Live Leeches

by Stephanie
(Fairbanks, AK)

What do live leeches look like?

We went swimming in a gravel pit last nite. I was only wading while my husband and children swam.


I got out of the water and had tiny little worm like things all over my feet. At first I thought they were baby leaches since they were only 1/4" long, if that, and thin like a needle.


I had my husband get them off of me. They were easy to remove. Then he got them off of him and our children.


Well, one was still on my foot and what caught me as strange was the fact that it was trying to burrow in my skin.


I have called every one I can think of to help me identify them and have had no luck. What do you think? Oh yeah, they were skin tone color not black.

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Hi Stephanie,

What do leeches look like? Pretty much the way you described them. :) They don't have to be black because there are different kinds of leeches as you can see in the picture of leeches above.


The fact that the little critter you discovered was trying to burrow into your skin isn't really that unusual. What is a leech? It's a parasite that attaches itself to you and sucks your blood until it has gorged itself and falls off when it's full.


The problem with leeches is that they can carry bacteria, germs, viruses, etc., and pass them on to you when they attack your blood supply.


I doubt you'll have much trouble with these tiny leeches you encountered (if that is indeed what you discovered), but just to be on the safe side, I'd give everyone in your family some extra probiotics over the next couple of weeks, like Florafood.


The good bacteria should be enough to counteract anything you may have picked up from the little "leeches."


If you do find that anyone in the family seems to develop a problem, then an herbal cleanse would be a good idea. Since you were able to get them off immediately, the probiotics should be sufficient.


Hope you enjoyed the swim in spite of the fact that you had live leeches swimming with you. :)


To your good health!
Angie