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 p- K* |) [. q* e4 O# o
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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。; D/ J- L9 @2 F: R" z+ K. [; W
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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( F. b9 {4 [. [7 F1 u- [
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Women turn to leeches in Tbilisi 22 June 2011+ V7 ~/ a" U0 i; F! T
' c( _- `# M: U( e- M' H& `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./ N6 U8 m$ D2 ?$ O' u- Z
# i8 a5 [( V$ W! _The idea being that disease could be banished by releasing the infected blood. ( v0 E( }# l" n4 w4 i O( [人在德国 社区 * b! A$ j! Q- ?9 w4 _* g- l+ B& HThat 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." U0 F) B* z% i4 a1 f4 I
' U5 j8 o$ w' ^9 t# DDamien McGuinness in the capital Tbilisi has been finding out why.