# Bitten by a leech **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 5, 2009, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitten-by-a-leech/498827 "2009-06-05T15:14:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2009, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitten-by-a-leech/498827/1 "2009-06-05T15:14:24Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2009, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitten-by-a-leech/498827/2 "2009-06-05T15:26:41Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2009, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitten-by-a-leech/498827/3 "2009-06-05T15:49:53Z")
That sucks. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2009, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitten-by-a-leech/498827/4 "2009-06-05T15:53:32Z")
Jesus christ, this mental picture is going to give me nightmares. I’d go to the doctor if I were you. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2009, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitten-by-a-leech/498827/5 "2009-06-05T15:55:18Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2009, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitten-by-a-leech/498827/6 "2009-06-05T16:04:02Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2009, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitten-by-a-leech/498827/7 "2009-06-05T16:08:46Z")
> [@Harmonious\_Discord](#): > > …I don’t know if the leech can leave part of it inside you if pulled off… Apparently it _is_ possible. > [@From Wikipedia](#): > > Simply pulling a leech off by grasping it can also cause regurgitation, and adds risks of further tearing the wound, and leaving parts of the leech’s jaw in the wound, which can also increase the risk of infection. . > **[Leech](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leech)** > > Leeches are segmented parasitic or predatory worms that comprise the subclass Hirudinea within the phylum Annelida. They are closely related to the oligochaetes, which include the earthworm, and like them have soft, muscular segmented bodies that can lengthen and contract. Both groups are hermaphrodites and have a clitellum, but leeches typically differ from the oligochaetes in having suckers at both ends and ring markings that do not correspond with their internal segmentation. The body is ... BLECH. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2009, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitten-by-a-leech/498827/8 "2009-06-05T16:11:48Z")
Mama Zappa I’m not clicking a link that is labeled BLECH. The contamination I knew of. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2009, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitten-by-a-leech/498827/9 "2009-06-05T16:18:33Z")
So, the little fucker vomited into my bloodstream did it? Nice. ETA: It doesn’t _feel_ like it’s infected, and nor does it look bad. Just itchy and not healing up. > [@Sailboat](#): > > That sucks. Bloody awful joke. Death by [giant leech](http://www.richard-seaman.com/Arthropods/Indonesia/Highlights/AlasPurwoLeech.jpg) to you. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2009, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitten-by-a-leech/498827/10 "2009-06-05T16:27:53Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2009, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitten-by-a-leech/498827/11 "2009-06-05T16:37:53Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > I got a leech on my leg about three weeks ago…The thing still hasn’t healed. It’s itching like bejaysus and still looks like a nasty sandfly bite…I don’t really want to go to a doctor for something as trivial as this. Three weeks and it still isn’t healed? _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. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitten-by-a-leech/498827/12 "2013-05-21T02:26:58Z")
A Medieval Doctor will soon show up, & charge you 5 gilders for the treatment. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitten-by-a-leech/498827/13 "2013-05-21T11:52:51Z")
Nope, **jjimm** ’s not back – the thread was bumped by a newbie. I split it into a new thread: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=16309801#post16309801](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=16309801#post16309801)