Blood Leech Therapy

Kykeon

Member
Joined
Mar 22, 2019
Messages
173
Is there something about blood leeches to reduce iron in the blood that i am missing?

In history it was used, sheep and horses oftentimes go into lakes where they know alot of leeches live. It seems to be therapeutic. I am waiting for my leeches, i will report my findings in this thread, but it seems like a good way of bloodletting. Stood the test of time from what i can tell.

Did Peat ever comment on this topic? I have found nothing.

To me it looks like only the histamine in the salvia is problematic, but the leeches are used by naturopaths in rheumatroid arthritis so there seems to be a benefit with inflammation.


Leeches secrete more than 20 identified bioactive substances such as antistasin, eglins, guamerin, hirudin, saratin, bdellins, complement, and carboxypeptidase inhibitors.

So the Acetylcholine seems not too beneficial, aswell as Histamine like molecules.

Is this risky to try out? What do you think?
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Could this maybe something like high altitude living, where the adaptive process is beneficial in the end? I would love to hear some opinions on this topic.
 

RealNeat

Member
Joined
Jan 9, 2019
Messages
2,345
Location
HI
Is there something about blood leeches to reduce iron in the blood that i am missing?

In history it was used, sheep and horses oftentimes go into lakes where they know alot of leeches live. It seems to be therapeutic. I am waiting for my leeches, i will report my findings in this thread, but it seems like a good way of bloodletting. Stood the test of time from what i can tell.

Did Peat ever comment on this topic? I have found nothing.

To me it looks like only the histamine in the salvia is problematic, but the leeches are used by naturopaths in rheumatroid arthritis so there seems to be a benefit with inflammation.


Leeches secrete more than 20 identified bioactive substances such as antistasin, eglins, guamerin, hirudin, saratin, bdellins, complement, and carboxypeptidase inhibitors.

So the Acetylcholine seems not too beneficial, aswell as Histamine like molecules.

Is this risky to try out? What do you think?
View attachment 22001
Could this maybe something like high altitude living, where the adaptive process is beneficial in the end? I would love to hear some opinions on this topic.
I think when nothing else it can help local inflammation or other localized issues. However wet cupping is better imo, it's without the problematic compounds and anti coagulation attributes of leeches.

giving blood seems a more systemic benefit rather than local like the above two methods.

 
K

Kayaker

Guest
I am waiting for my leeches, i will report my findings in this thread
Update? The leeches are very expensive, assuming you ordered from leech.com. I don't know of any other sellers.

Hundreds of dollars for a hundred leeches, which can drink half a pint to a pint a month if you cycle them.

On the other hand, donating a pint of blood every two months seems to do nothing for my iron level.

Why not take aspirin, open an arm vein while sitting in a warm bath to increase blood flow, let it hang off the side, dripping a pint of blood, then raise the arm and wrap it?

There's not much information about blood-letting with a blade on the internet, but I will probably try it because the other options are difficult, expensive, or inaccessible to me.
 

xpat

Member
Joined
Oct 7, 2021
Messages
33
Location
kazakhstan
I have done hundreds of leeches, after my open heart surgery. If fact whenever I have discomfort in my heart I do it. But I do it very accurately and under supervision. Its messy but worth it. I stop my aspirin the day I do them and so far, no problems.
 
OP
Kykeon

Kykeon

Member
Joined
Mar 22, 2019
Messages
173
i used 3 of them and it worked fine. they do not really take a lot of blood in a feeding. it is hard to say if it was a placebo or not but my joints felt pretty good. i could imagine it being helpful for joint related issues. it hurts quite a bit though. they drill into your flesh, not the most pleasant feeling.
all in all i wanted to reduce iron and went on to donate blood which had a positive effect on my perceived wellbeing (i just feel younger but it is also taxing the body for a short time so i wouldnt overdo it).
 

gabys225

Member
Joined
Sep 15, 2013
Messages
121
Leeches have tremendous healing power, their saliva dissolves fibrin, and has hundreds of other actions. There are enzymes in leech saliva that are even holy grail like from a Peat perspective, one that I can think of off the top of my head is Cholesterol Esterase also triglyceridase and lipase. Going directly into your blood. Those enzymes are present in leech saliva! Since the bite is close to surface of the skin it is also thought that it isn't simply blood that leaves the bite (for hours after) but also lymphatic fluid.

I have used serrapeptase and other proteolytic enzymes to great effect, but when I use leeches it's like night and day. I have used dozens of leeches (not all at once of course!) and experience improvements in health every time.

There are 2 philosophies when it comes to hirudotherapy:

Localized application for local effects that eventually have systemic ramifications - basically the marriage of hirudotherapy and acupuncture

And the other approach can be thought of as basically the opposite - you want to treat all the blood, so don't worry about application site so much and just get enough leeches on you (over a course of time that should be several months at least so you don't accidently bleed too much and become anemic) so you can treat the entire body.

Both approaches arrive at the same destination ultimately, although personal experience has taught me that leeches placed on specific areas of the body have different effects.

If you are just starting out I think the best application site is the belly button. You will get good systemic circulation there, and a very strong detoxifying effect on the organism. I would start with 5, and most hirudotherapists typically use between 8-15 leeches per session. The most I have had on me was 15. I have never had an infection at the site of a bite, or any negative effects. You may bleed for hours afterwards, so you want to literally tape a diaper to the area (not joking). You'll probably soak it with blood over the course of the night if you let the leeches bite you in the evening.

There's nothing terrible complex about the process. Let them bite you. Let them have their fill, they will fall off by themselves once they have sufficiently gorged themselves on your blood, and treated you in exchange with their life promoting enzymes. I think leeches are awesome.


Calin
Inhibits blood coagulation by blocking the binding of von Willebrand factor to collagen. Inhibits collagen- mediated platelet aggregation
Destabilase
Monomerizing activity. Dissolves fibrin. Thrombolytic effects
Hirustasin
Inhibits kallikrein, trypsin, chymotrypsin, neutropholic cathepsin G
Bdellins
Anti-inflammatory. Inhibits trypsin, plasmin, acrosin
Hyaluronidase
Increases interstitial viscosity. Antibiotic. Spreading Factor
Cholesterol esterase
Chloromycetyn

Antibiotic
Tryptase inhibitor
Inhibits proteolytic enzymes of host mast cells
Eglins
Anti-inflammatory. Inhibit the activity of alpha-chymotrypsin, chymase, substilisin, elastase, cathepsin G
Factor Xa inhibitor Inhibits the activity of coagulation factor xa by forming equimolar complexes (very important role during the treatment of Osteo-arthritis and Rheumatoid arthritis)
Complement inhibitors
Replace natural complement inhibitors if they are deficient
Carboxypeptidase A inhibitors
Increases the inflow of blood
Histaminelike substances
Vasodilator. Increases the inflow of blood at the bite site
Acetylcholine
Vasodilator
Anesthetics subsctance
Anesthetic anti-pain during the leech "bite"

The enzyme list above was compiled by Alicja Kolyszko, who is probably one of the most vocal leech advocates for human health alive today.
 

xpat

Member
Joined
Oct 7, 2021
Messages
33
Location
kazakhstan
Leeches have tremendous healing power, their saliva dissolves fibrin, and has hundreds of other actions. There are enzymes in leech saliva that are even holy grail like from a Peat perspective, one that I can think of off the top of my head is Cholesterol Esterase also triglyceridase and lipase. Going directly into your blood. Those enzymes are present in leech saliva! Since the bite is close to surface of the skin it is also thought that it isn't simply blood that leaves the bite (for hours after) but also lymphatic fluid.

I have used serrapeptase and other proteolytic enzymes to great effect, but when I use leeches it's like night and day. I have used dozens of leeches (not all at once of course!) and experience improvements in health every time.

There are 2 philosophies when it comes to hirudotherapy:

Localized application for local effects that eventually have systemic ramifications - basically the marriage of hirudotherapy and acupuncture

And the other approach can be thought of as basically the opposite - you want to treat all the blood, so don't worry about application site so much and just get enough leeches on you (over a course of time that should be several months at least so you don't accidently bleed too much and become anemic) so you can treat the entire body.

Both approaches arrive at the same destination ultimately, although personal experience has taught me that leeches placed on specific areas of the body have different effects.

If you are just starting out I think the best application site is the belly button. You will get good systemic circulation there, and a very strong detoxifying effect on the organism. I would start with 5, and most hirudotherapists typically use between 8-15 leeches per session. The most I have had on me was 15. I have never had an infection at the site of a bite, or any negative effects. You may bleed for hours afterwards, so you want to literally tape a diaper to the area (not joking). You'll probably soak it with blood over the course of the night if you let the leeches bite you in the evening.

There's nothing terrible complex about the process. Let them bite you. Let them have their fill, they will fall off by themselves once they have sufficiently gorged themselves on your blood, and treated you in exchange with their life promoting enzymes. I think leeches are awesome.


Calin
Inhibits blood coagulation by blocking the binding of von Willebrand factor to collagen. Inhibits collagen- mediated platelet aggregation
Destabilase
Monomerizing activity. Dissolves fibrin. Thrombolytic effects
Hirustasin
Inhibits kallikrein, trypsin, chymotrypsin, neutropholic cathepsin G
Bdellins
Anti-inflammatory. Inhibits trypsin, plasmin, acrosin
Hyaluronidase
Increases interstitial viscosity. Antibiotic. Spreading Factor
Cholesterol esterase
Chloromycetyn

Antibiotic
Tryptase inhibitor
Inhibits proteolytic enzymes of host mast cells
Eglins
Anti-inflammatory. Inhibit the activity of alpha-chymotrypsin, chymase, substilisin, elastase, cathepsin G
Factor Xa inhibitor Inhibits the activity of coagulation factor xa by forming equimolar complexes (very important role during the treatment of Osteo-arthritis and Rheumatoid arthritis)
Complement inhibitors
Replace natural complement inhibitors if they are deficient
Carboxypeptidase A inhibitors
Increases the inflow of blood
Histaminelike substances
Vasodilator. Increases the inflow of blood at the bite site
Acetylcholine
Vasodilator
Anesthetics subsctance
Anesthetic anti-pain during the leech "bite"

The enzyme list above was compiled by Alicja Kolyszko, who is probably one of the most vocal leech advocates for human health alive today.
Thank you. I am doing API and hirudotherapy at the same time. I used to them separately, but now I do 14 bees and 6 leeches. The clinic uses your first method, but I agree that there the same. Belly bottom point is good to know. Thanks again.
 
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