After ten days of continuous nosebleed, a 38-year-old Chinese man discovered the cause of his sudden suffering: a living leech in his nose. According to the New England Journal of Medicine, doctors at the First Hospital of Hunan University of Chinese Medicine reported that the man returned to the hospital a week and a half after a mild but persistent nosebleed and blood spots in his saliva. Using a small medical camera to examine the nasal passages, the doctors directly observed the leech moving, trying to come out. The doctors explained that the probable cause was the man's recent mountain climbing activity and washing his face in untreated spring water, where most leeches live in freshwater and feed on blood. The man underwent a medical procedure under local anesthesia, during which the leech was suctioned out using a catheter. The procedure was successful, and the man recovered completely without any permanent complications. The doctors pointed out that nosebleeds are usually caused by trauma, tumors, or dehydration, and doctors do not typically consider leeches as a primary cause. This incident is not unique; in 2014, a woman during a camping trip in Southeast Asia removed a large 3-centimeter leech from her nose, which had been living inside her head for a full month.
