It was in the 1980s that the leech treatment was first administered for removing the blood after performing reconstructive plastic surgeries such as reattaching legs, limbs, etc. From that time leeches has gained a considerable attention from the medical world. For instance, leeches can effectively cure the pains in the knee resulting from arthritis.

As the researchers from the Duisburg-Essen University in Germany found out the pain reduction offered by leech treatment gave comparable results to those of using painkillers. The use of painkillers, however, has been argued to be much more troublesome due to the damages to the stomach if these are used regularly.

Quite recently another type of advantage of hirudotherapy (leech treatment) has been noticed. The same researchers examined whether the leeches can reduce nerve pains resulting from shingles and the effects were positive.

One of the key aspects which make leeches so effective in curing various diseases and pains is their saliva. It has many anaesthetic, blood-thinning and analgesic compounds that effectively reduce all types of pain.

There are more than 700 different types of leeches living in the wild environments and none of these are used to medical treatment. Medical leeches are normally cultivated in artificial environments such as the largest leech farm in Wales that was founded in 1812. Medical leeches are nowadays widely used for heart diseases, infertility, or even alopecia. Because of the leeches' saliva and its wonderful healing possibilities the leeches have been proved useful for curing migraines, digestion problems, blood clotting, inflammation, or for enhancing the ability to inhibit the enzymes.

When the leech bites you the skin is anaesthetised and it does it work sucking the blood. Aftr the first one it comes the second one and then the third. For the treatment to be effective you need to have four attached to you one after another. The treatment lasts for about 40 minutes and after it all you can feel is the relaxation.