I'm looking for info/advice on working with medicinal leeches. I had a patient with an auto-skin graft with some venous congestion/necrosis, and the leeches were ordered for the congested areas. So...
How do you get a leech to move without harming it? I used a little salt to get it unstuck, cleaned off the salt and then tried re-directing it. It was very fast and stubborn about going for new tissue-- it wasn't going for the surface blood on the target area, and i tried to use a #26 needle to stimulate an area of blood flow (decreased sensation on the graft, pt couldn't feel it), but that didn't work. Is there anything else they like that will get them to stay in one place? What are some good materials to use that won't hurt them? I used moistened sterile 4x4s.
What can you use for a border to keep them from wandering? I used some damp kerlix, but I was concerned about macerating surrounding tissue-- and then one got loose in the sheets anyway.
And when you're getting them out of the container and they grab on to the jar-- what do you do?
Safety issues re: the suckers when they've got pt blood in them? Ever hear of them getting inside incisions/orifices?
What are other things they're used for?
Any good tips on relieving patient anxiety about the treatment?
Thanks everybody-- it's been hard to find good info outside of our institutional protocol, which is short on practical tips.