A 38-year-old man in China who spent ten days wondering why his nose wouldn’t stop bleeding got an answer that he more than likely did not want to hear: he had a live leech living in his nostril.
According to doctors at the First Hospital of Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, as published in The New England Journal of Medicine, the man came in after a week and a half of constant, light nosebleeds and bloody spit.
Maybe it was just a run-of-the-mill sinus issue? Sometimes when the air gets too dry, people get spontaneous nosebleeds. That’s a thing… right? The doctors took a gander inside his nasal passages with a small medical-grade camera and immediately saw a wriggling leech trying to escape.
Man Who Rinsed His Face With Spring Water Ended Up With a Leech in His Nose
So how does one end up with a nasal leech? The patient had recently been mountain climbing and had washed his face with untreated spring water. The real problem here is that even water filled with parasites can feel refreshing and cool.
Most leeches live in freshwater, so it’s likely this one swam up his nose and decided to stay awhile, gorging itself on his blood.
Doctors numbed the area and sucked the bloodsucker out using a catheter, essentially fighting the leech using its own tactics. The patient recovered fully, with no lasting complications, but you have to imagine that the guys are going to be second-guessing every drop of water that touches his face for the rest of his life.
Doctors note that while nosebleeds can come from things like trauma, tumors, or even just dryness (because that turns out to be true). Nose leeches aren’t usually the first thing a doctor’s brain goes to when they encounter a nosebleed. Still, it’s probably best to avoid untreated natural water unless you keep your mouth and nose closed.
Somehow, this particular event is not so unique. Back in 2014, a woman on a backpacking trip through Southeast Asia reached into her nostrils with a pair of tweezers and pulled out a massive three-inch-long leech that had been living inside of her head for a month.
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