Comments on: The Art of Manliness Guide To Snakes Part 2: How To Avoid & Treat A Snakebite

By: James

James — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 03:48:18 +0000

I just read the article not bad but the picture of the Redtail Boa biting the hand may lead uneducated people to believe that snake is actually venomous. Which is obviously not the case. Now anyone who likes snakes knows it but someone who don’t collect them may not know that and may end up killing someones pet if they were bitten by it or even see it out.

The only treatment for that particular bite would simply be wash your hand and bandage. But decent article none the less.

By: Micaiah

Micaiah — Wed, 05 May 2010 14:06:03 +0000

One thing that I have noticed within these responses is that no one has brought up the conversation of a more common snake bite. What about those idiots that buy a cute, little snake from the pet store and then WHAM they suddenly have a 6 ft. python or boa that attacks them at feeding time and don’t know what to do. As a avid snake guy and own of numerous pythons and boas I have found that if a constrictor attacks a bottle of whiskey works well to get them to release their bite and grip. I keep a bottle of cheap Jack Daniels with a bar tenders pour spout right next to the cages incase one of them decides to bite and wrap. I try to educate all the people that I know who own these types of snakes.

By: emily

emily — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 16:25:24 +0000

get the hall to the docter

By: Nick

Nick — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 12:21:16 +0000

PS. The inland taipan of australia has the worlds most toxic venom with an LD50 from just 0.025mg of venom. So just to rub it in (or not rub it in as the case may be) washing the wound will not remove the venom – its been injected several millimeters into your flesh and this nasty little sucker above (not identified till the 1970′s) can kill with just 25mcg of venom 50% of the time. Stop the spread – get to the ED!!!

Cheers again.

By: Nick

Nick — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 12:11:03 +0000

Monvalent antivenin (specific to the snake spieces that caused the bite and the best chance for a full pt recovery if caught in time) can be administered within thirty minutes following a swab of the bitten area that you are advising people to wash with soap and water. It’s like washing away the DNA!!! Pressure immobilisation bandaging is considered the standard of care for snake bite first aid (W.H.O.) and wrap the whole limb from toes (or fingers) up not just a bit. immobilise the limb and limit movement as much as possible – completely if you can. Get the chopper or ambos to come to the pt then off to the ED The aim of the PIB is to slow drainage of the venom through the lymphatic system and into the circulatory system where systemic effects can then occur – thats the things like paralysis of the diaphragm, coagulopathy (blood won’t clot – so if you cut the limb “to drain the venom away” it will just keep bleeding), renal failure, rhabdomyalysis (muscle melt down), tissue necrosis etc etc. Pretty nasty stuff. As for shooting the snake for ID – dumb idea – the hospital can swab it and do that in <30mins. (I appreciate this might not be so easy in other countries with more limited medical resources. ANd let the snake move along – his bite wasn't personal just defensive – he's snake after all and most things that touch him usually want to eat him. No need to blow his head off with a shotgun for no reason if he's exiting the scene. And by going after the snake you are just putting yourself at risk for no reason. Suction devices? – well they suck. There is no evidence whatsoever they actually do anything. Good money spinners for someone. Type in A.V.R.U. into google and read away. Best site of its kind in the world for all things venomous.

Cheers. Go easy on the elapids – there's not many of them left!