That's gross! When you find a leech living inside your body
Now, we are not going to lie to you... this is pretty scary and rather gross.
We've all felt a little tickle in the nose or scratch in the throat and not thought much about it.
But what if that feeling is actually something living inside your body?
*Shivers roll down the spine*
For the people highlighted below, this was their reality when it was discovered that their seemingly harmless symptom actually turned out to be a leech making a home for itself inside their body.
If you are squeamish, it may be best for you to read a different article on our site, as this one is sure to give you some nausea...
Leech mistaken for blood clot
A Scottish woman says she didn’t feel a thing when a leech that had been living in her nose for a month was surgically removed in 2014.
The 7.5cm bloodsucker is thought to have crept into her right nostril during a trip to Vietnam and Cambodia.
When the leech popped out of her nose, Daniela Liverani would sniff him back up, thinking he was a blood clot.
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Liverani said she discovered ‘Mr Curly’ – as Liverani nicknamed the leech – when she got out of the shower, went to the mirror, and had a proper good look and could see little ridges on him.
Doctors managed to remove Mr Curly and sent him home with Liverani.
However, Mr Curly did not live to see another day: "He's in an Edinburgh City Council bin. He's probably long gone by now. I boiled him first."
In 2014, 24-year-old Daniela Liverani from Edinburgh had been having frequent nosebleeds for weeks.
— Morbid Knowledge (@Morbidful) February 6, 2024
She thought the nosebleeds were from a burst blood vessel caused by a motorcycle she had been involved in.
But a couple of days later, whilst taking a shower, she began to… pic.twitter.com/AbQObTmknp
MORE FROM ECR
Another leech living in a nose
In 2018, doctors in China were left horrified when they discovered something terrifying and very much alive in a man's nose.
NDTV reported at the time about a 51-year-old man who suffered from nosebleeds and finally made his way to a hospital to find out what was going on.
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What was supposed to be a regular check-up turned into something terrifying when a doctor discovered a blood-sucking leech lodged in the man's nostril. His wife noticed something that wriggled out of his nose and went back in again.
In the horrifying video, you can see the doctor using a pair of tweezers to free the leech from captivity. What caught the eye of many was how calm the 51-year-old remained. His facial expression after it was removed was priceless - what relief!
Leech stuck in woman's throat for three months!
When a woman from Vietnam went to the doctor in 2019 complaining about constant migraines, she thought it was a tumour in her throat.
However, it turned out to be a leech that had been living in her throat for about three months - and she didn't know a thing!
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It is said that doctors in the Asian nation believe that she may have come into contact with the leech during a bath in spring water.
The blood-sucking parasites feed on blood by making small cuts in their prey's skin, then covering the cuts with their saliva which numbs the area and increases blood flow.
Moral of the story? Be careful where you swim and pay attention to your body when something feels off.
Is anyone else's nose a bit itchy all of a sudden?
Image courtesy of YouTube