The literal translation of the word “hirudotherapy” from Latin means treatment with leeches. In the method of treatment with leeches, not all types of leeches are used, but only medical ones. They can be distinguished by several characteristics:

1. the color of the dorsal part is olive-black, olive-green, reddish or brown;
2. on the upper part of the body there are 2 parallel narrow stripes that are yellow-orange and intermittent in color;
3. the body is elongated, and at the head end there is a sucking circle of suction cups.

The salivary glands of the leech contain a specific substance called hirudin. It is this that, when penetrating the victim’s blood, stops its coagulation.

The procedure for hirudotherapy

Treatment with hirudotherapy is carried out with the help of middle-aged leeches (not very young, but not yet old). The weight of a medicinal leech should be 1-5 grams. They are kept in containers filled with water at room temperature. Immediately before use, the leeches must be healthy, not pumped with blood, and should compress when lightly pressed.

Leeches are not placed directly on the face, on areas where there are areas with thick skin, or on areas of skin that people approach closely. blood vessels (carotid artery, visible veins). You can’t place leeches randomly wherever you have to. To place them, there are special areas of the body in the affected areas, or they are placed biologically active points, specifically designed for this purpose.

Often, the doctor installs the leech directly from the test tube. It is first placed in a test tube and then brought to the required location. As soon as the leech sticks to the skin in its head part of the body, you can mark undulating movements skin. Place a leech that has already attached itself under thin layer sterile cotton wool. The procedure itself lasts 5-40 minutes. Such a large interval depends on the location of the leech and the indications for its use. During one procedure you can place from 1 to 10 leeches.

After the leech sucks blood, it disappears. Where the leech has bitten the skin, a small wound remains. It bleeds weakly, until enough for a long time– up to a day, since the substance hirudin acts. It is necessary to apply to the wound aseptic dressing to prevent infection. Over time, when the bandage becomes saturated with blood, additional balls of the bandage should be applied, but do not remove the old ones.

Indications for hirudotherapy

1. Modern method treatment with leeches successfully used for diseases such as pathologies of the cardiovascular system:

1. ischemic disease;
2. atherosclerosis;
3. insufficient general and coronary circulation;
4. hypertensive heart disease;
5. myocardial infarction;
6. consequences of stroke;
7. varicose veins in the lower extremities and other diseases.

2. The composition of the secretion secreted salivary glands, includes enzymes that can eliminate thrombophlebitis and other diseases that are accompanied by the formation of blood clots.

4. It is also used for various violations from the outside nervous system: radiculitis, neuritis, neuroses, neuralgia, sleep disorders, migraines, headache, dizziness, autonomic disorders. It is also used for epilepsy.

5. In ophthalmology: eye injuries, glaucoma, keratitis, increased intraocular pressure and others.

6. In dermatology: treatment of eczema, furunculosis, acne, neurodermatitis, psoriasis.

7. In cosmetology: after plastic surgery, which require resorption of hematomas to eliminate various scars on the skin. Leeches help overcome swelling and cellulite. Hirudotherapy can be found among the services of some skin rejuvenation programs.

8. For illnesses digestive system: gastritis, duodenitis, pancreatitis, hepatosis, cholecystitis, colitis, constipation.

9. Hirudotherapy in gynecology is prescribed to cure inflammation of the uterus and ovaries chronic form, colpitis, endometriosis, fibroids, adhesions, with various diseases ovaries and so on. You can also use treatment with leeches for mastitis and many disorders in the body associated with the onset of menopause. Leeches are highly recommended in the treatment of infertility and miscarriage. Hirudotherapy is also used as prophylaxis possible complications after undergoing surgery, abortion or inflammatory disease.

10. In men, leeches can cure prostatitis, urolithiasis, prostate adenoma and secondary infertility.

Hirudotherapy is also used in cases of treatment of lipid metabolism disorders in the body, hypothyroidism, lymphostasis, hemorrhoids, and trophic disorders.

Contraindications to hirudotherapy

However, not all diseases can be cured with hirudotherapy. In addition, there are a number of diseases, the presence of which in a person automatically makes it impossible to use this treatment method. Such conditions and diseases include:

1. pregnancy;
2. individual intolerance;
3. severe anemia;
4. hemophilia;
5. hemorrhagic diathesis;
6. persistent hypotension;
7. acute period of stroke;
8. acute myocardial infarction;
9. malignant neoplasms;
10. leukemia

Hirudotherapy is contraindicated for children under 12 years of age, women during menstruation, and people with an installed pacemaker.

Hirudotherapy at home

Home hirudotherapy only at first glance seems like a common thing that does not require special knowledge. However, this process also has its pitfalls, which we will tell you about. So, first of all, treatment with leeches at home requires an assistant. The person who will be leeched should sit comfortably on a sofa or couch. Certain areas of the skin where leeches will be placed are treated with a cleanser. It must be odorless. If there is hair in these areas, they must be removed, and the skin area should be treated generously with sweet syrup. Next, the leech is taken with tweezers by back bodies and placed in a test tube. The open side of the test tube is applied to the selected location and wait until it sticks. After the procedure is completed, the leech is placed in a container with salt water.

Immediately apply a sterile voluminous bandage to the wound area. Under no circumstances should a leech be pulled off by force, otherwise it may start heavy bleeding. If there is a need to remove it earlier, then you just need to water it head part leeches salt water so that it disappears. Procedures at home should be carried out with a 5-day break.

It should also be noted that not many people know in which places leeches should not be placed, and they immediately put them on the neck, legs, and abdomen. For the first procedures, such places are unacceptable, as severe swelling, itching and redness may develop. Also, you should not put several leeches at once, supposedly to get the maximum effect. This can impair the flow of blood through the vessels, which will lead to headaches, sudden attack weakness, pressure surges and even fainting.

Therefore, you should start with one leech and place it on the tailbone area. And it wouldn’t hurt to consult a specialist before experimenting with your health.

Treatment with leeches is called hirudotherapy; the indications and contraindications for it have remained unchanged for 2500 years. Once upon a time, ALL known diseases were an indication for treatment with leeches. There is even an opinion that the words TREATMENT and LEECH (leech) have common roots. The only absolute contraindication to hirudotherapy has been hemophilia since time immemorial.

Just 30 years ago, angina, asthma, and even scabies, along with thrombosis and inflammation, were considered indications for treatment with leeches. Now even the most enthusiastic hirudotherapists admit that there are faster means for treating a dying patient than medical leech– Hirudo medicinalis. Official testimony have narrowed significantly.

The modest role of the once powerful leech

In general, indications for prescribing leeches are limited to situations where there is pain, swelling, inflammation and. And since any organs and systems of our body undergo these processes, leeches can be used for almost any disease, both independently and together with other means. But basically, treatment with leeches is used where official medicine shows modest results: in the treatment of chronic diseases.

In urgent medicine, only in microsurgery of the extremities and amputations of the nose, ears, genitals, leeches are reliably in the lead compared to any other methods of treating microthrombosis and lymphostasis. Indications for the use of medicinal leeches in reconstructive surgery are capillary thrombosis, edema, inflammation.

Other indications for the use of leeches in emergency medicine: severe pain and inflammation. Indication for use in dentistry: acute toothache, inflammation of the gums. In ophthalmology for treatment acute attack glaucoma. Hirudotherapy is very effective, as additional method treatment acute bronchitis and pneumonia.

Leeches have a relative advantage in exacerbation of chronic arthritis compared to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, in the treatment of acute discogenic pain of the spine and other neuralgia.

Indications for the use of leeches in rehabilitation: states of convalescence (recovery) after acute injury, , heart attack, any long-term illnesses, including after infections, in gynecology in the treatment of infertility, mastitis, endometriosis, uterine fibroids, in dermatology for the treatment of psoriasis, acne, furunculosis, streptoderma, in angiology for the treatment of venous stagnation of all types, varicose veins, trophic ulcers, lymphatic edema .

IN restorative medicine, in my opinion, leeches have no equal. They are needed for:

• promotion protective forces body, immunity;
• improving mood and general tone;
• improvements rheological properties blood;
• restoration of microcirculation and hormonal balance;
• rejuvenation of the body and increased fertility;
• pain relief

That is, a leech, as before, cures everything, but not as quickly as modern pharmaceuticals. And the choice in favor of hirudotherapy is often made by the patient, not the doctor. But patients rush between conventional medicine and traditional methods and end up with a hirudotherapist with the baggage of chemotherapy.

Who is contraindicated for treatment with leeches?

In the old days, it was believed that the only absolute contraindication to hirudotherapy was: hereditary hemophilia. As medicine developed, contraindications were expanded: treatment with leeches is not recommended for bleeding, in pregnant women, infants, malignant diseases, anemia, hypotension.

But over the past 30 years, since medicine and pharmacology have relied on lifelong use of drugs for chronic patients, new contraindications for treatment with leeches have appeared. Few people think about this, and yet the risk of hirudotherapy due to ignorance is growing.

Interaction of leeches with medications

Modern hirudotherapy has come to have many more contraindications, or let’s say, risks, than before. This is due to the fact that sick people take a lot of medications. Previously, patients were treated only during exacerbations, but now, every second person after 50 years takes daily at least one medicine. And many suffer from polypharmacy (that is, they take many medications). A some medicines increase the risk of bleeding, peptic ulcer formation, infectious complications and without hirudotherapy, and then we appear, with our leeches and hirudin, and, LIGHTS OUT!

• Hirudotherapy is auxiliary treatment. No way drugs cannot be discontinued For chronic therapy, the patient must be informed about this;
• hirudotherapy, as a rule, is performed at the request of the patient and it must be explained that his medications are a contraindication to treatment with leeches;
• if the hirudotherapist did not identify in advance or ignored the fact that the patient was being treated with one of these drugs and complications developed, then this is simply negligence!

When starting hirudotherapy, it is necessary not only to carefully ask the patient what chronic diseases he has and what means he is being treated with, but also to demand that the person show all the tablets and drops he drinks, including nutritional supplements. Patients do not know the names of the active ingredients, and listing all the commercial names of the drugs is simply pointless!

Below is a list of medications that greatly increase the risk of bleeding; taking them is a contraindication for hirudotherapy! Please note that these are not the commercial names of the drugs, but the name active substance, the one that is written in small letters on each package.

Drugs absolutely incompatible with hirudotherapy - first group

Mifepristone(a medicine used in gynecology) is a categorical contraindication for treatment with leeches (the risk of life-threatening bleeding is very high).

Medicines for treatment acute thrombosis and them chronic prevention are also absolute contraindication For sharing with hirudotherapy. Often these medications are prescribed to people who turn to a hirudotherapist for varicose veins, thrombosis, thrombophlebitis, consequences of heart attack, stroke, hip fractures with joint replacement, chronic thrombophilia and antiphospholipid syndrome, rheumatism, damage to the heart valves and some other conditions. Asterisks indicate those that are prescribed often* or very often**.

Anticoagulants:

• Antithrombin alfa, antithrombin III, apixaban*, argatroban, acenocoumarol*, bemiparin, bivalirudin, dabigatran*, dalteparin*, enoxaparin*, fondaparinux*, heparin*, protamine, tinzaparin, warfarin**, desirudin, phenindione, rivaroxaban*

Antibiotics:

• Cephalosporins** reduce the activity of prothrombin: cefditoren, cefdinir, cefotetan, cefoxitin, cefpodoxime, ceftriaxone, cefuroxime; clarithromycin.
• Erythromycin* preparations may alter the metabolism of hirudin.
• Piperacillin suppresses platelet function.
• Sulfonamides*: sulfadiazine, sulfamethoxazole, sulfisoxazole, roxithromycin may potentially reduce the metabolism of hirudin

Antiplatelet agents

• Clopidogrel**, dipyridamole**, prasugrel*, ticlopidine**

Drugs for the treatment of hypothyroidism and for remote thyroid gland– levothyroxine**, liothyronine can change the metabolism of hirudin.

The second group of substances – drugs, vitamins and food additives

Group 2 drugs are not so dangerous, but can also cause bleeding. Taking these drugs can be called a “relative contraindication to treatment with leeches.” In any case, the dose of leeches should be minimal if you decide that the indications for treatment with leeches are higher than their unsafety in combination with these medications. Often these drugs are taken by those patients who turn to hirudotherapy for inflammation or pain.

Non-narcotic analgesics

• Aceclofenac*, acemeticin, aspirin**, indomethacin**, diclofenac**, celecoxib**, etoricoxib**, flurbiprofen*, ibuprofen**, fenoprofen, fewerfew*, ketoprofen*, ketorolac*, lornoxicam**, mefenamic acid* *, meloxicam**, naproxen**, oxaprozin, piroxicam**, salicylates**, sulfasalazine, sulindac, tolfenamic acid*, diflunisal, etodolac

You need to be very careful with food additives , especially those that are directly or indirectly intended to treat thrombosis:

• *, *, horse chestnut**, ginko biloba**, angelica*, sweet clover*, burdock argimony*, alfalfa*, ginseng*, garlic grass, chitosan*, cordyceps*, sage root*, devil's claw, fish oil*, garlic**, glucagon , green tea**, omega 3 fatty acids**, reishi immortality mushroom, vitamin E**, chlorella algae potentiate the anticoagulant properties of hirudin;
• alcohol – alcohol increases the risk of bleeding, the mechanism is unknown, but I think it is related to chronic liver damage

Other drugs (from different pharmacological groups) can also potentiate the anticoagulant properties of hirudin in leeches: ticagretol, curantil, vorapaxar, alteplase, rifabutin, azfitel, citalopram, triclofos, vortioxetine, ethotoin, propafenone.

Chronic use of corticosteroids, azatirprine, methotrexate leads to a decrease in immunity and is possible risk of infectious complications. Deferasirox increases the risk of peptic ulcers. The list is far from complete.

Hirudin medicinal leech is a direct anticoagulant, a medicine of natural origin. And, like all medications, hirudin interacts with other medications. The moment has come when hirudotherapy, more than ever, requires medical education, because without a good knowledge of pharmacology, it is very easy to harm the patient. And as you know, Ignorance of the rules does not exempt you from responsibility. Unfortunately, the patients themselves do not understand this and sometimes very unpleasant situations happen.

So, to summarize, we can say: the indications for treatment with leeches are still the same as before, but the range of patients suitable for hirudotherapy has changed dramatically.

The effectiveness of hirudotherapy is known not only abroad, but also in our country. That's enough ancient science healing. Our ancestors knew that treatment with leeches effective method for various diseases. They said that leeches can even have a positive effect on the patient’s aura. It's a pity that during the period of socialism this method undeservedly forgotten. Now he is gaining popularity again.

Due to the presence of hirudin, aeglin, and enzyme substances (hyaluronidase, destabilase) in the saliva of leeches, hirudotherapy helps strengthen the immune and nervous system and has a positive effect on the body in general. Treatment with leeches is indicated for:

• Cardiovascular pathologies. During the procedures, blood viscosity decreases, blood clots dissolve, the balance of oxygen supply increases, and swelling disappears.
• Diseases gastrointestinal tract, liver. If treatment is carried out, there will be a noticeable improvement in metabolism in the gastrointestinal tract, and liver function will be activated.
• Diseases genitourinary system . Useful components that come from the saliva of leeches improve the functionality of the kidneys. Also, with diseases of the female genital organs, normalization of processes in their work occurs, and even benign tumors resolve.
• Diseases of the upper, lower respiratory tract . In chronic and other phases of respiratory diseases, treatment with leeches helps speedy recovery patient.
• Varicose veins, joint diseases. The action of these saliva annelids has a positive effect on the normalization of blood flow, helps strengthen the walls of the vascular system.
• Various violations metabolic processes . If the patient has pathologies endocrine system If the sugar balance in the body is disturbed, then treatment with leeches will help improve it.

Hirudotherapy found wide application in the cosmetology industry. To improve the condition of the skin, leeches are used, both in combination with other methods of treating various lesions of the epidermis, and separately.

Leech treatment - benefits

In medicine, there are three methods of treatment with leeches.

1. The first, most widely used, is healing with live worms. This is when they stick to certain points, drink blood and, in turn, secrete saliva into the wound. Due to this, the therapeutic effect occurs.
2. The second is when extracts from the leeches themselves are added to various medical supplies. They enter the body and exert their effective effect.
3. The third is treatment by creating other microorganisms using leech DNA.

The benefits of hirudotherapy are beyond doubt. All the nutritional components contained in leech saliva can almost instantly defeat certain diseases:

• Trypsin- this element improves the digestion process and helps absorb carbohydrates and proteins.
• Cathepsin- successfully fights tumor conditions of various etiologies, except for low-quality ones.
• Hyaluronidase— makes fabric elastic, which contributes to its good permeability.
• Hirudin- prevents the formation of blood clots in the circulatory system. At the same time, it promotes good blood clotting.
• Bradykinins(a number of components) - have an anti-inflammatory effect.

Treatment with leeches is harmful

Like any medical procedures, hirudotherapy can cause in patients:

This can be either an allergenic reaction or a kind of trigger immune system sick. Only a hirudotherapist can distinguish between the conditions. It is he who in the future must prescribe medications that will alleviate the patient’s condition.

Among other things, before starting treatment, a specialist must conduct a series of tests and study the overall picture of the patient’s condition. After all, the treatment has many contraindications.

Treatment with leeches - contraindications:

1. Hemophilia, or bleeding disorder
2. Reduced hemoglobin - anemia
3. Intolerance to leeches, allergy to them
4. Exhaustion of the body - anorexia, cachexia
5. Bleeding of various etiologies

Leech treatment - price

If you want to start treatment with leeches yourself, then you only need to buy these worms, the price for one is about 50 rubles, also keep in mind that you will have to pay for their delivery. The cost of carrier services varies, moreover, it all depends on which city the shipment will be made from.

The procedure in the clinic will cost much more. It costs 225-400 rubles to install one leech there. And in one session they are placed 4-5 pieces. In addition, treatment lasts from seven to ten courses. From here you can calculate for yourself how much money will be required for the entire hirudotherapy process. Prices in clinics vary; in some institutions you will have to pay twice as much for procedures.

Treatment of varicose veins with leeches

Hirudotherapy is effective for temporary relief of the disease. Complete cure may occur if used comprehensive measures. To do this, you should visit not only leech treatment procedures, but also an experienced phlebologist.

Leech treatment regimen for varicose veins

Treatment is selected individually for all patients. Procedures cannot be performed daily. The doctor himself must determine the order of visits. It is not recommended to do this at home yourself, because this process has many contraindications. And the incorrect location of the worms can only aggravate the course of the disease.

If you are too impressionable, then this process is best done by a professional. In case you are not afraid of blood, discomfort You can start treatment at home. It is only advisable to ask for the presence of another person who will help remove the leeches from a hard-to-reach place.

Before you start laying them out, make sure that the worm is absolutely healthy - it has a smooth surface, without flaws, is mobile in the water, and is actively moving.

Your body should also be prepared. Wash in the shower without scented products, soap, etc. Only now can you begin to take action. Take one leech after another and place it at certain points.

Don't be afraid if the wound continues to bleed. This can continue for quite a long time. To avoid staining your clothes, apply a bandage with cotton wool to the wounds.

Leech treatment course may be different for each patient. In some patients, it can last for seven procedures, after 3-5 days each. And for others - even two weeks. It all depends on individual characteristics person and the state of his body.

As a rule, for preventive purposes, hirudotherapy sessions are carried out after 4 days, and seven sessions are enough to improve the condition.

Treatment of hemorrhoids with leeches

Hemorrhoids can cause a lot of discomfort to a person. And it is not surprising, but hirudotherapy is quite effective in solving the problems of a patient with this pathology. For one session, you should install from 4 to 7 leeches in the anal area.

Before placing them, be sure to treat the skin with alcohol, then wash with water. Only after these procedures place worms. The patient may experience an unpleasant burning sensation. But in a few minutes everything will pass.

After 25-30 minutes they will be satisfied and disappear on their own.

After treatment with leeches

When the procedure is over, it is better for the patient to rest at home. The wounds that appear will bleed for another one to two days. This will bother the person, so a patch with a cotton swab should be used.

Leech treatment - points

The arrangement of leeches on the body depends on what disease you are treating. If you have problems with cardiovascular system, then to improve the condition, individuals should be placed on the chest, as in the first image below. Treatment lumbar region muscles or diseases of the spine, including neuralgia, may be limited to points PS1, PS6, PS4, PS3 and PS5.

Inflammation of the joints and other pathologies of the muscles of the back and spine is shown in the second image by points: SP1, SP4, SP11-SP15, SP22-SP25.

Treatment of joints with leeches

In the saliva of these natural healers contains many (more than 100) useful components. Thanks to them, you can even get rid of arthritis, arthrosis and other joint pathologies. The location of the leeches is determined by the specialist himself. Most often they are attached around the elbows, shoulders, knees, etc.

Hirudotherapy for the treatment of affected joints is effective only on initial stages of these ailments, so do not delay treatment.

Treatment with leeches in gynecology

Many patients who could not become pregnant due to endometriosis claim that after undergoing treatment with these individuals they forgot about the disease. Adhesions, as a rule, have resolved, and hormonal background returned to normal.

Leeches are very effective for disorders monthly cycle, menopause, vulvovaginitis, bartholinitis and other gynecological ailments.

There are a number of diseases that can be weakened or completely cured by leeches. But hirudotherapy has its own characteristics and can be not only beneficial, but also harmful to the body.

Treatment with leeches, or hirudotherapy, is an effective branch of naturopathy and alternative medicine. Our ancestors were sure that all diseases could be cured by bloodletting, and modern research have proven: healing with leeches is due to a number of factors, including chemical composition saliva of freshwater annelids.

Indications for treatment with leeches include wide range diseases that include osteochondrosis cervical spine and lumbosacral region of the spine.

On the “terrible face, useful inside”

Leeches, the benefits and harms of which are discussed by the medical community, are invertebrate animals that feed exclusively on the blood of mammals. Individuals are attached to the body of a potential “victim” using suction cups located on their abdomen.

In the head part of the body there is a sucker - a mouth with several rows of jagged plates with which the freshwater fish cuts through the skin. Usually the “meal” lasts 50-60 minutes and during this time the leech sucks 15-20 ml of blood, which is ten times its body weight!

Of the many types, only medicinal leech is suitable for treatment:

• medicinal;
• eastern;
• pharmacy

Medical leech is safe, used once and grown in laboratory conditions, in compliance with sterility standards. Indications for hirudotherapy are determined by a wide range of diseases, and contraindications are established on the basis of anamnesis and clarifying laboratory tests.

Fans of self-medication should take into account that leeches obtained from a city reservoir are absolutely not suitable for carrying out procedures and will do more harm than good. IN best case scenario no healing effect will be observed, and in the worst case scenario, blood-sucking animals will cause irreparable harm to health, resulting in severe infectious diseases!

Indications for hirudotherapy

Treatment with leeches is not only an effective method of getting rid of ailments, but also a powerful prophylactic. The benefits, harm and therapeutic effect are determined by a combination of three influence factors: biochemical, mechanical, reflex.

A medical leech is usually installed in the area of ​​acupuncture points and is used in complex treatment. Indications for health procedures:

• varicose veins;
• trophic ulcers;
• angina pectoris and atherosclerosis;
• dystonia;
• obesity;
• urolithiasis;
• prostatitis;
• neurological problems;
• osteochondrosis of the cervical and lumbosacral region;
• elevated sugar levels and thyroid dysfunction.

Indications for use are not limited therapeutic effects. Medical leech and medicinal properties her saliva is in demand in the field of cosmetology and dermatology.

Reviews from patients indicate that after a course of hirudotherapy, scars are smoothed out, skin elasticity increases, wrinkles and pimples disappear. How quickly and forever in other ways.

It is important to note that the benefits for the body are achieved without the use of drugs and expensive cosmetics.

Osteochondrosis of the cervical spine, bruises, sprains, bone fractures - everything can be cured by a medicinal leech, which will relieve swelling, spasms, and restore blood supply to damaged tissues in several sessions!

Where to place the leeches and the duration of the session is determined by a hirudotherapist. Before treatment, it is necessary to prescribe comprehensive examination, which will indicate the feasibility and number of procedures, possible benefits and harms.

Therapeutic effect

Leech saliva contains about 100 biologically active substances, as well as the secretion of hirudin, which prevents blood clotting. The effect of specific substances is manifested by the following therapeutic effect:

• thins the blood, prevents thrombosis;
• eliminates the condition of prolonged vascular spasm;
• stops inflammatory processes;
• relieves pain;
• has a sedative effect;
• stimulates the immune system.

Leeches for diseases of the spine

Osteochondrosis and intervertebral hernia cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine are serious progressive diseases that reduce the quality of life. The cause of the disease is wear of the intervertebral discs. Negative processes are associated with excessive loads on spinal column, weak muscle corset and in a sedentary manner life.

Osteochondrosis of the cervical spine is particularly dangerous, since arteries supplying the brain lie in this area. Hirudotherapy in combination with other technologies allows short terms restore quality of life, of course, if there are no contraindications to the procedure.

Osteochondrosis of the cervical spine is characterized by immobility of the area, swelling and pain syndrome, migraines, deterioration of vision and smell. 5–7 sessions of hirudotherapy under the supervision of a specialist allow you to forget about unpleasant symptoms for a long time and will benefit the entire body, minimizing the harm and burden from medications.

Osteochondrosis of the lumbosacral region is the cause of radiculitis, sciatica and lumbago. Ignoring the disease can cause immobility lower limbs, impotence, prostatitis, gynecological problems, infertility, urination and defecation disorders.

Treatment with leeches improves blood microcirculation, which leads to the elimination excess liquid and eliminating spasms of smooth muscles. The multiplicative effect of the impact allows you to quickly launch recovery processes and forget about the pain that occurs in the cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine for a long time.

Main areas of influence

• Medical leech is a real panacea for the treatment of diseases of the female genital area. Leeches on the tailbone and lower abdomen help get rid of inflammatory processes, endometriosis and small cysts.
• For mastopathy, blood-sucking ones are placed in the inflamed area of ​​the mammary gland and in the armpit.
• Condylomas are also successfully treated with leeches. According to the technique, they are installed directly on neoplasms. There is no harm, success is guaranteed, and reviews from women do not allow us to doubt the effectiveness of the method!
• For thrombophlebitis, a medicinal leech is placed along the inflamed vein, and for hemorrhoidal inflammation and bleeding - near the anus.
• Sinusitis is treated with medicinal leeches located above the brow ridge area. For migraine symptoms and high blood pressure, the procedure is performed in the area mastoid processes skull bones.
• Joint pain, swelling, immobility are undeniable indications for prescribing an alternative treatment method that effectively replaces medicines. Symptoms are relieved by placing medicinal leeches around the inflamed joints.
• Osteochondrosis of the cervical and lumbosacral areas is treated with worms, which are placed along the spinal column.

Treatment with leeches is a painstaking process, the effectiveness of which depends on the optimally selected areas of treatment. Indications and contraindications, arrangement scheme, number of procedures are determined by the hirudotherapist. Self-medication is unacceptable and may not be beneficial, but lead to undesirable consequences!

Complications and contraindications to hirudotherapy

Indications and contraindications for hirudotherapy are determined by a specialist. After a treatment session, most patients report mild itching and hyperemia skin at the site of the bite. Feedback from patients and numerous studies allow us to state that the symptoms are normal reactions of the body and do not cause harm.

Local irritation is eliminated by applying an iodine mesh or ointment; in some cases, the doctor prescribes antihistamines.

The saliva of a blood-sucking animal contains biologically active substances and can provoke allergic reactions, bleeding. Treatment with leeches has contraindications, which include:

• menstruation period;
• pregnancy and breastfeeding;
• oncological diseases;
• allergic predisposition;
• hemophilia;
• hemorrhagic diathesis.

Interesting fact! During a session, one medicinal leech sucks out at least 15 ml of blood, approximately the same amount is lost after its removal. It is easy to calculate the blood loss when installing 10 individuals!

People with low blood pressure, should be used with great caution, refers to the naturopathic method of influencing the body. If contraindications outweigh medical indications, the bloodletting procedure will do more harm than good. In this case, it is recommended to combat illnesses using alternative healing methods.

Holistic medicine. Tradition and modernity

Starchenko Olga Alexandrovna

Hirudotherapy - treatment with leeches

From ancient times to the present day, as medicinal drugs Thousands of different substances and creatures were tested. The memory of many of them has been erased by inexorable time. However, there are many that not only continue to be used in traditional medicine, but are also actively studied by modern science.

Today we'll talk about a very ancient method of treating many diseases - hirudotherapy (from the Latin words “leech” and “treatment”). It is mentioned in ancient Egyptian and ancient Indian treatises, the works of Hippocrates, Galen, and Avicenna. Paintings depicting leech treatment have been discovered on the walls of Egyptian tombs.

What is the secret of the effectiveness of hirudotherapy? Why synthetic analogues Are they not as effective as using leeches? In what cases should you contact a hirudotherapist? These and other questions are answered by Olga Aleksandrovna Starchenko, a specialist in hirudotherapy and abdominal correction at the clinic of Dr. Zager.

Olga Aleksandrovna, what causes the therapeutic effect of hirudotherapy?

O.A.: I noticed that in articles in online communities dedicated to hirudotherapy, the effect of the leech is associated with only one biologically active substance - hirudin. I believe this is rather outdated information. The anticoagulant substance hirudin was isolated from leeches in 1903 by F. Franz. To date, dozens of unique biologically active substances with a powerful healing effect have been discovered in leech saliva, many of which have not yet been recreated synthetically.

In answer to the question of what mechanisms are responsible for the therapeutic effect of a leech, two of the most studied ones can be identified.

The first is microcirculatory, i.e. outflow regulation venous blood, lymph and influx arterial blood, during which the intercellular space is unloaded. This is very important! After all, a leech does not suck blood as such, it bites 1-1.5 mm into the skin and feeds on intercellular fluid and blood from a damaged capillary. But “a holy place is never empty,” and as a result, due to diffusion, liquid from the intercellular space enters the capillary bed, and therefore blood viscosity decreases.

The second mechanism is the action of biologically active substances. During its feeding, the leech secretes a secretion of different composition, i.e. on different stages food saliva has different composition. This is functionally justified and allows you to solve various problems. First, destruction of the tissues and microvessels of the “victim,” then blockade of hemostasis mechanisms, and finally, counteraction to the protective reactions that develop in tissues in response to damage.

Scientific research into the mechanisms of action of leech on humans began in late XIX- the beginning of the 20th century with the work of John Haycraft, who discovered the anticoagulant effect of leech extract. In 1884, he discovered an enzyme from leech saliva - hirudin.

In Kamenev-Baranovsky’s textbook on hirudotherapy, currently known biologically active substances are divided into 4 groups: The first group is enzymes with lytic properties (from the Greek “lysis” - “separation”, “dissolution”): hyaluronidase destroys hyaluronic acid, collagenase - collagen (components of connective and other tissues), peptidase - proteins, etc. These substances are found in the first or second portion of leech secretion.

The second group consists of anticoagulants and antihemostatics. This group includes large number substances. Of these, the most popular is hirudin. All substances work differently. Thus, hirudin blocks the thrombin pathway (it is a direct inhibitor of thrombin), other substances prevent aggregation and adhesion (sticking and gluing) of platelets, etc. The third group is represented by blockers defensive reactions body. They are produced by the leech so that in the body, which serves as food for the leech, there is no swelling, pain, or vasospasm. These include: painkillers, decongestants, anti-inflammatory and even those involved in maintaining normal blood pressure substances (for example, hirustazin).

The fourth group is auxiliary substances that help everyone else perform their functions and enhance their effect. For example, lipids shield proteins introduced with leech secretions from macrophages, thereby saving them from destruction in the human body. This allows biological active substances from leech saliva found in the body long time and exert its effect gradually.

The Russian word “leech” comes from “piti” - “to drink”. This word is used to describe animals belonging to the subclass of annelids from the class of corded worms, which live mostly in fresh water bodies.

What problem should be addressed with hirudotherapy? After all, leeches are often not taken very seriously.

O.A.: It happens that men about 40 years old come to the clinic without obvious health complaints, with purely for preventive purposes- improve blood quality. According to the test results, they have high blood viscosity. When first applied, the leeches are removed after an hour (there is no point in waiting longer). On the fourth or fifth time of application, the leeches fall off on their own, and from the wound left behind, we can conclude that the quality of the blood has noticeably improved.

I have repeatedly received information from vascular surgeons about negative reviews about leeches. About the fact that they have to treat trophic ulcers formed after hirudotherapy sessions. But it is not the method that is to blame, but the incorrect practice of its application. Apparently these people had problems with their lower extremities ( varicose veins veins, thrombophlebitis, etc.), the outflow of blood was impaired, the nutrition of the tissues of the lower extremities was impaired. And they (the patients) were immediately given leeches on these areas (of the lower extremities). In such situations, under no circumstances should you start from such zones. First, the body must be prepared.

When I studied with Candidate of Medical Sciences Konstantin Vasilyevich Sukhov, who is a member of the College of Hirudotherapists and Leech Healers of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, much attention was paid to the above problems. Until the central settings have been completed - the navel and sacrum have not been worked out (since in this area there are vessels through which blood returns from the lower part of the body), you should not work on the lower extremities. At the same time, it is necessary to work with such a patient and improve his condition without using the specified zone.

What does it mean to “work out this zone”? Is this also done with the help of hirudotherapy?

O.A.: This means that a set of measures has been performed, including repeated placement of leeches and, possibly, abdominal massage. At the same time, thanks to leeches and abdominal massage, blood flow, venous outflow, and lymphatic drainage of tissues improve. For a patient with diseased vessels of the lower extremities, leeches are not immediately placed on the legs. They are repeatedly placed on the stomach, sacrum, and on certain points of the body, and only after that, in some cases, can they be placed on their feet.

Do you use biologically active points?

O.A.: Yes, I use it. At the same time, I take into account the recommendations of the acupuncturists at our clinic when we treat the same patient together. However, I prefer to start working with the abdomen and sacrum. I think this is important. If you have rhinitis, sinusitis, periodontitis, I put leeches on the mucous surface of the mouth and nose.

That is, no matter what the patient comes to you with, you start with the abdomen and sacrum?

O.A.: Not always. For example, if a person comes in with a recent injury, I often work locally at the site of the injury. In case of injuries, the method of placing leeches works very well! For example, a woman fell from a horse, injured her knee, and then severe swelling. Literally after the first installation, the swelling decreased significantly. Another woman’s leg got caught between the platform and the train, and a giant bruise formed on her thigh. She came for an appointment on the same day as the injury. Leeches were placed, and the hematoma immediately began to regress.

It is believed that hirudotherapy is indicated in case of problems with blood vessels. This is a very wide range of problems. Since in case of illness internal organs, for example, the liver, gall bladder, in the periorgan space the functioning of blood vessels deteriorates. And as a result of restoration of blood and lymph flow, the functioning of these organs improves.

Are there any contraindications?

O.A.: Contraindications are all blood diseases that cause increased bleeding, oncology, febrile conditions(there is a risk of bleeding, because when elevated temperature bleeding is also increased).

Is high blood pressure also a contraindication?

O.A.: No, high blood pressure is often treated. During the session, the pressure may not decrease. But during the course there comes relief. In any case, it is better to undergo a course of hirudotherapy rather than one session.

Of course, there are reasons high blood pressure maybe a lot. And we need to understand the reasons.

How do you diagnose patients? After all, hirudotherapy is not a diagnostic method.

How many sessions does one course include?

O.A.: Each patient can have his own individual number of sessions.

If the leech gets saturated quickly and falls off after about 30 minutes, then that’s great! This suggests that she has already prepared her “victim” well; she quickly gets enough.

The effect of leech saliva lasts three months. Chronic disease It's always harder to treat. If possible, then good rhythm treatment is as follows: two weeks, twice a week, then once a week, then once every two weeks, etc. This results in a prolonged action. Some people go for it, others find it difficult.

How did hirudotherapy become your method of choice?

O.A.: I came to leeches through my illness. Thanks to complex treatment, including visceral massage, leeches, herbal medicine, managed to avoid two surgical operations.

An alternative surgical intervention what type of hirudotherapy can be?

O.A.: For example, hemorrhoids. Here you can work, compete. Endometriosis is going very well. And the remission is very stable. Baker's cyst (pathological fluid formation in the popliteal fossa) also goes away well when treated with leeches.

This is very important. Many people grasp at any straw to avoid surgery.

O.A.: Not all. Many people do not realize the consequences of the operation. They don't understand how powerful they are adhesions are launched. But all the same, if there is an opportunity and time to do without surgical intervention, this should be used.

If you approach the patient’s treatment in a comprehensive manner, for example: use leeches, needles or homeopathy, abdominal massage. If at the same time the person himself has the desire to work in order to be healthy, then everything taken together will definitely bring a positive result.

To be healthy, you need to put things in order first of all in your head. Form positive mental images and do not blame your ill health on age, lack of time, etc., as this is a trick to avoid working on yourself. At any age, a person needs to work in order to feel in good condition. Do whatever you can physical activity, continue to develop, train your brain, because new neural connections can also be formed in old age; Do not torment your body with alcohol and smoking. And smile.