This solution creates an aquatic environment for maintaining leeches before use. Biopharm recommends no more than 50 leeches per 10 liters of solution. 9 One hospital pharmacy uses one quart plastic containers with snap-on lids, placing 10 to 12 leeches in each. This gives the leeches room to swim around, and also makes it easier to collect them. A tight-fitting lid is a necessity when housing the leeches prior to use.
Unfed leeches are thin, slippery, and very fast.
A suction cup on their tail enables them to climb straight up the walls of the container. Their bodies are very elastic, allowing them to squeeze through small cracks and even air holes punched in the container lid. Make sure that lids are securely fastened and air vents are made with a 20 or 22 gauge needle. Pharmacists usually keep the majority of the leeches in the pharmacy and dispense them to the nursing unit as needed. The number of leeches sent to the unit depends on the type of treatment required, and how many the physician wants applied at one time.