A 38-year-old man’s chronic nosebleeds had an especially bloodcurdling cause. In a recent case report, doctors in China describe how the man had gotten a leech stuck up his nostril.

Doctors at the First Hospital of Hunan University of Chinese Medicine detailed the real-life vampiric tale this week in the New England Journal of Medicine , complete with a close-up photo of the bloodsucker. The man likely contracted the nosy offender after splashing his face with mountain spring water. Happily, the doctors were able to remove the leech with no lasting complications.

Mountainous peril

According to the report, the man visited an otolaryngology (ear, nose, and throat) clinic 10 days into having nosebleeds from his right nostril.

The man’s nose bled a few drops every hour, and he produced

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