A man who complained of a constant nosebleed was shocked to find a three inch leech had been living in his nose for half a month.
The 24-year-old man, whose name has not been disclosed, said he had been suffering from a nosebleed for two weeks when he decided to seek help at Sanhe Hospital in Huizhou, Guangdong province of southeast China.
Ear, Nose and Throat specialist Dr Wang Yanfeng suspected the patient had a leech living in his nasal cavity upon an initial inspection.
He confirmed his speculation when he shone a torch up the patient's nostril - and found the parasite wriggling furiously away from the light source.
Video shows Dr Wang spraying anaesthetics to the patient's nostrils before extracting the leech measuring 3.15 inches long.
The lively parasite tried to wriggle free as it is unwittingly removed from its host.
According to the hospital, the patient later revealed he had water from a river while hiking with friends in Yunnan two weeks ago.
Dr Wang suspected her accidentally inhaled the leech larva into his nose, and the young parasite spent two weeks growing in the nasal cavity while feeding on his blood.
The patient is expected to make a full recovery.
Leeches can attach themselves to a person's skin or even inside their nose or mouth.
When this happens, the person suffers from a condition called hirudiniasis, according to Mark Siddall, an expert on leeches.
Mr Siddall spoke in an interview with Live Science explaining that a leech can suck as much blood as about five times its unfed body weight.
