Whitefinger / leech therapy

[skc101fc]

Was with a slightly off the wall client today and got round to talking about Whitefinger/ reynauds/hand arm vibe syndrome. Anyway he asked if leeches on the fingertips would counteract the problem. At first thought he'd lost the plot but the more I think the more feasible it becomes. -perhaps I should just stop thinkin ?

[AcaciaRental]

Interesting thought - blood letting is quite an old fashioned remedy! The impact of HAVs on blood vessels occurs following damage to the nervous system. The cause of 'white finger' (Reynauds) is where the blood rushes away from the damaged area, so losing more blood would be a bad move - though the chemicals they release when they 'bite' (one called Hirudin particularly) does aid anti-coagulation, keeping blood flowing which could be where the idea has come from?

 

The HSE website doesn't mention it for some reason...!