An Oregon lady who raises leeches as pets even allows them to suck her blood, which sent chills across social media and gathered millions of views on TikTok.
"I've had people tell me I'm disgusting and need to be checked into a mental facility," Sommer Seeley, 26, told NeedToKnow.online (via New York Post).
A leech sucks blood on a patient's heel during a leech therapy session on a roadside in Srinagar on March 21, 2017. Leeches are often used to heal ailments, from blood circulation to skincare, in traditional medicine in Kashmir.
TikToker Keeps Leeches As Her Pets
The Portland resident is seen holding hands with her then-girlfriend while leeches with matching bows eat on their legs in one of her most famous TikTok videos, which has received at least 4.6 million views. Her video joked, "Finding a girl that likes your leeches."
According to Jam Press (via Mirror), the security guard has maintained the bloodsucking worms for several years and now has five of them in total, with Betty, a 4-year-old leech 5-inches long, being the eldest.
Leeches she allowed to attach to her arms and legs and drink to their hearts' content have feasted on her in multiple TikTok footages she has shared.
Although it may appear unpleasant, leech saliva contains an analgesic that dulls the pain and a substance that keeps the blood flowing.
When Seeley is abroad, and her dogs cannot get plasma on tap, she even buys a phlebotomy kit, a blood-drawing device.
Naturally, her unconventional pet-keeping practices sparked a range of responses on TikTok.
The leech-lover also asserts that because she only associates with people who value real connections, her unusual pet-feeding practices have no impact on her personal relationships.
@sommer.seeley Different strokes for different folks #fyp #foryou #foryoupage #leech #leeches #invertibrates #exoticpet #weirdpets #pets #animals #cuteanimals #funnyanimals #lesbian #goth #weird ♬ Sweet - Cigarettes After Sex
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Are Leeches Harmful to Humans?
Leeches are parasites that are members of the same species as worms, Healthline wrote. Since they have both male and female reproductive organs, they have the option of sexual reproduction, self-fertilization, or both.
Leeches come in more than 600 different species. Although certain species survive in seawater, you may find them most frequently in grasslands or freshwater. They must eat from a host to survive since they are parasites.
Numerous leech species are sanguinivorous, meaning they consume blood as food. They will start sucking a human's blood as soon as they attach themselves to that person.
In addition, leeches can grow up to 10 times their original size when feeding, allowing them to ingest a large volume of blood at once.
Healthline added that leech bites are not harmful. In most cases, these parasites may be removed without any medical assistance.
However, even when the leech is taken out, the bite might still result in prolonged bleeding at the attachment site. This is because leech saliva is an anticoagulant and usually prevents blood from clotting.
Rarely, some individuals may develop an allergy to a leech bite. People who have experienced allergies or anaphylaxis before should take special precautions. Anticoagulant drug users have the chance of experiencing more extensive post-bite bleeding.
Although the word "bite" is used, leeches don't truly bite with their mouth or teeth. They instead have extremely powerful suckers that affix to the skin and draw blood.
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