Ichthyotherapy is the use of fish such as ''

Garra rufa The red garra (''Garra rufa''), also known as the doctor fish or nibble fish, is a species of cyprinid that is native to a wide range of freshwater habitats in subtropical parts of Western Asia. This small fish typically is up to about in tota ...

'' for cleaning skin wounds or treating other skin conditions. The name ichthyotherapy comes from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

name for fish –

ichthys The ichthys or ichthus (), from the Koine Greek, Greek (, 1st cent. AD Koine Greek pronunciation: , "fish") is (in its modern rendition) a symbol consisting of two intersecting arcs, the ends of the right side extending beyond the meeting point ...

. The history of such treatment in traditional medicine is sparsely documented. In a museum near the River Kwai, recording the privations of prison camps, a sketch drawn by a prisoner showed him up to his waist in water, but with small fish attending to his leg ulcers. There is widespread use of such fish in India, particularly in rural areas. The most widely known form of ichthyotherapy is used in the treatment of skin conditions and involves the ''Garra rufa'', commonly known as

doctor fish The red garra (''Garra rufa''), also known as the doctor fish or nibble fish, is a species of cyprinid that is native to a wide range of freshwater habitats in subtropical parts of Western Asia. This small fish typically is up to about in tot ...

or nibble fish. This fish occurs naturally in the

Euphrates The Euphrates () is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia ( ''the land between the rivers'') ...

. The benefits were first observed in

Kangal Kangal is a town and a district of Sivas Province in Turkey. The current mayor is Ahmet Kürşad Apaydın from the Great Unity Party (BBP). As Kaymakam was appointed Erinç Demir. Demographics The town is populated by Sunni Kurds and Sunni Tur ...

, Turkey; therefore, it is also called the Kangal fish. Many suffering from

psoriasis Psoriasis is a long-lasting, noncontagious autoimmune disease characterized by raised areas of abnormal skin. These areas are red, pink, or purple, dry, itchy, and scaly. Psoriasis varies in severity from small, localized patches to complete ...

and

dermatitis Dermatitis is inflammation of the skin, typically characterized by itchiness, redness and a rash. In cases of short duration, there may be small blisters, while in long-term cases the skin may become thickened. The area of skin involved can v ...

have benefited from the treatment, which involves lying in the ponds and letting the fish eat the scales and loose skin on the affected areas. In fact such is the popularity of the treatment for skin conditions that Kangal became a health resort.

References

Pilot Study
– "Evidence Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine", December 2006.
Results of the Ichthyotherapy – Study

VII An International Conference on Biotherapy
(June 20–24, 2007, Seoul, Korea) Traditional medicine Biologically-based therapies Fish and humans Psoriasis {{fish-stub

See also

References