Snake Bite FAQ

Kyoto: Hiking from Kibune to Kurama

advertisement

The two protocols listed in the section on treatment do not mention cleaning the bite wound. However, if it is going to be an hour or two to get the patient to the hospital, you might consider cleaning the wound. Here is what Wilkinson in MFM says,

"The skin should be washed and swabbed with an antiseptic. (Such obvious measures to reduce contamination are frequently neglected, resulting in infections which are responsible for a large part of the residual damage from snake bites. The bacteria that cause tetanus and gas gangrene have both been isolated from the mouths of poisonous snakes.)"

Providone-iodine solution (10 percent in water, trade name Betadine) diluted 1:10 in clean water to make a 1 percent final concentration makes a fine antiseptic solution.

Extractor Devices

The Sawyer's Extractor is a spring-loaded piston that attaches to any of several sizes of cylindrical vacuum chambers. Although neither of the two treatment protocols above suggest its use, many authorities suggest it might be useful. Gold and Wingert state,

"A number of field studies have shown that a Sawyer's Extractor (Sawyer's Products, Safety Harbor, Fla), which provides about one atmosphere of negative pressure, is effective in extracting venom from the bite site, provided it is applied within the first 5 minutes after the victim is bitten. Suction should then be continued during the first 30 to 60 minutes after a bite."