Avoiding leeches when travelling - Telegraph Kate Smith, Bedford, writes We are travelling to Sri Lanka this year with the tour operator Explore. It recommends wearing "leech socks." Can you tell me if these are really necessary and where I can buy them ? Dr Richard Dawood, travel medicine expert Leeches - which before feeding can be tiny - lie in wait on vegetation, quickly attaching to clothing as you brush by, then on to the lower legs and ankles. They are skilled at insinuating their mouth parts through the weave of socks, and wriggling into trainers or even tough hiking boots. They have a particular propensity for buttocks and private parts - so caution is needed when answering the call of nature. Leech bites are almost painless, and accompanied by secretion of an anticoagulant, so the first clue to their presence may be an expanding red stain in your socks or clothing, or the squelch of blood in your boots. Although they are usually just a nuisance, and don't spread disease, you will want to avoid them. Leech socks are made from tightly woven fabric and form an impervious barrier to bites. Online, you will find many suppliers offering them. Alternatively, you can make your own by spraying plenty of DEET (mosquito repellent) on to ordinary hiking socks. If you do find a leech attached to you, don't pull it off, as the mouth parts can remain under your skin and leave a slowly healing granuloma, or lump. You can encourage the leech to detach on its own by heating it with a lighted cigarette; just as effectively, you can apply some DEET, alcohol or table salt. Apply antiseptic to the skin until it has healed. The fifth edition of Dr Richard Dawood's book, Travellers" Health: How to Stay Healthy Abroad, has just been published by Oxford University Press (£16.99). About Dr Richard Dawood Richard is the medical director of the Fleet Street Clinic in London and has travelled in more than 100 countries. The fifth edition of his book Travellers" Health: How to Stay Healthy Abroad is due out in autumn.