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。 7 |& Y6 |' d8 B3 i ]. lrs238848.rs.hosteurope.de : M) Z) w6 H% J; ]! L 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。 4 S# u) I i5 Crs238848.rs.hosteurope.de5 E" f, m- H4 \% |7 e4 O
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。 0 A% d2 y; ?/ C/ X2 j0 p- e7 ~2 ars238848.rs.hosteurope.de8 A: D G; T. |) J% d% u5 L( T# n4 { ) g+ I! }4 G; g
) I& U' t; {4 {# R% ~; y 4 I+ J! \! z" j% zrs238848.rs.hosteurope.ders238848.rs.hosteurope.de1 t; C% |: E A, O& V- j
Women turn to leeches in Tbilisi 22 June 2011 " I0 b$ l: y- J* w7 w# h9 K/ y* |! A1 K
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./ W0 t6 _9 p3 z" w
& a1 t, k. X2 E( V" GThe idea being that disease could be banished by releasing the infected blood. + d! m4 n4 ^" ] 2 G5 L/ ?# K/ G: e MThat 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. z6 T( R( p* i" }, e4 c. O. Y$ m3 X, f* |
Damien McGuinness in the capital Tbilisi has been finding out why.