This is one of the few traditional therapies that modern hospitals also use, which makes it worth taking seriously.
Sushruta devoted a chapter to jalaukavacharana — leech application — classing it among the gentlest forms of raktamokshana, bloodletting, and therefore suitable for the weak, the elderly and children. He described twelve varieties of leech, six poisonous and six not, and gave detailed instructions on selecting, applying and caring for them afterwards. Unani medicine uses the same procedure under the name taleeq. Greek, Roman and Islamic physicians all used leeches, and European medicine used them heavily into the nineteenth century.
Leech saliva contains hirudin, a potent anticoagulant, along with a local anaesthetic, a vasodilator and enzymes that disperse tissue fluid. This is why the bite is painless and why it bleeds for hours afterwards.
Medicinal leech therapy using Hirudo medicinalis is used today in plastic and reconstructive surgery. After a flap graft or a reattached finger or ear, blood often flows in but cannot drain out, and the tissue congests and dies. Leeches relieve that congestion and have saved a great many reattachments. The US Food and Drug Administration cleared medicinal leeches for this purpose in 2004.
In Ayurvedic and Unani practice leech therapy is also used for varicose veins, non-healing ulcers, some skin conditions and localised inflammation. Evidence here is thinner but not absent — several small trials have reported benefit in knee osteoarthritis.
Only a trained practitioner should apply leeches, and only medically farmed sterile leeches from a licensed supplier — used once and destroyed.
Wild leeches from a pond can transmit serious infection. Even medical leeches carry Aeromonas bacteria in their gut, which is why hospitals give antibiotic cover. Bleeding after removal can be prolonged and occasionally needs transfusion.
Not suitable if you are anaemic, on blood thinners, immunosuppressed, pregnant, or have a clotting disorder. Never pull a leech off — it regurgitates.
This site is a personal account and a record of traditional practice, shared for information. It is not medical advice, not a diagnosis, and not a treatment for any disease. I am not a doctor.
If you are unwell — and especially if you have a serious illness such as cancer, diabetes or heart disease — please stay under the care of a qualified physician. Nothing here should replace or delay that care.