前苏联共合国乔治亚这一阵子流行用水蛭治疗疾病,以往欧洲人会用水蛭治疗痔疮,乔治亚人把这项疗法发扬光大,用来治疗其他疾病。: `/ ?* \( ~0 L* [ f
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乔治亚很多诊所都提供水蛭疗法,病人得先跟诊所买一只水蛭,更年期妇女先把水蛭放在脖子上,经过一、二十分钟,水蛭吸完血,身体膨胀4倍,就可以取下,接着医师再把另外2只水蛭放在这名妇女上下牙龈上,等吸完血再取出,医师在患者伤口上贴上绷带,就算完成治疗。接受过治疗的妇女说,她们在更年期会出现的潮红和盗汗都有明显改善。人在德国 社区* G0 \/ s: ~! }' {/ n }. ] U* a
& e9 o4 ]- u2 y 另外,有一些高血压或是经常性头痛病人,也会用水蛭疗法降低血压,或是治疗头痛。一名医师说,不但乔治亚人用水蛭治病,乌克兰、波兰、甚至德国,也有不少人接受这种疗法。 * S; Q, C/ q* H5 Z& Z% lrs238848.rs.hosteurope.de# O( d$ o; H5 E" c8 L ) W: ^( o. M# y' i! @# z- V. P7 w5 e' w0 F+ O" e. x" X- C5 {- D" o
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: [ T. Q. t- b4 |4 b2 o9 KWomen turn to leeches in Tbilisi 22 June 2011人在德国 社区! u# E" r( R H) N# k
8 P( L9 d; [* |( l, Z( }Leeches have been used in medicine for thousands of years. By attaching themselves to the body, and sucking blood from a patient, they were thought to bring health benefits. U- k1 K' d8 s X" O- L
4 G7 N0 K" c5 j2 u v5 C( vThe idea being that disease could be banished by releasing the infected blood.: H# K T- J; o. G+ A( _- L) c
; T1 ^ I2 x; h+ H% [9 [$ ]5 E人在德国 社区That idea fell out of fashion during the 20th century, with the discovery of modern drugs. But today, as interest in traditional medicine grows, they are making a comeback - particularly in the former Soviet State of Georgia.7 S1 \0 [, n; u" c6 Q- h" `, ~
: C# x! [, J* e+ pDamien McGuinness in the capital Tbilisi has been finding out why.