It took twenty days for the doctors to understand what was wrong with this patient complaining of various symptoms that were disturbing to say the least. It is the media Ars Technica which reports this strange, unsavory medical case: a patient complaining of an unusual runny nose, repeated nosebleeds and a strange sensation of movement in the nostril… without anything being observed.
The ordinary examinations did not reveal anything conclusive, so it was necessary to wait for an in-depth ENT consultation to discover that a small parasite, a leech, had entered his nose and taken up residence there. But how did this little blood-sucking parasite get there?
The unfortunate victim had evidently bathed in a potentially contaminated body of water, not realizing that an intruder had slipped into his nostril. Once the parasite was discovered by doctors, its extraction was delicate: the presence of a mobile organism, sometimes adhering to the internal mucous membranes, requires a precise procedure as well as an endoscopic control.
Small cold… or blood-sucking parasite?
Doctors explain that the leech, by clinging to the mucous membranes, causes bleeding as well as inflammation and secondary infections. If you too are one day subject to symptoms such as persistent nosebleeds, feeling of displacement, nasal obstruction, particularly following swimming in tropical areas, do not wait, and consult.
This particular case, however, remains extremely rare: although leeches are well known in certain regions as aquatic parasites that attach to the skin to feed on the blood of their host, they rarely penetrate body cavities such as the nasal passages.
Already in Antiquity, the Greek physician Nicander of Colophon observed that if accidentally ingested, leeches could prove to be a real poison, attaching themselves to the mouth, throat or opening of the stomach, causing pain and discomfort. He then recommended making the patient swallow vinegar, ice, salt or a potion made from brackish earth, in the hope of dislodging it.
Today, although the unfortunate ingestion of leeches is rare, it still happens that some slip into the nasal cavities. Some species of leeches have even made it a specialty. This is the case of the Dinobdella feroxalso called nasal leech or large Indian leech, capable of reaching 20 centimeters in length in the nasal passages of the cows they parasitize.
