By Yeti.Doc, Jean Braakhuis

Leeches are a nuisance to some walkers and a nightmare to others. Leeches are blood-sucking critters that attach themselves to us and other animals for a meal of our nice warm blood so that they can survive. In bygone days they were used to treat some medical conditions. In the process of attaching and sucking our blood, leeches use anti-coagulant which prevents the sucking site from healing long after they have detached themselves.

Basically leeches are harmless, but they sure cause a mess due to the after-bleeding. They can be removed by applying vinegar, burning them off or applying salt. However, if a leech attaches to an eyeball - this does happen - or in the ear or mouth, great care is required to remove it. Neither burning nor vinegar is recommended in these sites!

For the eye or ear, apply a saline solution until the leech detaches itself. For the mouth, use saline as a rinse. Saline is made up by adding approximately 1/2 teaspoon of salt to 1 cup of water. Incidentally, this saline solution is also useful for irrigating wounds of all sorts and alleviating sore throats and irritated eyes from any cause. It also helps the wounds to heal.

Prevention is the best protection. In known leech areas, cover up and check yourself at each rest stop. To prevent or slow after-bleeding, use a Band Aid and a liberal coating of Vaseline. Add salt to your first-aid kit.

Adapted from Vic Walks News, Feb 2002