[社会新闻] 乔治亚流行水蛭疗法

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。' H" E/ k" o7 l9 N
& Z" C( `; ]) r; |; D( y7 m
　　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。
" U2 U0 u$ c3 K6 c5 T4 Y+ b
　　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。
人在德国社区' D9 G) E3 i' b. i* g/ n2 m

$ h- r" A, z* k6 b r6 \# k1 ]

人在德国社区( o8 S0 B0 u8 V% S( g( H

Women turn to leeches in Tbilisi 22 June 2011人在德国社区3 S) w) [$ ^& a! A# _
5 i- ^0 p' P1 ?6 Q* f3 W' L; K$ j
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.
: `# b9 j; ?( q: w
The idea being that disease could be banished by releasing the infected blood.
) K9 r/ s. |- ?4 t- V$ P
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.
) D0 S: c& X3 L7 y/ h. e0 c" m! }
Damien McGuinness in the capital Tbilisi has been finding out why.