Doctors Remove 2 Live Leeches From Man's Throat, Nostril After He Complained Of Non-Stop Cough

Doctors removed two live leeches from a man’s throat and nostril after he complained of “non-stop cough.” The incident took place in China's Fujian province on Friday.

According to local reports, the unidentified man went to Wuping County Hospital’s respiratory department and told the doctors that he had coughed up phlegm and blood. A CT scan was conducted, however, nothing unusual was found. Doctors then conducted a bronchoscopy, which revealed two live leeches inside him. While a 1.2 inches leech was found inside the man’s throat, the other was discovered in his right nostril. Doctors gave the man local anesthesia and removed the leeches using a pair of tweezers. The man was recovering.

Meanwhile, doctors said the leeches were inside his body for over two months and they believed that the worms must have entered his body while drinking water from a mountain stream as the man often worked in the area.

Speaking to local media, Dr. Rao Guanyong, director of the hospital's respiratory department, said, “When he drank with water containing the leeches, it was likely that they were very small and undetectable by the naked eye. In the past month or two, the leeches have sucked the patient's blood and grown.”