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Posted by Non-expert (Guest) on August 17, 2005 at 4:28:02 pm EDT
In reply to Rattle snake bites..... posted by Ed G on October 22, 2003 at 9:23:06 am EDT

I'm not a herpetologist, but I can tell you the following: Rattlesnake bites do not necessarily involve envenomation, but if they do the results can be extremely serious. Every bite should be assumed to be envenomated. Rattlesnake venom is a hemotoxin (venom attacks blood and tissue). In the case of the Mohave rattlesnake (and some Western Diamondback rattlesnakes that are result of cross-breeding with Mohave rattlesnakes, the venom is both a hemotoxin and a neurotoxin. The old Boy Scout Manual remedies of cut and suck, tourniquets, etc. are no longer accepted since they can both cause serious damage through cutting nerves, etc. if practiced by those who are not physicians and do not have a detailed knowledge of anatomy (many bites are on the hands and wrists, where the risk of such damage is particularly great) and because they often increase the effects of envenomation. The best remedy is the use of a set of car keys: get to a hospital for treatment as rapidly as possible. Since venom is carried largely through the lymph system, one useful short-term remedy is to tie an Ace bandage above the bite (between the bite and the heart) to slow the spread of the venom until medical attention is available. The best time for treatment is within the first hour after envenomation as the damage to tissue should be arrested as soon as possible.

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