The emergency management of a medicinal leech bite

Leeches have been used as a medicinal remedy for years untold. Recently, there appears to have been a resurgence in the use of the medicinal leech, Hirudo medicinalis. Presented is the case of a patient who called the emergency department for advice concerning the management of a bleeding leech bite. We discuss briefly the pharmacologically active salivary contents of the leech and an approach to the emergency therapy of a medicinal leech bite.