or beak forms, containing pus. 
Pus is a thick, cloudy liquid substance, usually yellowish white in color, that forms in association with inflammation caused by the invasion of the body by infectious microorganisms (e.g., bacteria). Pus is composed of degenerated leukocytes (white blood cells), tissue debris, and living or dead microorganisms. A single leech is usually placed over the eye of the boil to feed directly on the pus. Additional leeches are placed in the area around the boil to improve circulation in the affected area. The combined effect of leeches is to quickly relieve congestion and reduce pressure that causes swelling, tenderness, and pain. Leech therapy side effects Leech therapy on face benefits Lech therapy on face What are leeches used for? Leeches in medicine history 
Leech therapy side effects
Side effects of leech therapy Although generally safe, leeches are living creatures, so there are some potential side effects of leech therapy. Change of positioning "Nurses and doctors need to be taught how to stick leeches and monitor them," said Dr. Rezaee, “because there are different ways to encourage them to attach to the tissue you want and not to the places you don't want." Leeches should also be monitored closely during therapy as they may begin to migrate away from the designated area and need to be repositioned. Risk of infection "Like any medical procedure, leech therapy carries the risk of infection, because leeches are applied to wound sites; Like humans, leeches carry bacteria in their bodies, [so] there is a small risk that patients may be exposed to leech bacteria," explains Dr. Adams. Aeromonas hydrophila infection is a known complication of leech therapy. To prevent this, providers use prophylactic antibiotics to prevent infection when leeches are used. 
Allergic reactions In addition, a small number of patients may find that they are allergic to enzymes in the saliva of leeches; this is a rare complication and usually causes only mild itching or swelling. Prolonged bleeding after leech removal is a rare but possible side effect, although proper medical treatment will usually resolve any ongoing blood loss. In most cases, leech therapy is quite simple and even painless, thanks to the analgesic effect of leech bites. "Leech saliva contains pain-relieving factors, [which] is a protective mechanism for the leech, so the host probably doesn't know it's there," said Dr. Adams. "The biggest challenge for patients and families tends to be the mental aspect of seeing leech on them, which is why education is put forward to make patients more comfortable." So, while you can't forget the leeches are there, you shouldn't expect the leeches to hurt. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for leeches: since they can carry blood-borne pathogens from one patient to another, they cannot be reused. Dr. explained Rezaee that the leeches are slaughtered in the alcohol solution after use. 
Leech therapy on face benefits
3 benefits of leech therapy Medicinal leech therapy (MLT) today is more sophisticated than its ancient uses. This will help improve results in the following situations.
- Improves the results of surgery
The largest and most common use for leech therapy in modern medicine is in surgery. Plastic and reconstructive surgeons rely on leeches from time to time to improve the face surgical benefit results of their patients, especially when performing microsurgery. "When we reattach the small blood vessels [in a skin graft procedure], a small percentage gets blocked in the vein," explains Dr. Rod Rezaee, director of Surgical Oncology and Head and Neck Reconstruction at UH Medical Center. Cleveland. “For the graft to function, blood must enter the graft through the artery and leave the graft through the vein; if a large vein is blocked or congested, the graft can fail." To prevent this venous congestion, leeches can be applied to get blood flowing again and promote soft tissue health as the wound heals. Leeches can be applied to large areas after reattachment or grafting, such as the leg, or after surgical procedures on more delicate areas such as the fingers, scalp, or face. 
"After being applied to the required area, they absorb excess blood, reduce inflammation in the tissues and promote healing by allowing fresh, oxygenated blood to reach the area until normal circulation is restored," says Beatrice Adams, Pharm.D. , critical care clinical pharmacist at Tampa General Hospital.
- Prevents the formation of blood clots
According to a 2013 study in the Indian Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, the protein found in the saliva of leeches, called hirudin, has antithrombotic properties; In other words, it can prevent coagulation or blood clots and treat chronic blood clots. As a result of these same studies, many cardiovascular drugs have been developed using hirudin derivatives and are used to treat patients at risk of serious types of clots, such as pulmonary embolism and deep vein thrombosis.
- Reduces pain in people with osteoarthritis
Other studies, like this one from 2011, also suggest that proteins in the saliva of leeches may have powerful anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving benefits. Trials in patients with osteoarthritis have shown a decrease in pain, as well as a decrease in stiffness and swelling. 
Leech therapy on face
Facial trauma can present challenging reconstructive obstacles to both maintaining tissue viability and restoring cosmetic appearance. Medicinal leech therapy on face may help promote vascular decompression in the setting of venous congestion. A retrospective chart review was performed to identify patients who underwent medicinal leech therapy after venous stasis secondary to complicated facial laceration repair. Three patients were identified; 2 suffered atrial avulsion, while 1 suffered labial avulsion. All patients suffered from venous congestion and underwent medicinal leech therapy for 48 to 72 hours with reduction of edema and stasis. Decompression was successfully achieved without further sequelae at final follow-up. Medicinal leech therapy is an appropriate treatment for venous congestion after traumatic facial soft tissue repair. The authors advocate the use of medicinal leeches to combat venous congestion after repair, especially when arterial inflow remains intact. Background: Medicinal leeches have been shown to be very useful and safe in salvaging compromised tissue from venous outflow, particularly in finger replantation and various forms of flaps. 
Objective: To demonstrate the usefulness of medicinal leeches in the salvage of traumatic soft tissue avulsions that compromise venous flow to major facial structures. Methods: A retrospective review of 4 cases involving the external ear, nose, lips, and scalp in which there was apparent compromise of venous outflow. Medicinal leeches were applied extensively in each of these 4 cases, salvaging each of the partially avulsed areas of soft tissue. Results: Complete or nearly complete recovery of every soft tissue area after using medicinal leeches. Conclusions: Although it is uncommon for partial avulsion of the soft tissues of the face to require therapy with medicinal leeches, situations may occur in which there is adequate arterial flow but insufficient blood flow. venous. In such cases, medicinal leeches can play a very important role in soft tissue recovery. This is particularly important in important structures such as the ear, nose, lips, and eyelids where acute or secondary reconstruction is complicated. 
What are leeches used for?
Not exactly the kind of therapy you'd expect to get at the hospital: a black, slimy, thirsty leech plucked with forceps from a bucket of his brothers and placed directly on your skin. But sometimes, what are leeches used for to the likely dismay of some patients, leeches are, in fact, just what the doctor ordered. "We always have leeches on hand," says Vishal Thanik, a plastic surgeon at Bellevue Hospital in New York City and New York University Langone Medical Center. “If you see a leech, it's crazy. And if you don't have to use it, it's scary. It's like time travel." Vampiric worms have a historic place in medicine. Its earliest recorded therapeutic use dates back to ancient Egyptian treatment for ailments such as nosebleeds and gout (Chinese, Arabic, ancient Greek, and Roman medical records also contain references to leech therapy ). In the following centuries, doctors used the blood-sucking power of leeches in an attempt to cure everything from hemorrhoids to headaches to depression and even deafness. In 19th century Europe, Hirudo medicinalis, the medicinal leech, was so popular that it was almost extinct. But once medicine abandoned the concept that most diseases were caused by excess blood, a theory that often prescribed bloodletting by physicians or their blood-sucking assistants, leech therapy fell into disarray. 
Despite the historical links of leeches to medical quackery, they have their rightful place in modern medicine as a type of reverse transfusion in cases of unbalanced blood circulation. Although ancient physicians thought leeches could cure epilepsy and even large bruises, contemporary use of leeches is mostly limited to microsurgeons reattaching body parts such as fingers, toes, thumb, ears, lips, nose or even pieces of scalp. One of the first times leeches were used in this way was in 1985 on a five-year-old boy whose ear was bitten by a dog. A few days after surgeons sewed the organ together, it "turned black and blue from congestion," according to an account in The New York Times. After unsuccessful attempts to drain the blood-filled ear with anticoagulant agents and minor cuts, Harvard physician Joseph Upton placed two leeches and "the ear immediately perk up." Twenty years later, in 2005, the US Food and Drug Administration approved leeches as medical devices for use in plastic surgery (making them, along with worms, the first living creatures to be cleared by agency for clinical use). 
Leeches in medicine history
Leeches have had a good reputation in the medicine history past where they were used for a variety of ailments, from fever to flatulence. Current scientists have limited their role and leeches are now only used in microsurgery to relieve venous congestion. This study was designed to explore the possibility of reviving leeching therapy, which is still traditionally used as a therapeutic agent in various ailments. Leeches are not a result of medieval times but were used in times before the concept of disease and medicine. The earliest clearly documented record of the use of leeches for healing purposes appears in an Egyptian tomb painting from around 1500 BC. The journey of leech therapy reached its peak in the 17th and 18th centuries AD. C. in Europe, while during the Arab period, leeches were used for medicinal purposes, but only for bloodletting. In the 17th and 18th centuries AD. there was a shortage of leeches in some European countries due to their strict use. 
In the early 20th century AD, when the germ theory was introduced and the medical fraternity believed that all disease was caused by germs and the era of antibacterial therapy gathered, leech therapy was considered a myth. of the past. It was in the 1970s that leech therapy was revived and limited to microsurgery to relieve venous congestion. In the 21st century, there were some studies when leeches were tested on some ailments like arthritis etc. and the EU Food and Drug Authority (FDA) allowed the sale and use of leeches in the EU but limited their use in microsurgery and plastic surgery. only. The purpose of this study is to discover different diseases where the role of leech therapy can be seen, and clinical trials can be started in this direction. Although researchers at the Regional Research Institute of Unani Medicine, Srinagar, Kashmir, India, working under the aegis of the Central Council for Research in Unani Medicine, began clinical trials for leech freezing therapy in 1999, there are some unexplored places where the leech. therapy may be beneficial, and studies need to be continued in other diseases with larger sample sizes.