A leech lived in a man’s nasopharynx, the upper part of the throat, for more than a month, presumably gaining entry after he washed his face in a stream, a doctor said earlier this month.
The 56-year-old man, surnamed Tsai (蔡), went to see a doctor at the Chu Shang Show Chwan Hospital in Nantou County due to a strange sensation in his throat.
During the oral checkup, Tsai’s doctor saw a black tail wiggling at the back of his mouth, which an endoscopy revealed to be a 4cm-long leech attached to his left nasal cavity.
Photo courtesy of Chu Shang Show Chwan Hospital
The leech was estimated to have been living in Tsai’s nasopharynx for one to two months.
After the application of anesthetics at the site, the leech shrank, fell off and was eventually expelled in a sneeze.
Hospital superintendent and otolaryngologist Chuang Pi-kun (莊碧焜) said that when Tsai washed his face in a stream, the leech likely wormed into his body through his nose, mouth or eyes, before attaching itself to the mucosa to suck blood.
Leeches live in freshwater environments, such as streams, ponds or paddy fields, he said.
The hospital had previously treated three other leech-attachment cases, all in in the nasal cavities, Chuang said.
However, Tsai was the hospital’s first case of someone who had a leech attached the soft palate in the nasopharynx — which is between the nasal cavities and the throat — showing that leeches attach to more areas than previously thought, he said.
People with a leech usually have symptoms such as nasal obstruction, nosebleeds or itchy nose, as well as a violent cough or a hoarse voice, Chuang said.
The condition can be as mild as experiencing discomfort or bleeding, or as severe and life-threatening as obstructing airways, he added.
Leeches’ saliva has anesthetic agents that often make people unable to feel the leech until it has grown bigger or their symptoms get more severe, Chuang said.
People who suspect leech attachment must not try to pull it or dig it out, in case the leech goes deeper or splits with its residue left inside the body, which can cause infection, he said.
‘NON-RED’: Taiwan and Ireland should work together to foster a values-driven, democratic economic system, leveraging their complementary industries, Lai said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday expressed hopes for closer ties between Taiwan and Ireland, and that both countries could collaborate to create a values-driven, democracy-centered economic system. He made the remarks while meeting with an Irish cross-party parliamentary delegation visiting Taiwan. The delegation, led by John McGuinness, deputy speaker of the Irish house of representatives, known as the Dail, includes Irish lawmakers Malcolm Byrne, Barry Ward, Ken O’Flynn and Teresa Costello. McGuinness, who chairs the Ireland-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Association, is a friend of Taiwan, and under his leadership, the association’s influence has grown over the past few years, Lai said. Ireland is
FINAL COUNTDOWN: About 50,000 attended a pro-recall rally yesterday, while the KMT and the TPP plan to rally against the recall votes today Democracy activists, together with arts and education representatives, yesterday organized a motorcade, while thousands gathered on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei in the evening in support of tomorrow’s recall votes. Recall votes for 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and suspended Hsinchu City mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) are to be held tomorrow, while recall votes for seven other KMT lawmakers are scheduled for Aug. 23. The afternoon motorcade was led by the Spring Breeze Culture and Arts Foundation, the Tyzen Hsiao Foundation and the Friends of Lee Teng-hui Association, and was joined by delegates from the Taiwan Statebuilding Party and the Taiwan Solidarity
An SOS message in a bottle has been found in Ireland that is believed to have come from the Taiwanese captain of fishing vessel Yong Yu Sing No. 18 (永裕興18號), who has been missing without a trace for over four years, along with nine Indonesian crew members. The vessel, registered to Suao (蘇澳), went missing near Hawaii on Dec. 30, 2020. The ship has since been recovered, but the 10 crew members have never been found. The captain, surnamed Lee (李), is believed to have signed the note with his name. A post appeared on Reddit on Tuesday after a man
Instead of threatening tariffs on Taiwan-made chips, the US should try to reinforce cooperation with Taiwan on semiconductor development to take on challenges from the People’s Republic of China (PRC), a Taiwanese think tank said. The administration of US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose across-the-board import duties of 32 percent on Taiwan-made goods and levy a separate tariff on semiconductors, which Taiwan is hoping to avoid. The Research Institute for Democracy, Society, and Emerging Technology (DSET), a National Science and Technology Council think tank, said that US efforts should focus on containing China’s semiconductor rise rather than impairing Taiwan. “Without
RSS