The parents of the boy, whose name is Xiaoxiang, contacted doctors complaining of difficulty breathing in the child.. During a medical examination, a small patient coughed up a 12-centimeter live leech, thereby shocking doctors. Need To Know writes about this.

It is reported that previously, a 7-year-old schoolboy had already been to the clinic, complaining of a cough and blood in his saliva, but the treatment he was prescribed turned out to be ineffective.

The patient was transported to Pu'er Hospital in China, where he was immediately referred to the pediatric department. Experts carried out inhalation and discovered a living creature in the child’s body - a leech about 12 cm long. He immediately underwent an electronic bronchoscopy to find out if there were other insects in his body.

Fortunately, after examining the respiratory tract, no other foreign substances were found in the patient’s body.. It was soon determined that the leech had been in Xiaoxiang's lungs for quite a long time, causing a serious infection..

The course of treatment included deep cleansing of the lungs and removal of blood clots in this area. The procedures, according to doctors, were successful. If attempts to remove the leech were unsuccessful, the insect could block the airway, causing suffocation.

Xiaoxiang's family lives in the countryside. In his free time, the boy often goes to the river. Probably, during one of these visits, leech eggs or larvae entered the child’s trachea. The humid environment in the body created ideal conditions for the development of the parasite. Thanks to the efforts made by the medical staff, the little patient made a full recovery.

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