Leech thrives inside man’s nose for three weeks

The 33-year-old man, who has not been named, complained of headache, dizziness and a bleeding nose with the feeling of “something slithering inside” last Friday, and had an endoscopy done at the Ha Tinh TTH General Hospital in the central province. He had been hospitalized a week earlier for a tonsillectomy.

Doctors then discovered a parasite hiding inside his right nostril. It turned out to be a 5 cm long leech, bloated with blood. It was safely removed.

The man said his family used water from a stream for drinking, cooking and washing. Three weeks earlier, he had gone to the stream to wash himself, so the leech might have stuck to him then. He said the pain and bleeding in his nose was slight, so he didn’t think much of it.

The man is otherwise healthy and can be discharged from the hospital, doctors said.