Posted: 3/20/2011 9:55:03 PM EDT
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Rattlers are the only dangerous snake around here I think. Is there any way to prep for that? Mainly worried about my dog. We are mainly a few hours from a main road and wandering through brush. |
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Quoted: http://lh4.googleusercontent.com/k9TxK1njJ-_4irBU0oDTHEdOpZcanH_DiOYyOr0EokzlD_RGcVUGrqWNeqIjcw-TJgm5ggoadfIIfflBbSfZwqUfCVApC-NVpTBdqS9GSFJ17PzYM6V6rXBx-JVQNvECWzOffdkCawAIs2RugxZ49q7hNEhhFx7W6HG4AjIkYfCVZLC5qpBbOOIJzqh3 That is your best bet. Bite kits are mostly a placebo type item as you really need medical attention and anti-venom ASAP. Is anti-venom something I could procure, store and use myself? |
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http://lh4.googleusercontent.com/k9TxK1njJ-_4irBU0oDTHEdOpZcanH_DiOYyOr0EokzlD_RGcVUGrqWNeqIjcw-TJgm5ggoadfIIfflBbSfZwqUfCVApC-NVpTBdqS9GSFJ17PzYM6V6rXBx-JVQNvECWzOffdkCawAIs2RugxZ49q7hNEhhFx7W6HG4AjIkYfCVZLC5qpBbOOIJzqh3 That is your best bet. Bite kits are mostly a placebo type item as you really need medical attention and anti-venom ASAP. Is anti-venom something I could procure, store and use myself? No. |
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Is anti-venom something I could procure, store and use myself? For a lot of reasons - NO!. Among others is that many people are allergic to the anti-venom and injecting yourself with it might kill you on its own, where as the venom probably won't kill you. You need to be in a setting where you can get the proper care. My understanding is that a lot of poisonous snake bites do not result in any actual venom being injected, and that infection is sometimes a worse problem than the venom. The best thing you can do is kill the offender and bring him with you. I don't know if there is any anti-venom for dogs at all. A fair number of dogs that get bit by poisonous snakes recover anyway. |
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Best defense is being smart and having the proper gear for your ao.
Antivenom is available for dogs. I've never heard anything great about a snake bite kit. Some believers, but many that think making cuts around the bite simply result in more pathways for the venom to circulate. |
| You could keep anti venom however it is very expensive.Snake bite kits are a waste of money for the most part.The best medicine for snake bite is avoidance most bite happen due to human stupidity. i.e. let me catch it or Im gonna kill it person hits snake with stick snake wraps around stick person swings stick to hit snake again snake falls on person and gets bit. |
| Mythbusters did an episode on snakebite kits. They determined that the kids and venom extractor are all bullshit. I was bit on the left thumb on October 1st 1986 by a 14 inch southern pacific rattle snake. Was to the hospital within 45 minuets. Swelling started and kept on for hours. At one point they were talking about a fasciotomy to release the pressure. Anti-venom was administered and I was kept in special care unit over night. Went home the next afternoon. Worst part was the reaction to the horse serum. |
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Well here's some old timey stuff. When I was boy snake bite kits were very common and they did include a anti-venom. Not to have to research it but it was something along the lines of two different basic types of poisons and over 99% of the bites in the US this type and then the venom a generic mild dose. The kits came with a tourniquet, scalpel, suction device (typically a wide mouthed syringe), and serum. The serum came with a needle and was in a rubber coated container to its self.
Then everything changed as the CDC got involved and they went with snake specific anti-venom and the common person considered too stupid to know the difference. They're probably right. Still, if there is one topic in medicine with so little attention this is it. That is because there are so few bites in the US. The lowest common denominator and everyone can get to a hospital in no more than 20 minutes dominates how we approach this topic now. Major hospitals even near snake bite prone areas, don't keep anti-venom now. The official line is don't do anything and transport. The hospital then will note the bite size, try to ascertain the type of snake, and then call the CDC which will find the right specific serum and have it transported to the hospital while the hospital does damage control treating the symptoms with a basic harmless snake no harm no foul approach. Having been bitten myself, I can tell you reality is a little different. While a city person out of a day in the park will rush to the hospital on any bite, a country person may not. More typical would be wait to see if there's swelling or other signs of poison. Most people can't tell one snake from another and quite frankly if bitten, even if you can, you are not going to take time to ask the snake sticking in your skin its name before you shake it off. In general, a lot of common sense needs to be applied to snake bites and it all has to do with time/timing. If you are indeed 20 minutes or less then transport is the best answer. If farther away, now you get into the who knows which is the best tact. A tourniquet slows the spread of venom to the body but also the lack of blood flow and the poison staying stationary increases the odds of the limb being lost. Suction right then right that second, may get some of the poison but that right then is awfully hard because its almost never like the movies as most people will tend to move first, try to get to the hospital in that 20 minutes or get the hell out of the danger area even. In a very short time, that poison will travel too far to have any sucked out. There's more down side as now that the bite has been lanced this makes identifying the snake type more difficult. Other than transport, deciding what to do is one hell of a decision. Times were different when I was a boy. The people far more prone to be bitten did indeed live by time too far away. There really wasn't wide spread life flight and heck there wasn't even regional hospitals. Way more people died in the back seat of cars making their way to the closest hospital. Snake bites, rural folks did the whole thing but a lot more people lost legs and arms. Tj |
| Treat the bite its self like any other open wound. Appy constricting bandages above and below the site. This allows for some circulation but helps to contain the venom in the bite area.Keep calm and if possible keep the bite lower then the heart.Some snakes may not be venomous but a localized reaction my occur.Hognose snakes may cause one of these.Also believe it or not Garter snakes to |
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Depending on your surrounding conditions electricity may be your friend. http://venomshock.wikidot.com/ |
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Is anti-venom something I could procure, store and use myself? For a lot of reasons - NO!. Among others is that many people are allergic to the anti-venom and injecting yourself with it might kill you on its own, where as the venom probably won't kill you. You need to be in a setting where you can get the proper care. My understanding is that a lot of poisonous snake bites do not result in any actual venom being injected, and that infection is sometimes a worse problem than the venom. The best thing you can do is kill the offender and bring him with you. I don't know if there is any anti-venom for dogs at all. A fair number of dogs that get bit by poisonous snakes recover anyway. I did this when a small rattler bit me after I stepped on it in the dark. The doctor chewed my ass saying it was a good way to get bitten a second time. "And now, you're not dealing with a snake that was just startled and probably dry bit you. Now your dealing with a pissed off SOB who will inject enough venom into your arm to eat half the muscle away," he said. Knowing what kind of snake bit you is not important as all pit viper bites in the US use the same antivenom. Coral snake bites can easily be distinguished from pit viper bites. From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antivenom "In the U.S. the only approved antivenom for pit viper (rattlesnake, copperhead and water moccasin) snakebite is based on a purified product made in sheep known as CroFab. It was approved by the FDA in October, 2000." I did some research on snake bites after I was bitten and found many of the long held beliefs passed down to us over the generations are wrong. I would urge you to do your own research. I always thought that as long as you got to the hospital quickly, everything would be alright. I found that few bites here in the US are fatal, even without treatment, but that a serious snakebite will leave at least some, and maybe severe damage, even with the best of care. My bite did not require antivenom because the snake struck me right on the ankle bone and did not inject much poison. Still, I spent the night in the hospital and missed a week's work from the swelling in my ankle and foot. I required some physical therapy to regain most of the strength in my ankle. To this day, the injury still sneaks up and "bites" me from time to time. (Bad pun, I know.) Snakebites are nothing to mess around with. The doc told me that if you have a wide mouth syringe, to gently try to suck what you can get out of the wound, then to ice it and get to the hospital as quickly as you can, even if you have to walk. He said NOT to make any incisions around the wound as this would only make it easier for the poison to find its way into the muscle. HTH. |
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Treat the bite its self like any other open wound. Appy constricting bandages above and below the site. This allows for some circulation but helps to contain the venom in the bite area.Keep calm and if possible keep the bite lower then the heart.Some snakes may not be venomous but a localized reaction my occur.Hognose snakes may cause one of these.Also believe it or not Garter snakes to Hog nosed snakes are rear fanged and have a mild venom. They put on an awesome show. Came across one on one lane back road last year. Had just rained and was sunny. Got out of truck and immediately new what it was. Grabbed his tail. He reared up and spread neck out like a cobra. Did this for about a minuets then flipped over and showed his belly and stuck his tongue out playing dead. I flipped him over and he flipped back over a few times. He then spit up two toads and played dead some more. I took him home and had him about three month then let him go. That same day about 30 feet further up the road saw the prettiest copperhead I have ever seen. That sucker was hostile and lunged several times. David, you and I talked about rattle snake bites before. Crowfab is horse serum. it also has to be refrigerated. |
| I saw a show on tv that used electric current to treat dogs bit by snakes. They said the current breaks down the toxin somewhat and minimizes the amount of viable venom that can do its thing inside the animal. Don't know if it will work or not but if I had no other option... I'd give it a try but only if there was no other option available. One thing I do remember is they said the quicker you can apply the current the better. In a matter of a couple minutes, most of the venom has already left teh bite site and traveled thru the bloodstream so if electric current is applied, has to be in the first couple minutes after being bit. They used a stun gun to apply the current right to the bite site for several seconds. |
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I saw a show on tv that used electric current to treat dogs bit by snakes. They said the current breaks down the toxin somewhat and minimizes the amount of viable venom that can do its thing inside the animal. Don't know if it will work or not but if I had no other option... I'd give it a try but only if there was no other option available. One thing I do remember is they said the quicker you can apply the current the better. In a matter of a couple minutes, most of the venom has already left teh bite site and traveled thru the bloodstream so if electric current is applied, has to be in the first couple minutes after being bit. They used a stun gun to apply the current right to the bite site for several seconds. That was all over the place in the 90's. Every outdoor magazine had an article on that. Would I try it? Sure, If I was a way from a hospital. Whats to loose? Myth-busters tested that and said there was no scientific proof to it. |
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Have the proven that its venom in the Hognose. One school of thought is that is was stuff in their mouths left over from their primary date of toads.As toads secrete bufo toxin from the glands befind the head.
I've kept venomous spiders,snakes and scorpions off and on for the last 20years but don't think Ive had a hog nose long enough to see if the effect from the bite went away once and if you got them to change diet |
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The forgoing about needing professional medical care is on target. However, with regards to dogs, my vet has a rattlesnake "vaccine". It doesn't remove the need for proper treatment, but it does lessen the effects and prolong the time before those effects take place.
Now out here, we have a few different types or rattlers. I understand the vaccine is good for Pacific DiamondBacks. But it is of no use for a bite from a Mojave Green. By the way, if you are bit by a Green, get thee to a doctor ASAP. There bites contain not only hemotoxin but neurotoxin, as well. As to the best way to prevent snakebite, be aware of where you put your feet and hands. I was stepping backwards composing a photo and just about stepped on this fellow. It was truely him or me. I found out I'm dammed fast from leather if properly stimulated. 
This one is about 5'. |
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I really don't know if your info is correct, but the polyvalent antivenom is labled "for all North American Pit Vipers".
The antivenom used today is very dangerous. I don't know if the older stuff was safer. I do remember my grandfather had what he called rattlesnake antivenom in hs office, and other then Epi, he didn't have the equipment to manage a serious reaction. MDs n the hospital are scared of the reaction, so I'd never use it outside of a hospital. In most cases, the snakes don't envenomate, or the docs make the decision to let the venom take it's course. I've had 2 friends bit by rattlesnakes, and 2 by copperheads, and 2 more struck by snakes but no puncture. Both guys bit by copperheads stepped on them. Alcohol was involved. One guy bit by a rattle snake was trying to catch it. And suceeded, after getting bit. He's a Marine Officer now. The other was splitting wood in shorts behing his house. The two guys struck, one took it on the boot, and the other had loose fitting blue jeans on No one got antivenom, or stayed in the hospital more then one night.. |