There are a variety of leeches all over the world. Some have jaws with teeth, some don't. A leech attaches itself to you and will stay attached until it has become kenyang of your blood. They inject an anti-coagulant so the bites still bleed even though the leech is removed.
Here are some possible tips (especially for PLK and DT) on how to make your encounter with the leech less unpleasant:
- Don't swallow or chew any leeches that you find. According to the US Army field manual,
'Swallowed or eaten, leeches can be a great hazard. It is therefore essential to treat water from questionable sources by boiling or using chemical water treatments. Survivors have developed severe infections from wounds inside the throat or nose when sores from swallowed leeches became infected.'
- Use fingernail to interrupt the leech sucking on you and then flick it away.
- Use lighter, lit cigarette, vinegar, insect repellent , teh tarik from any mamak stall or any other appropriate substance on the leech. It will cause the leech to detach. (may be less medically advisable to use this method).
- Use anti-leech socks.
- Just let it suck till it is kenyang.
To sum up, the leech is another creature that we have decided to type-cast as disgusting, vile and repulsive. However, we should also empathize with it. Whenever they see our legs/arms/ankles....they see food. Plus, they don't really need that much of our blood in order to get satiated. So, I urge all of us to reconsider our draconian and barbaric attitude towards these creatures of the jungle. We need more love in this world....
References:
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2 comments:
Lol! Nice & cute post here. Thought you were gonna deliver a serious guide to making an encounter with a leech less unpleasant...until you sed not to chew/swallow em.
Haha. Had me smiling there :)
Eii...this is a serious guide. I had my serious face on when I was writing it.
Leeches do look like jelly foodstuffs what...some ppl might be tempted to eat them :p
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