ABSTRACT
Leeching [Irsale 'Alaq] is one of the oldest methods of treatment to cure the diseases. It has survived for more than 2000 years since the beginning of the scientific medicine. It is nothing but a unique method of removal of Mawaad-e-Fasidah [morbid matters] from the body. It draws blood from deeper tissues thus helping to treat ailments. The best leech should be used in order to get maximum benefits. To fully understand why leech therapy works in such a wide range of applications, one must realize that the therapeutic activity of leech therapy is not based on a single mechanism of action, but on a combination of multiple effects. During the process of feeding, leeches secrete a mixture of different biologically and pharmacologically active substances into the wound that deliver these main therapeutic benefits. It is used effectively in the management of non-healing ulcerative lesions like Diabetic ulcer, leprotic wound etc., as it helps to improve the local blood circulation. Besides these advantages this therapy is also useful in various skin disorders like eczema, pimples, and psoriasis etc. and used to treat abscess, cellulites, thrombophlebitis and varicose veins. Leech therapy rarely ever leads to serious complications. The local pain of treatment and short-term itching are regular side effects. Leech therapy should never be performed in patients suffering from diseases that affect the blood coagulation system, patients on immunosuppressive drugs, the elderly and immune deficient persons. For centuries leeches were the common tool of physicians, who believed that many disease were the result of imbalance in the body that could be stabilized by releasing blood