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Snake bite treatment?

Just because you don't like the 'go to the hospital' answer doesn't mean that seeking out expert medical attention isn't the right answer.

There are just way to many variables involved. What kind of snake bit you, how much do you weight, how many times bitten, where were you biten, how much venom did you get, and the most important how long till you can get expert medical help?

The other guys have already given you the best advice already. Knowing the kind of snake that bit you, staying calm, and getting to expert medical folks is it.

If I happen to be in Austrailia and get biten I'm just gonna automatically assume the position cause them Aussie reptiles are just nasty buggers.
 
BWSkipper said:
Just because you don't like the 'go to the hospital' answer doesn't mean that seeking out expert medical attention isn't the right answer.
Click to expand...

Huh?:confused:

The point was to ask if anyone knew what to do IF a hospital was not an option,for example, you are two weeks deep in a river gorge in China. Only a fool would not go to a hospital if one was available.

I guess I thought that maybe there was some sort of "last ditch" thing to do that you would never do if medical help was available. You know, instead of giving up, sitting around, and waiting to die.

One can always derail an intellectual consideration of a hypothetical problem by throwing "deus ex machina" saviors into the mix.:rolleyes:
 
Joezilla, was that a copperhead bite?





Seems the consensus is to treat snake bites like falling off a cliff! I guess I just won't do it. Sure looks fun though! OUCH!
 
In the old days it there was no serum. One of the most usual treatments in the wilderness was to take a few matches - like about five, light them and apply them to the bite. The resulting large blister that would develop would suck the poison out of the wound. This is only anecdotal and I am not recommending this to anyone. It's just for historical interest.
 
Joezilla said:
I can't believe that. And before we get off on the right foot or in any wars, I'm not calling you a liar at all. I just have never seen or heard of the damn thing working before, and your post has been the first positive experience I've heard of with the device. Interesting.
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The problem is the time frame.
Obviously it's a puncture wound and the nearly immediate swelling seals that up tight.
I keep a Sawyer in my land cruiser, one in the garage, one in my pack, and one is with the first aid kit in my Tiki hut, which is his work station for doing seedlings, dividing plants, killing and prepping the animals etc..He got bit about 15 yards from the Tiki hut while cleaning under some bananas.It was less than 15 or so seconds till that contraption was on and sucking. Ten minutes is too long. He got lucky.
He now carries one in his hip bag everywhere he goes.
The Sawyer works good on wasp stings too. That and ammonia to neutralize the poison.

It scarred him up a bit near the bite but the clinic is less than 10 minutes and the doc was pumping him with anti-venom immediately. It was his second time being bitten. He's around 40.The first time he was about 25 with a far less venomous snake. A cascabel. Basically a rattler.A terciopelo can kill a 500 lb calf in 4 or 5 hours or so.
A 175 lb. human needs to find help fast.

If you practice with it regularly and keep it close at hand it'll work.
If you're fumbling with the instruction book and figuring out which cup to put on, and shaving it's probably too late.
I still don't know why the docs say not to cut before suction but I'm just a hillbilly.:confused:
 
Alex p. Schorsc said:
In the old days it there was no serum. One of the most usual treatments in the wilderness was to take a few matches - like about five, light them and apply them to the bite. The resulting large blister that would develop would suck the poison out of the wound. This is only anecdotal and I am not recommending this to anyone. It's just for historical interest.
Click to expand...
Very interesting.
I know the Brazilians use an herb called Pau d'Arco.
Maybe the fellow in Brazil could comment on the other stuff the natives use.
The Amazon is remote and very poor. They must have something or there would be a lot of deaths. Maybe there is ?
 
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Toucan Oasis said:
The problem is the time frame.
Obviously it's a puncture wound and the nearly immediate swelling seals that up tight.
I keep a Sawyer in my land cruiser, one in the garage, one in my pack, and one is with the first aid kit in my Tiki hut, which is his work station for doing seedlings, dividing plants, killing and prepping the animals etc..He got bit about 15 yards from the Tiki hut while cleaning under some bananas.It was less than 15 or so seconds till that contraption was on and sucking. Ten minutes is too long. He got lucky.
He now carries one in his hip bag everywhere he goes.
The Sawyer works good on wasp stings too. That and ammonia to neutralize the poison.

It scarred him up a bit near the bite but the clinic is less than 10 minutes and the doc was pumping him with anti-venom immediately. It was his second time being bitten. He's around 40.The first time he was about 25 with a far less venomous snake. A cascabel. Basically a rattler.A terciopelo can kill a 500 lb calf in 4 or 5 hours or so.
A 175 lb. human needs to find help fast.

If you practice with it regularly and keep it close at hand it'll work.
If you're fumbling with the instruction book and figuring out which cup to put on, and shaving it's probably too late.
I still don't know why the docs say not to cut before suction but I'm just a hillbilly.:confused:
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Man, I don't know. I tried it six times just to test it with honey bee stings and couldn't get it to do any type of squat. And I would put it on Milliseconds after the sting. I'll try it with Wasps when I find some. I have a video of it somewhere. I'll see if I can post it.
 
In a radio interview with on NPR a couple of years ago an MD had this to say: "The best treatment for a snake bite is a key to a car that works."

Also, in an outdoor mag. a year or so ago (SAfield?) the writer noted that most bites happen to people who are messing around with snakes (harrassing them), and alcohol is often involved.

Richard
 
you gotta get a female that looks like marilyn monroe to suck the poison out. i seen a movie where she done it. :D
 
My friend who I mentioned previously said he had a patient not even bit that bad and the bill for the antivenom was over 30,000 bucks. "Crofab"?? Does that sound right?
 
Yes, I saw a TV program on snakebites that described typical ER and ICU bills as running in the $30-40K range. Makes some awareness and a $200 set of snake boots/chaps look pretty reasonable!

As for victim misconduct and alcohol involvement, one doc joked that about 50% percent of all snakebites are preceded by: "Hey Billy Bob, check this out!"

DancesWithKnives
 
hollowdweller said:
My friend who I mentioned previously said he had a patient not even bit that bad and the bill for the antivenom was over 30,000 bucks. "Crofab"?? Does that sound right?
Click to expand...

crofab! You got it!
 
These may be a dumb questions, but...

Can you buy antivenom?

Could you apply it to yourself if you had it?

--Say you know that you area has mostly "poisonous snake x" so you carry the appropriate antivenom.
 
Not that I know of here in the US. Its a perscription thing.
 
My male bulldog got hit by a fer de lance 2 days ago.
I had antivenin but also opted for the vet.
I had given him 3 cc of Histaminex and 2 vials while tossing him in the Cruiser.
2 more vials of antivenin and a vial of antibiotic was $54, including the visit.

The same exact AV and antibiotics are used for humans down here. they are made at the university.

He is bit swollen but he's fine.

As usual, you guys get robbed for anything medical up there.

I went online and saw a blurb about a gal whose Shepherd got hit by a rattler.
12 grand later he was OK.
It's absolute lunacy.
 
I used to hunt rattlesnakes with my grandfather for the sweetwater rattlesnake roundup. None of use ever got bit, but we all had close calls at some point in time. Something we had heard was that if you couldn't get to the hospital in time to use a stun gun, because the venom was an electrolyte and the stun gun would destroy the venom. I don't know if it really worked or not. No one ever got bit so no one got zapped.
 
Joezilla said:
Man, I don't know. I tried it six times just to test it with honey bee stings and couldn't get it to do any type of squat. And I would put it on Milliseconds after the sting. I'll try it with Wasps when I find some. I have a video of it somewhere. I'll see if I can post it.
Click to expand...

There is a world of difference between the stinger on a bee, even though the Sawyer is advertised as being able to remove that venom as well, and the fang on a pit viper. I know that you know that, I'm just saying...if you get a dry bite from a snake, it's just a dry bite. If there is a pocket of venom in there and you hit it hard with that Sawyer, you're going to get some of that venom out. I've argued that in here before and people apparently have never had a zit. :D
 
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