To Cut The Losses

While there is no single pill or injection that automatically "cures" snakebite, medical treatment has drastically reduced the fatality rate and minimized the physical effects.

Since snakebites often occur far from a hospital, treatment may have to begin with first aid. But before that, one should make certain that the offending snake is indeed venomous. If possible, it should be killed and brought in for positive identification. A victim can suffer from hysteria or extreme panic and these reactions can cause complications (and even death), quite unconnected with the effects of the venom. Therefore, the person bitten should remain or be kept as calm as circumstances and personalities permit. He should not make a wild dash for help. Violent exercise circulates the venom more rapidly. But walking for as much as an hour is not harmful.

The following procedures are recommended if there is no way to get to a physician: a tourniquet should be placed two to four inches above the wound. It should not be so tight as to impede the flow of blood and should be released every 10 minutes for a minute or two. After the tourniquet is applied, two straight incisions—no fancy Xs—should be made through the fang marks. They should be no longer than� inch, no deeper than ? inch. Suction, preferably by cup, should be applied to these incisions. If no other device is available, use the mouth. The blood and venom should be spit out. (Considerable amounts of venom can be swallowed without harmful effects.) If the suction is begun within a few minutes after the bite and is continued for an hour, as much as 50% of the venom can be removed. Very little can be removed after that. Therefore suction should be discontinued.

A checklist of possible medical treatment includes among other things: the use of broad-spectrum antibiotics, tetanus injection, intravenous infusions of fresh whole blood, electrolite solutions and pain-killers. Oxygen, Adrenalin and hock drugs should be held in readiness. Antivenin should be administered if the patient is not allergic.

Rattlesnake antivenin has been available in this country for 50 years. However, it is based on horse serum, to which some people are violently allergic. Laymen working in snake country often carry antivenin kits, supplied by cooperative physicians. Anyone with such equipment should think carefully before using it, since an allergic reaction to horse serum can be as deadly as a rattler.