A practical approach of leech therapy: Insight from the Unani system of medicine

Abstract

Abstract Leech therapy is an effective mode of treatment from time immemorial. However, our Indian System of Medicine has given a new platform to this practice of treating patients suffering from various diseases such as skin diseases, joint pain, inflammation, wounds, nonhealing ulcers, lumps, hemorrhoids, varicose veins, deep-vein thrombosis, and plastic and reconstructive surgeries. The objective of this study was to construct the standard operating procedures (SOPs) for leech therapy and to raise awareness among AYUSH practitioners and other health-care providers. This review study of SOP for leech therapy was carried out through the Unani classical textbooks and the recent research on leech therapy from sources such as PubMed, Scopus, AYUSH portal, Google Scholar, and ResearchGate. The collected material was studied in detail and analyzed for the development of standard operating procedures (SOPs) for leech therapy. This paper focused on the practical application and handling of leech during the procedure of leech therapy, and to some extent, an attempt to construct SOPs of leech therapy has been made with the help of some Unani experts, ancient Unani literature, and recent studies on leech therapy. Leech therapy is an effective, safe, feasible, beneficial, and economical treatment modality. Hence, the development of standard operative procedures (SOPs) considering leech therapy is the need of the hour. This paper is an initiative to develop an SOP for this practical procedure and hope it will be beneficial for all traditional healers.