Close-up of leech found deep in the nostril of a Mong child

On the morning of January 7, the doctors and nurses of the Military-Civilian Medical Clinic of the Economic-Defense Group 4 located in Na Ngoi Commune, Ky Son Border District, received a patient with a leech that had burrowed and parasitized deep in his nasal cavity. The Mong people call the leech “con tac tet” and it lives in humid areas deep in the forest.

Early in the morning of January 7, the family took Vu Ba Chinh (born 2008), from Phu Kha 2 village, Na Ngoi commune, to the infirmary for examination in a state of mild difficulty breathing, discomfort and bleeding in the left nostril. Here, doctors Nguyen Cong Minh and Tran Hoang Anh examined the patient's nose and discovered a leech deep in the nasal cavity.

The on-call team performed a nasal endoscopy and removed a leech about 5 cm long. After the leech was removed from the patient's nose, the patient no longer had difficulty breathing and the bleeding gradually stopped.

A 5cm long leech lived in a patient's nostril. Photo: PV

Doctor Nguyen Cong Minh said that after treatment, the patient can go home when he stops bleeding.

It is known that this is the 5th time that doctors of the Military-Civilian Clinic have removed leeches that have entered the body of a patient while going to the forest or working on the fields. Leeches often enter the human body through contact when people carelessly drink stream water, or swim, sit, or lie in places where leeches live.