前苏联共合国乔治亚这一阵子流行用水蛭治疗疾病,以往欧洲人会用水蛭治疗痔疮,乔治亚人把这项疗法发扬光大,用来治疗其他疾病。www.csuchen.de8 V5 v2 ]# {! t
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乔治亚很多诊所都提供水蛭疗法,病人得先跟诊所买一只水蛭,更年期妇女先把水蛭放在脖子上,经过一、二十分钟,水蛭吸完血,身体膨胀4倍,就可以取下,接着医师再把另外2只水蛭放在这名妇女上下牙龈上,等吸完血再取出,医师在患者伤口上贴上绷带,就算完成治疗。接受过治疗的妇女说,她们在更年期会出现的潮红和盗汗都有明显改善。 9 n5 ^' i' S C1 U+ l$ o ) A5 ]4 _6 _& N( E/ H$ h 另外,有一些高血压或是经常性头痛病人,也会用水蛭疗法降低血压,或是治疗头痛。一名医师说,不但乔治亚人用水蛭治病,乌克兰、波兰、甚至德国,也有不少人接受这种疗法。6 ]4 }# P( h' P3 c3 X% r
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Women turn to leeches in Tbilisi 22 June 20117 p& {3 K+ j# B( P
% B; L* O/ \/ M. G) x2 NLeeches have been used in medicine for thousands of years. By attaching themselves to the body, and sucking blood from a patient, they were thought to bring health benefits. 5 m% B% j* ^5 Z6 ? ; |" S, S; @# f$ J7 pThe idea being that disease could be banished by releasing the infected blood.www.csuchen.de; Q' z( j% [8 b- |* @
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That idea fell out of fashion during the 20th century, with the discovery of modern drugs. But today, as interest in traditional medicine grows, they are making a comeback - particularly in the former Soviet State of Georgia. 8 d8 L* ~8 b+ O- H$ F. `0 ]$ B* @. O6 i% e( k! Y7 o: a
Damien McGuinness in the capital Tbilisi has been finding out why.