Hirudotherapist
A hirudotherapist is a physician who has knowledge of reflexology and treats with medicinal leeches.
Hirudotherapy is a physiotherapeutic method of treating a person using medicinal leeches. Hirudotherapy is a subsidiary branch of physiotherapy. Medicinal leeches are considered "bases", the reserves of which are enzymes and many biologically active components. They are capable of providing analgesic, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory and other effects on the body. To get the opportunity to be treated with medical leeches, a person needs to come for a consultation with a hirudotherapist.
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Content:
- Who is a hirudotherapist?
- The essence of the leech treatment method
- What diseases does a hirudotherapist treat?
- What organs does the hirudotherapist treat?
- Tests to be taken before starting treatment
- How is an appointment with a hirudotherapist going?
- Appointment to a hirudotherapist
Who is a hirudotherapist?
A hirudotherapist is a specialist with a higher education, whose main activity is leech therapy. In addition, hirudotherapists are required to have an additional, proven qualification in reflexology.
The leeches, which the doctor uses to treat patients, are grown in special biofactories under sterile conditions.
The essence of the leech treatment method
Leeches are used to treat various diseases. They are attached to the human body according to the existing schemes. To select specific places, the doctor collects the information he needs about the disease, about the activity of the pathological process, about the patient's state of health. The duration of blood sucking varies in time and can be up to an hour. The minimum exposure time is 10 minutes. After the procedure, the leeches are removed either by a doctor or fall off on their own. Secondary leeches are not used, they are destroyed by placing them in chloramine.
The healing effect is achieved due to:
- Dosed bloodletting. One animal is capable of sucking up to 15 ml of blood.
- The work of substances with biological activity. They enter the body from the saliva of the leech. The main therapeutic effect is hirudin. This anticoagulant helps reduce blood clotting.
- Thanks to the body's responses to the bite of the leech.
The depth of the skin bite does not exceed 2 mm, after which the leech introduces its saliva into the wound. When the required exposure time expires, the leech is removed, but the bite site continues to bleed. It can take up to 16 hours to completely stop bleeding.
What diseases does a hirudotherapist treat?
Many people suffering from a wide variety of diseases can visit a hirudotherapist.
A specialist can help in the fight against the following diseases:
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Diseases of blood vessels and heart. Among such diseases are angina pectoris, ischemia, atherosclerosis, hypotension and hypertension, varicose veins, thrombosis, thrombophlebitis, heart failure.
- Urological diseases - urethritis, prostatitis, cystitis.
- Skin diseases - furunculosis, acne, skin eczema, ulcerative lesions, psoriasis.
- Diseases of the abdominal organs: pancreatitis, colitis, cirrhosis, gastritis, bile duct dyskinesia, pyelonephritis, urolithiasis.
- Diseases of the ENT organs: sinusitis, sinusitis, otitis media, neuritis.
- Eye diseases: iridocyclitis, keratitis and glaucoma.
- Diseases of the female genital area: cysts, fibroids, adhesions, fibroids, mastitis, endometriosis, adnexitis.
- Allergic diseases: urticaria, asthma, rhinitis.
- Diseases of the endocrine sphere: diabetes mellitus, thyrotoxicosis.
In addition, treatment with medicinal leeches can relieve headaches, get out of depression, and speed up the recovery process after injuries. Hirudotherapy is actively used in cosmetology, helping women in the fight against cellulite and obesity.
The therapeutic effect is associated, first of all, with enzymes entering the bloodstream, including:
- Hirudin - helps to slow down blood clotting, blocks thrombin;
- Hyaluronidase - enhances the effect of medicinal substances applied to and under the skin, improves the permeability of the dermis to other components of saliva;
- Destabilase complex - has a pronounced anti-thrombotic effect, is of interest in the treatment of encephalopathy;
- Bdellins and Eglins are able to relieve inflammation in the human body.
What organs does the hirudotherapist treat?
Since with the help of medical leeches it is possible to cope with many diseases, the hirudotherapist deals with the treatment of almost all organs and systems of human organs.
Most often, the following are exposed to therapeutic effects:
- Vessels;
- Teeth;
- A heart;
- Spine;
- Leather;
- Gall bladder;
- Kidneys;
- Prostate and thyroid gland;
- Throat;
- Spinal cord and brain;
- Ears, etc.
Tests to be taken before starting treatment
No hirudotherapist should start treatment before he has some data about the patient's condition. First of all, the patient will need to perform the CBC. In addition, it is necessary to make an analysis for fibrogen, hematocrit, you need to know the thrombin time, the prothrombosed INR index and the blood clotting time.
The doctor should examine the results obtained before starting treatment.
This is important, since contraindications to hirudotherapy are:
- Anemia;
- Reduced blood clotting and all diseases associated with this fact;
- Hemolysis;
- Exhaustion;
- Tuberculosis;
- Allergy to leech enzymes;
- Oncological diseases.
How is an appointment with a hirudotherapist going?
To begin with, the doctor will listen to the patient's complaints, after which he will need to study the patient's medical history. Therefore, if there is data on previously undergone treatment or on examination by other specialists, then it is worth giving them to the hirudotherapist.
Then the doctor will send the patient to undergo the necessary examinations, if they have not yet been completed. When the results are in the hands of the doctor, he decides about the possibility of starting treatment. The duration of the course is determined, its frequency in each case.
Hirudotherapists are not part of the mandatory medical staff in public hospitals. Therefore, you can find this specialist in private clinics.
Read more: Hirudotherapy - treatment with leeches at home
