[社会新闻] 乔治亚流行水蛭疗法

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。1 M: S2 g$ }9 ]' ~( \) m

　　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。

　　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。csuchen.de1 S1 {( i- D n- e/ b" [ \
人在德国社区; m0 Z m7 ]5 d1 U8 N8 H

8 Z/ r9 b, m6 e: m1 x
: o8 w: f! a ^$ d' u# w+ q
( _$ q! t* T: F$ O' X
6 v- P# ]9 L8 O2 o
Women turn to leeches in Tbilisi 22 June 2011! c0 ]8 G6 | ?4 w* A

Leeches 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.人在德国社区: m+ u; M7 |- ^& G
# [* F' O7 R, R! o
The idea being that disease could be banished by releasing the infected blood.
8 q( [- H3 Y7 ]! m( T9 t
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.& k1 c0 d- u& k" F& c" Z* q

Damien McGuinness in the capital Tbilisi has been finding out why.