# What types of Antivenin do hospitals stock? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 17, 2007, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-types-of-antivenin-do-hospitals-stock/408340 "2007-06-17T05:56:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2007, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-types-of-antivenin-do-hospitals-stock/408340/1 "2007-06-17T05:56:39Z")
[THIS](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=425176) thread got me to thinking. What types of Antivenin do local hospitals routinely have? I’m in Wisconsin so what are the chances that my local ER will be of any good after I’m stung by a scorpion or bitten by a cobra (both of which snuck into my luggage during a recent trip to Phoenix with a stop over in New Delhi). What if I’m in Northern Bumblefuck and some yoopers pet Funnel Web that he got down under gives me a chomp? Do small city hospitals carry such exotic treatments, or are you just SOL & JWF? ---
**Author:** ![USCDiver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uscdiver/32/354_2.png) [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2007, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-types-of-antivenin-do-hospitals-stock/408340/2 "2007-06-17T06:17:01Z")
You’re better off asking your local hospital, if you’re really curious. Ours carries Crofab, I know, for crotalid envenomations. I also think we carry some coral snake (elapid) antivenin. I’m in the southeast US, we cover cottonmouths, copperheads, timber rattlers, pigmy rattlers and maybe a couple of other crotalids with Crofab, which I don’t believe is effective against some of the other pit vipers native to the southwest US, and certainly not for more exotic species. Our toxicologist tells the story of a guy who had two illegal gaboon vipers and had a bite when one got loose. They flew the patient to the antivenin (in Miami), rather than risk flying the antivenin to the patient. It was very expensive, and this was the only available dose in the US. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2007, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-types-of-antivenin-do-hospitals-stock/408340/3 "2007-06-17T06:31:43Z")
[QUOTE=USCDiver] You’re better off asking your local hospital, if you’re really curious. [/QUOTE] 😛 You’ve given me a idea! I’'ll call [Flambeau Hospital](http://www.ministryhealth.org/display/router.aspx?docid=13567) in Park Falls (Bumblefuck). _“Hello, Say, I was wondering, do you by chance have antivenin for scorpion stings, cobra bites, and funnel web chomps?”_ Using my best [Niles Standish](http://www.comedycentral.com/shows/crank_yankers/cast_characters/characters/niles_standish.jhtml) imitation, of course! **Nurse:** Why do you ask? What is the problem there sir? **Niles:** _Oh, we just had some minor mishaps at our petting zoo._ 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2007, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-types-of-antivenin-do-hospitals-stock/408340/4 "2007-06-17T07:57:27Z")
The ones around Sydney keep the antivenene for the funnel web spider. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2007, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-types-of-antivenin-do-hospitals-stock/408340/5 "2007-06-17T08:17:21Z")
[QUOTE=Cunctator] The ones around Sydney keep the antivenene for the funnel web spider. [/QUOTE] But I would expect that, as those spiders are indigenous to that area. What I’m wondering is if hospitals keep antivenin for species that aren’t. For instance, I know of no scorpions crawling around Milwaukee. But what if some nitwit brought one up from the desert and it stung him. Would the local hospital here have a serum for that? ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2007, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-types-of-antivenin-do-hospitals-stock/408340/6 "2007-06-17T11:02:25Z")
California, we have black widow and rattler in my er, and rarely (as in almost never) use the former. You’d be shit oughta luck for anything exotic. antivenin is an expensive and perishable item.