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。! S" O: g; @8 A3 g* e' H
& e7 A# N4 v p
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。 ?5 l2 C5 S8 H9 M: r( A2 n1 \% e. w& s0 n2 E6 L7 @) f
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。rs238848.rs.hosteurope.de: Y- {5 ]* A* j8 A x4 I; U
rs238848.rs.hosteurope.de" P7 q! X: s6 r4 E2 x2 k - f/ ]6 Q: t7 u3 }' C1 N' N人在德国 社区 7 H$ n4 r, D. O% z9 d6 p$ V0 c4 e$ @4 f3 i9 ?
$ R* T; I- U, S4 vWomen turn to leeches in Tbilisi 22 June 2011 - d3 l7 u) ~' L/ H/ I- {% p8 T 8 |' d5 B9 S4 G$ k/ P6 T" q; uLeeches 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. . x- f% ]/ e& `( I) vrs238848.rs.hosteurope.de 1 H1 q2 k/ v! ?* X: a人在德国 社区The idea being that disease could be banished by releasing the infected blood. 0 p% W6 D/ A# ?, L) f9 R# f5 Q 8 P" Z i% q2 m9 m! VThat 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. ( L4 H2 y' a) c) H+ @3 D$ k" A 9 h T- a0 C Z) ^& [; ?7 w* ~rs238848.rs.hosteurope.deDamien McGuinness in the capital Tbilisi has been finding out why.