Leech’s eye for adventure: Thai trekker’s blood-curdling tale

A Thai man shared an eye-opening survival experience when a leech sucked blood from a friend’s eye, along with a warning and recommendation for all trekking enthusiasts.

The Thai man, Apichart Prommathat, shared the story on his Facebook page Der Baag (เดอะแบก) at 9am yesterday, November 6. Apichart began his story with a warning to trekkers to be aware of leeches while trekking.

“Today, I am going to share my personal experience which happens probably only once in 10,000 times or even once in 100,000 times: a leech that gets stuck in your eye. Many people may find this unbelievable but it is true and very frightening.”

Apichart revealed that he was trekking with a friend. The friend put his camera on the ground while looking for a good spot to take a picture. Meanwhile, a leech then climbed over the viewfinder.

The friend then picked up his camera and did not notice the leech as he put the viewfinder to his eye to take a picture of some trees.

The leech immediately slithered onto his eye and began sucking blood near his tear duct. Apichart said his friend screamed in both pain and shock. They then spent more than 30 minutes trying to get rid of the leech. His friend’s eye turned red from the effort.

Salt and saline water

Apichart admitted that he and his friend did not know the correct way to remove the leech at the time, nor did they have the right equipment. They just used their fingers.

Apichart revealed that he later consulted trekking specialists and friends about how to deal with leeches. They advised trekkers to carry salt water or carry salt with them when trekking. If you put salt or salt water in your eyes, it will be easier to get rid of the leech.

The page’s followers flooded the comments section with their shocking reactions. One woman urged others to take care of their private parts as well, saying it was also very difficult to get rid of the leeches there.

Another netizen shared the story of another trekker. She said that the trekker drank water from natural sources in the forest and did not filter or boil it before consumption. The water contained leeches, which made the trekker cough like a TB patient. The doctor spent a long time trying to find the cause of the cough and finally found a leech in the trekker’s throat.

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