Leeches

[Section2]

Mr Randi's offhand comment about leeches reminded me of a kids TV show I saw recently explaining the medical uses of leeches. I wondered if this was misinformation.

A quick search of Google (ignoring sites selling medical leeches), produced the following link:

http://www.geocities.com/leechlady5/index.html

Are leeches out of favour with skeptics, or just the old-fashioned concept that leeches cured everything?

§2

[Jethro]

Originally posted by Section2
just the old-fashioned concept that leeches cured everything

[Goshawk]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/145804.stm
Bloodsuckers hit the medical comeback trail

...Leeches are particularly useful in plastic surgery, such as breast reconstruction and where a part of the body has become severed and had to be sewn back on.

Sometimes, the patient's veins are too weak to take the blood away from the body part and the blood builds up, causing "venous congestion".

Attaching leeches to the body can draw the blood away gradually and painlessly since leech saliva contains an anaesthetic.

This allows the re-attached body part to survive until the veins are strong enough to work normally.

< snip >

Mr Weinkove says most patients are willing to have leeches on their bodies if it is a choice between leeches, more operations or losing a part of the body.

[shanek]

If you think that's way out there, read up on maggot therapy. (http://www.ucihs.uci.edu/com/pathology/sherman/home_pg.htm)

Apparently a very real, very effective treatment of open wounds whenever antibiotics cannot be administered.

[The Fool]

Originally posted by shanek
If you think that's way out there, read up on maggot therapy. (http://www.ucihs.uci.edu/com/pathology/sherman/home_pg.htm)

Apparently a very real, very effective treatment of open wounds whenever antibiotics cannot be administered.

Its not just when antibiotic treatment is not possible or effective. Necrotic tissue normally has to be cleaned out of wounds on an ongoing basis. This is time consuming and painfull. Maggots consume dead flesh and don't touch live flesh. They are much better at removing necrotic tissue than any health worker with a swab.