Leech Therapy, also known as Hirudotherapy [from the Latin hirudo-leech] has been recognized since ancient times and is still widely used today as a natural treatment for many areas and diseases.

Leeches have been used in medicine for over 2,000 years and to fully understand why leech therapy works in such a wide range of applications, it's important to appreciate that the therapeutic activity of leech therapy is not based on a single mechanism of action, but on a combination of multiple effects. The leech is equipped with an extremely sensitive nervous system, which it uses to inspect the host and the host's blood.

Several hospitals throughout Australia and other countries use the recognized and extraordinary benefits of leeches in Plastic Surgery, Wound Healing and Microsurgery.

The main species of Leeches used at Life Clinic Hirudotherapy and Healing are called 'Hirudo Richardsonianus Australis', which are exclusively bred Medical Leeches and only supplied to hospitals and private clinics throughout Australia.

Leeches are miraculous creatures and utilized in many countries to restore and assist diseases and conditions. Nowadays, more and more people are seeking natural treatments to gain health benefits without the harmful side-effects that medications often create.

I refer to all areas in my profession as 'Tools for Life' and Leech Therapy is another 'tool' available to all of us as a natural gift of nature. I hope the information in these pages provides you with a greater understanding of these amazing creatures.

I am aware many people are fearful of leeches for a variety of reasons. Some, because they have experienced leeches attaching themselves to their feet and legs without permission whilst walking through small streams and rivers and others who have heard stories about slimy worm-like creatures! Either way, it is only through understanding the background and health benefits that leeches provide, that we can truly appreciate the amazing assistance they can offer our health.

After all, we don't know what is going to happen to us in the next ten minutes, ten weeks or ten years! We live day by day enjoying life and all that is involved, whether it is coping with work pressures, relationships, family life, taking time out on holiday, enjoying financial gain as well as facing debt......or anything else you can think of, it is pretty straightforward, most of us lead busy lives and simply take our bodies for granted.

No, this isn't about selling life or health insurance! This is about asking ourselves how much thought do we give in understanding what is naturally available to help us enjoy a healthy and long life.

Unfortunately, most of us are aware of someone who has suffered a stroke or heart attack and it would be easy to presume these problems only occur in the later part of people's lives, but sadly that's not always the case. Cardiovascular and vascular disease for instance, is the number one cause of death in many countries and we are all aware that good diet and exercise helps reduce this risk and of course there are people like myself that have a high risk passed down through family genes, but not many people are aware that leech therapy is also a natural way of 'preventative' treatment.

Like many people, I had absolutely no idea I had cardiovascular disease, let alone an 'advanced' stage of disease, which would normally be observed in someone at least 20 years older than myself! Without doubt, I was incredibly fortunate surviving four heart attacks in one day before surgeons found many of my arteries had serious narrowing or complete occlusion.

Through years of experience understanding leeches, I developed my own methods to achieve incredible results using these amazing creatures to treat my carotid arteries, left subclavian artery and general well-being.

You can see I have provided photos of blood expressed from leeches from various treatments. The lighter red, clear blood is healthy, whereas the thick dark blood indicates a problem, usually also showing 'bits and pieces' – cholesterol and clots. Nothing in Western medicine is known to dissolve plaque, as my interventional cardiologist stated in an article provided to the 'Sydney Morning Herald' (view press releases) but tests proved that after my methods of leech therapy, my blockages had been cleared.

Generally speaking, as long as we feel well, we don't always bother with preventative treatment and certainly, with vascular and cardiovascular disease being a number one killer, leech therapy is the most natural treatment available.

By TTS Holistic Counselor Mehdi Jaffari