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。rs238848.rs.hosteurope.de4 R- w& T; h, A& A
. a5 {0 B5 ~& u! s 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。 ' r/ C- o+ @ O F人在德国 社区% [1 B! q' V3 m9 M0 ]4 m- n* F# 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。 7 Z$ M" q7 y9 S) w3 d' Qrs238848.rs.hosteurope.de ' g+ I! S1 X" k4 q' [人在德国 社区1 ~# ^- N/ [. b
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) O6 V5 U5 |' p& WWomen turn to leeches in Tbilisi 22 June 2011rs238848.rs.hosteurope.de# ]" [2 }, A8 P9 B0 t5 c. x
O3 i, G! I) S I/ B人在德国 社区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.8 }1 U9 ]+ e d* n
, b* t* U$ e5 iThe idea being that disease could be banished by releasing the infected blood. $ ^# d2 v9 _' e5 D: j7 z, V; K. yrs238848.rs.hosteurope.de5 i* D' `& N# r. b
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., F6 B/ ]% ^ I
% D" W; O( \+ z3 `) ?5 c; cDamien McGuinness in the capital Tbilisi has been finding out why.