O.K. I really need to stop educating myself on these damn Borneo leeches because I’m not finding much comfort in the facts. Anything I’ve read about them is not good.
I have read all about what you shouldn’t do if one attaches itself to you. Did you know that if it’s attached to you, you shouldn’t proceed to squish it like a mosquito or spider? Because it will simply regurgitate its stomach contents into your wound and this will most likely cause infection and that infection will mostly likely lead to gangrene or fleshing eating disease. I may be exaggerating about the gangrene and fleshing eating, but just because there aren’t any published medical cases on such an affliction, doesn’t mean it couldn’t happen.
Don’t even get me started on what could happen if one happens to crawl in an exposed airway. So now, not only do I have to worry about not squishing one, but I also have to worry about not screaming bloody murder when one attaches itself to me for fear that another one might fling itself into my mouth!
With the knowledge of the adverse affects of squishing one or inhaling another, I am told that I should remain calm. Seriously? Yes, remain calm and look for the smaller end of the leech. Apparently the smaller end contains the teeth/suction cups and once you have located the correct end, you need to simply slide your fingernail under the tip of the sucker, which should be enough to break the suction. Once the suction is broken, you can then proceed to remove it (assuming it hasn’t reattached itself to your finger), fling it to the ground and stomp the shit out of it.
You will then need to run like hell of out the jungle, keeping in mind that these things sense heat and vibrations, so assuming you haven't dropped dead from heart failure, you can rest assured that there will be plenty more where that one came from.
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