Hemochromatosis Treatment With Medicine Leaches?

Question

Can hemochromatosis be treat with medicine leaches

Answer 1

Yeah, I mean, what's wrong with periodic phlebotomy? I don't know any physician who prescribes "medicine leaches" for the treatment of haemochromatosis in the modern era.

Answer 2

Nope...leeches are a very poor serious choice of treatments in hemochromatosis
As the previous answerers told you, extracting a pint of blood from you, periodically, and measuring the transferrin and Iron binding capacity of the plasma, will help to control the iron stores (incresed) of hemochromatosis, also commonly called "bronzed diabetes".(Because of the falsely tanned color of the skin, and high blood sugar due to the lesion of the pancreas insulin producing beta cells)
Serious treatments include periodic phlebotomy (extraction of blood from your veins in order to decrease the iron stored in liver and pancreas, and bone marrow), and if the values are high enough, the use of "chelants", or substances that bind the iron, and eliminate it through the urine, such as IV Dextro penicillamine, deferoxamine, IM dimercaprol etc. always measuring your blood levels of ferritin, and the amount excreted in the urine achieved with substances that bind the iron (chelants) to check proper detoxification of your organs of the potentially carcinogenic deposited iron.
Leeches have never been used in serious treatments of hemochromatosis.

Answer 3

Does the medication have an expiration date? If not, I would not take the medication. Most meds have only a year or so before they expire. The meds may still be good after that time or they make start to break down, making their components possibly less effective. If you want a solution until you meet with your doctor try an over the counter solution that I find works. Get Benadryl. It does not have to be brand name. Look for the medicine Diphenhydramine HCl. It is a known sleep aid and should help you until you can meet with you doctor.

Answer 4

Why would you want to? I could take off a pint of blood in twenty or thirty minutes in my office for these patients. It would take a lot of leeches a much longer time to remove that many red blood cells to "leech" iron out of a patient. RC MD

Answer 5

Yes, however these days simple phlebotomy (drawing of the blood) is the preferred treatment.