Leech therapy is both easy and has a lower risk of side effects than other therapies. However, there are some risks. There’s a riskTrusted Source of bacterial infection, sometimes involving drug-resistant bacteria, so make sure to avoid leeches outside of a regulated environment. For this reason, people who are immunocompromised by autoimmune disease and environmental factors are not good candidates for leech therapy.
If something goes wrong after a round of leech therapy, blood will ooze out of the area that has been treated and the site of the leech bite will not close. Sometimes leeches will try to move to another area of the body where you do not need treatment, causing unnecessary blood loss. On occasion, a person will discover during or after leech therapy that they are allergic to leech saliva. If complications such as these occur, you will know right away and will no longer be a candidate for this treatment method.
It makes some people squeamish to imagine leeches being used as a modern medical treatment. But more and more research is showing that there’s a reason why leeches were relied upon for centuries as an essential part of medical care. As we continue to find out more about the special properties in leech saliva, it may very well be that the treatment has even more practical use than we would have ever thought possible
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