If someone was bled by a "medicinal" leech, would it leave a recognizable bite mark? Also, where were medicinal leeches traditionally attached?
2007-03-14 13:42:49 · 2 answers · asked by imuneekru 2 in Health ➔ Alternative Medicine
A leech bite would be an oozing red injury about 1/4th of an inch across.
Leeches to have little teeth or cartlege so they can break the skin.
2007-03-15 14:46:51 · answer #1 · answered by Rev. Two Bears 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
A leech doesn't really "bite", but the mark is a round and very red mark, usually not more than 1/2 inch in diameter, and it oozes slightly. Leeches actually suck the capillaries close enough to the surface of the skin to be able to suck the blood out through the pores of the skin. They exude an anticoagulant, a pain killer and an very good antiseptic during the process. Medicinal leeches are placed at the site where you want to re-establish or encourage a blood supply, so the sites vary. If they are used after a hand is rejoined to an arm, for instance, they are usually placed at the finger tips. In more medically crude times, bleeding with leeches was usually done by placing them on the forearms. A laboratory that provides medicinal leeches probably wouldn't supply them to an individual, since they must be raised and kept in very controlled circumstances to be safe. I wouldn't suggest using the ones from the local creek either.
2007-03-14 20:50:54 · answer #2 · answered by The mom 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋