I heard a story on NPR about the nations dwindling supply of anti-snake bite serum. One hospital in Florida used over 100 vials on a single rattler bite. They said that left them w/ around 40 vials for the rest of the year. My question is what the heck are those snake bite kits you can buy thru campmor, REI and the like? If it takes a hospital 100 vials of serum to control the spreading poison and hospitals are in dire need of snake serum, what possible good can these “kits” be?
I heard that story, too.
(The reason we are short of serum is that the only mfg is revamping the production line, so we are limited to existing stocks.)
My take is that someone who needs more vials waited too long to get help and the poison had spread pretty far. If the snakebite kits remove venom, or even slow it down a bit, then it is a help. I think the constriction band does the most good.
The kits are merely used to lend temporary aid to a snake bite victim. They are not menat to be the cure. Basically they include bandages, a suction device for sucking poison out (considered by many I’ve talked to to be of dubious value), tourniquets and so on.
In short they lend very minor aid to a snake bite victim to allow them more time to get to proper medical care. Anti-venom serum is not included for two reasons:
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Generally things that require an injection are not available to the general public.
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No telling what kind of snake you might get bit by. Each serum is unique to the snake bite it’s meant to treat (it is, afterall, made from that snakes own venom in the first place).
How much time these kits may add to allow you time to get to a hospital may be debateable but I figure every little bit helps.
Another reason not to have anti-venom is that some is based on Horses and some folks are allergic. Most anti-venom kits have a test to see if you are allergic so that some other steps can be taken.
(This info is pretty old. My “Medicine for Mountineers” book is over 10 years old now. It is probably time for a new copy.)
That would mean that you would have to identify the snake for the hospital. I thought that all pit viper venom was treated with the same venin. (sp?)
So, let’s see. I can expect a tourniquet, bandages, possibly a sucction device, probably a small index of dangerous North Am. viper types ,and most definetly, instructions. I didn’t figure on actual serum, for obvious reasons. Just want to know what’s in 'em thar kits. The serum shortage I guess was just me rambling about a good story I heard.
Doing a quick check on sites that talk about snake bite treatment it is amazing to see the lack of a coherent approach. Some say use a tourniquet, some say no. Some say freeze the wound, some say no. Some say cut around the wound and some say no. There are even some that say to use electric shock and some say no. The site linked below I personally buy into if only because it’s part of the CDC and written by the University of Florida.
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/nasd/docs/as31600.html
Yes indeedy. One thing ALL sites regarding snake bites agreed on was identification of the snake. If possible killing the snake and bringing it to the hospital with you was preferrable. However, this should never be done if there is ANY risk of someone else getting bitten and should NEVER delay getting the injured to the hospital (i.e. don’t run around for 10 minutes chasing snakes). A good description of the snake will usually suffice as most hospitals are well aware of what snakes are in the area.
I was also mistaken on the suction bit. ALL sites agree suction should be aplied immediately even via mouth suction. Cutting the wound seems to be a no-no however (although some sites say this may be done).
As to whether any pit viper venom can be used to treat any pit viper bite I couldn’t say. Sounds reasonable but with this sort of thing who can say (except an expert of course)?
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According to “Combined evidence-based literature analysis and consensus guidelines for stocking of emergency
antidotes in the United States” published in Ann Emerg Med 2000 Aug;36(2):126-32, the only antivenin recommended for inclusion in the stock of all U.S. emergency departments is “Crotalid snake antivenin” which is useful against bites from snakes of the genus Crotalus which includes the rattlers. -
Crotalid snake antivenin is “horse serum,” a mix of antibodies from horses immunized against crotalid venom. It works by inactivating the venom. Therefore, how much you need depends on how much venom was injected by the snake that bit you, NOT how long it took you to get to an emergency department.
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Horse serum makes many, if not most, people sick. IIFC, something like 50% of people who receive horse serum get serum sickness, hence, its use is restricted to trained health care providers in equipped health care facilities.
When I used to frequent the local head shops before they were all shut down by the conservative ass-holes in this area.
(yes sir I’m located right in the heart of uptightville, where Simon Leis is revered and Maplethorpe was nearly run out out town on a rail and also the home of Larry Flynt. . but I digress)
“Snake bite kits” were sold in head shops and consisted of a small vial, a razor blade, a mirror and instructions for use. “In case of snake bite”…all packaged in a nice little leather carrying case. You know all the things that any self respecting coke user would find handy.
One thing I remember from “Medicine for Mountaineers” is that cold is absolutely the wrong thing to do. It was based on the assumption that venom is enzyme-based and that cold would slow down the activity of the venom. In fact it is peptide based and not affected much by cold. Your body’s defenses, OTOH, are hampered by the cold.
Different snakes have different kinds of venoms but, IIRC, crotalid venom is a mixture of toxins including enzymes that destroy tissue. I think the reason that ice is not recommended is that the potential benefit of slowing the adverse effects of the toxin is outweighed by the real risk of frostbite! I seem to remember having heard a presentation by an emergency department physician who showed a picture of a foot with a large necrotic (dead) area similar to what might be seen with undertreated rattlesnake envenomation who said that the bite didn’t do any harm (no venom, as is often the case) but the “first aid” did.
There are 2 common kinds of snakebite kits on the market. The ‘lozenge’ type, so called because of it’s shape. It’s made of a grey-green rubber and comes apart in the middle. It contains a scalpel, rubber tubing and anti-septic. The idea being sterilize the wound, apply tubining to stop blood flow, cut the bite then using the rubber case itsself as a suction devise, remove the venom. Better than nothing BUT it is generally now accepted that cutting is next to useless and dangerous. further the suction provided by the case is not suffecient to remove the venom effectively. On the plus side, it fits in your pocket so there is no excuse not to have it in snake country.
The other (newer) kind comes in a yellow plastic case and consist of a vaccuum pump (and several size attachments to fit any part of your bitten self), and anti-septic. The plan here is to sterilize the wound and vaccuum-pump out any toxins. Less danger of infection (no cutting) and this thing SUCKS! If it only had a larger attachment…but I digress 
I have and carry both kind.
First hand story, buddy & me were backpacking in cayonlands and came across a guy who had just been bitten by a pygmy rattler (his partner had killed it).
He had used the vacuum pump model and was deciding what to do. my friend had a cell phone with him (yeah, I know…) and called the nearest hospital. Their respose? Yeah, we will come get you but it’ll cost you! (heartless bastards)
So the guy opts to stay and wait it out. We stayed with him about 4 days. It was a nasty 4 days (for him) but he eventually walked out and made a fine recovery.
My take is if you are prepaired, anti-venin won’t be a must. Let’s face it - rattlesnake venom isn’t that deadly according to the stats and the experts. And corral snakes mouths aren’t generally big enough to bite you and the are not aggressive anyway. So here in America That pretty much leaves your main threat from cotton-mouths. And contrary to what herpatologist will tell you, these snakes are agressive and dangerous. Give them a VERY wide berth.
Hope this helps.
Note to self: Proofread BEFORE posting.
I imagine that with tournequets, the deciding factor is how serious the bite is. If you use a tournequet, you will very likely end up losing that limb. If it’s a choice between losing a limb and certain death, it’s a small price to pay, but there’s no snake in North America that delivers anything close to certain death. Even if they do inject, which they usually don’t (venom is expensive, and usually saved for prey), there’s something like a 95% survival rate for untreated rattler bites, higher if you’re in good health to begin with. It’ll hurt like Hell, and you may wish you were dead, but you’ll survive. I’m not certain about the risk from cottonmouths and copperbacks, but I suspect that they’re comparable. Hence, in North America, the tournaquet will do more harm than good. On the other hand, if you get bit by an African bush viper, or an Australian watersnake, then you want to make sure that that venom does NOT get into the rest of your body, whatever the cost. Of course, even here, you have to apply it immediately, if you want to catch it before it spreads.
Incidentally, the one thing that you never, ever want to do for a snakebite is drink alcohol. For either type of snakebite, alcohol will greatly decrease your chances of survival. This is probably one reason why rattlers have such a reputation for deadliness-- victims drank heavily to “treat” it, and effectively killed themselves.
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- The old-style kits that come contained in a rounded-oval rubber case are crap. You’re supposed to be able to use the halves as suction cups to help draw the venom out of the wound the same way it got in, but you can’t get much suction with those things. That was the reason that they came with razor blades, to make bigger holes.
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- The Sawyer Extractor works much better. Assuming I haven’t lost any of the pieces, it comes in a plastic case that contains the Extractor (which looks like a plastic syringe), four different sized nozzles that fit on the front end of the extractor, a disposable safety razor, one Povidone-Iodine prep pad (says it’s equivalent to 1% iodine) and a few printed inserts.
To use the Extractor, you put a nozzle on the front end of it and pull the plunger all the way out and then you push the nozzle around the bite and press the plunger in. The Extractor works pneumatically; I don’t quite know how. You can’t take it apart without damaging it, and the instructions say that getting it wet internally will prevent it from working also (you have to keep blood from entering the front end). The thing is, it sucks HARD. Like blood-blister-in-5-minutes-anywhere-you-put-it hard. You can push it in only partway and it doesn’t create quite as much suction, but it’s still impressive. The safety razor is for getting rid of body hair, because the extractor creates a hard suction but not for a large volume: if just a little air gets inside around the nozzle, it loses its grip and falls off. If you don’t hold the front end against anything and push the plunger in, it gets real hard to push and then lets out a wheeze when it gets all the way in, and then stays in. - It works well for insect stings also. - MC