Hirudotherapy: benefit and harm. Who is shown hirudotherapy?

Even before our time, people believed that all diseases associated with stagnation of blood. Therefore, from ailments most often get rid of the method of bloodletting. For this, not only sharp objects were used, but also small worms that lived in water bodies. This method of treatment is now called hirudotherapy. Benefits and harm from treatment with leeches have been tested for centuries.

History of the emergence of hirudotherapy

Treatment with leeches, or hirudotherapy, is an old art. The first mention of such a procedure can be found in the works of ancient Indian and Persian scientists. Roman explorer Pliny the Elder described in detail the magical properties of bloodsucking worms.

A few centuries later, Avicenna in the "Canon of Medical Science," the most famous of his works, carefully considered issues concerning such a method of treatment as hirudotherapy. The benefits and harms of leeches were thoroughly studied by him. It is believed that this is one of the first in-depth studies in the field of treatment by bloodsucking worms.

In the Middle Ages, when the ministers took up medicine, this type of treatment was banned. But they failed to completely eradicate the habit of using leeches in the fight against the disease. In the villages, local healers continued to heal everyone who wished to do so.

In the Renaissance, all physicians returned to hirudotherapy. Soon this method is firmly rooted in the UK. Here they believed that bloodletting could save you from death. People did not doubt that leeches suck off only bad blood, because of which there were health problems.

Today, hirudotherapy is gaining popularity. The benefits and harms of it have already been studied in more detail. Now scientific research laboratories are opened, in which they study the healing powers of these worms, and create plants for their cultivation.

Biological features of leeches

Leeches are a kind of annelid worms. Most of them parasitize on large animals. The body is flattened, without pronounced head part. On the victim's body, they are strengthened with the help of suckers.

In the head part of the trunk is a mouth with three rows of teeth, through which worms pierce the skin for sucking blood. During this leech increase several times. It is enough for these parasites to eat several times a year.

Why are leeches so useful?

In the saliva of these creatures is a component that contains many useful biologically active substances. First of all, they prevent the formation of thrombi, and also have analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties. Since when a bite of saliva worms gets into the blood, then, moving along the blood vessels that pass through the entire body of a person, it is able to positively affect the entire body.

What leeches can heal?

Not all types of leeches have medicinal properties. Ordinary inhabitants of reservoirs are not suitable for medical procedures. This requires special worms grown in the sterility of laboratories, and they can only be used once. The benefits and harm of hirudotherapy depend on the type and correctness of the treatment. Self-medication can cause irreparable harm to health. Non-medicinal leeches can be carriers of various diseases, so you should not do it yourself.

The benefits of hirudotherapy, or Than useful leeches

There are few diseases that can not be treated with leeches. Therefore, the scope of these worms is quite extensive. It has many advantages over other methods. The main ones are absence of negative consequences, side effects and a minimum of contraindications, which is confirmed by specialists. Hirudotherapy is used in dentistry, gynecology, urology, gastroenterology and other fields of medicine. Thanks to leeches, you can easily dissolve stones in the kidneys, cure infertility, improve immunity. In addition, they are able to cope where other methods are powerless.

Judging by the reviews of patients, hirudotherapy in some cases is not used as an independent method of treatment, but in combination with medications. You can take a course of therapy with certain medications and at the same time put leeches. Experts believe that these worms can alleviate painful sensations.

It should be noted that leeches can be used not only to treat certain diseases. They can be used to prevent diseases. Hirudotherapy can improve the condition of even an absolutely healthy person.

Indication for treatment

Many people are interested in the benefits of hirudotherapy and when it should be used. Since this procedure has no side effects, it is indicated to many people with different diseases. It all depends on the individual characteristics of the patient. Best leeches will help people who are predisposed to diseases, which can result in a sedentary lifestyle, improper diet, excessive consumption of sweets. It can be such diseases as hemorrhoids, constipation, thrombophlebitis. In some cases, leeches are the only chance to get rid of these problems. Just a few sessions will help get rid of blood stagnation in the pelvic organs and limbs.

The anti-inflammatory substances that make up the saliva of leeches can help in the treatment of infections. Experts advise to apply hirudotherapy to those who have weak immunity.

It is believed that with the help of these creatures one can treat nerves. Substances that penetrate the human body with the bite of a leech contribute to the growth of nerve cells. This feature helps in the recovery period after a stroke, with multiple sclerosis and other diseases.

Modern specialists have learned to use the magical properties of worms and in cosmetology. Enzymes in the saliva of leeches have rejuvenating properties. In addition, hirudotherapy is used to treat cellulite. There is even a special branch in cosmetology called hirudoplasty. But it is recommended, before starting the procedure, to eliminate digestive problems, otherwise the effect will not last long.

More recently, leeches have been made to eliminate psychological problems. With their help you can get rid of depression, cheer up, eliminate sleep disturbances. Nowadays it is repeatedly proved, what a find is hirudotherapy. Benefits and harms from treatment are checked by a multitude of patients.

Contraindications

Despite a large number of fields of application, like many other methods, hirudotherapy also has contraindications. The benefits and harm that the procedure can bring to the body depend on compliance with the rules. Before you start treatment, you need to consult a doctor. To begin with, they donate blood for analysis, according to which the expert will determine whether the procedure is needed now, or you can postpone it.

The use of leeches is categorically contraindicated in hemophilia, when even the smallest wound can lead to serious consequences. Also, do not resort to hirudotherapy during pregnancy, during menstruation, when there is a natural loss of blood, with anemia, otherwise it can lead to a decrease and so low hemoglobin. Doctors forbid using leeches for cancer. This method of treatment is prohibited for people who have an individual intolerance to individual components in their saliva, but such cases are very rare.

Harm of hirudotherapy

The benefits and harm of hirudotherapy can not be equated to each other. No matter how magical the method of treating leeches seemed, it is important to know that it can not always benefit and the desired effect. But if you follow all the advice and pay attention to contraindications, then the procedure can not cause any harm. The main thing is to consult a specialist. More and more popular is a non-standard method of treatment, like hirudotherapy. Benefits and harm, patients' reviews suggest that soon this way of getting rid of diseases will become firmly established in medicine.