I got a leech on my leg about three weeks ago. Unfortunately as I was washing the blood off (not realising what was causing the bleeding), I knocked the little bastard off, presumably leaving its jaws embedded in my skin.
It then bled for about three hours. Then it just looked like a nasty sandfly bite.
The thing still hasn’t healed. It’s itching like bejaysus and still looks like a nasty sandfly bite.
Anyone been bitten by a leech themselves? Is this normal healing time for a leech removal that wasn’t performed properly? I don’t really want to go to a doctor for something as trivial as this.
Our whole family has had a leech latch on at some point. That’s what happens when you swim in a lake and walk in the weeds. We always used fire to make them let go. I don’t know if the leech can leave part of it inside you if pulled off. They do pump in blood thinner and damage the tissue digging in. We always disinfected the spot and it took a while for it to heal like any wound. Three weeks seems excessive, so maybe you have an infection.
I got bit on the tummy by a tick last summer and the head stayed in me. I went to the local Doc-in-the-Box and they removed it for me. It was way too “alien” for me to just leave it to its own devices.
They actually made a pretty big deal of it. I had to do the Lyme Disease treatment, too.
Leeches are closely related to earthworms. I don’t think they actually have jaws or teeth. As Harmonious Discord said, leeches make anti-coagulant, to keep the wound open while they dine.
I (along with most of my family) have been attacked on occasion by leeches. They look and feel disgusting, but that’s usually the worst of it. After removal, the skin stings a bit – but no longer than a few hours.
To remove them, we usually used salt (NaCl) in small quantities, which made the little suckers let go. That would have meant no leech bits left in the skin.
It’s time to go to a doctor, m’kay? I know you think this is trivial, but you want it to STAY trivial, yes? Look, if you’ve got a leechbit still in there you need to get it removed. This is something that might be doable in a doc’s office. If it’s itching there may be some sort of infection. That would need to be treated. An open wound on your leg that isn’t infected now may become infected if it doesn’t heal up. Really, you need to have a medical person look at this.
