BigWooo
Senior Nomad
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Rattlesnake Envenomation
All the talk about rattlesnakes begs me to ask one question:
What if you did get nailed by a rattlesnake...?
Where would you go to get treatment?
Anyone know what (if any) hospitals in Baja, Norte or Sur, carry antivenin? Due to the cost, I can't imagine many facilities stock enough to treat a
serious bite.
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bajalou
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In San Felipe, it's available at all the clinics or through any of the Dr offices.
They have much greater demand for the anti-vemon for spider bites. Black Widow and Brown Recluse.
No Bad Days
\"Never argue with an idiot. People watching may not be able to tell the difference\"
\"The trouble with doing nothing is - how do I know when I\'m done?\"
Nomad Baja Interactive map
And in the San Felipe area - check out Valle Chico area |
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Phil S
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Mood: After 34 years. Still in love w/ my wife
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Everyone should have in their Baja Kit, a snake bite kit & a bottle of tequila
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cpg
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Phil S
Everyone should have in their Baja Kit, a snake bite kit & a bottle of tequila |
Is there such a thing
for a rattle snake bite? I was told that the anti venom is very expensive and has a very short shelf life. Was also told that the snake bite kits dont
help much.
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Halboo
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It depends on the situation;
If you are a real long way from a doctor and have been well and truely bitten, extraction of the venom is a very good idea and the sooner the better.
Rattlesnake bites are seldom fatal but they can make you wish you were dead, and people occasionally lose appendages.........
Sawyer's Venom Extractor is standard issue to lots of folks who work outdoors in snake country and the only one that should be considered; it also
works on insect stings.
http://www.moontrail.com/accessrs/a-emerg/venom_extractor.ht...
Watch where you step, don't put your hands in places you can't see and for Pete's sake leave 'em be. 
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ursidae69
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Recent literature suggests that the extractor is a complete waste of time. At best, it simply concentrates the venom closer to the skin which leads
to much harsher side-effects several days into the recovery with much of the skin blistering and eventually sloughing off.
Using radioisotope labeled mock venom, it was shown that the extractor removed less than 1% of venom. Check out the articles from the Annals of
Emergency Medicine (Feb 04).
These studies and others are why no herpetologist carries the extractor and I urge you to stop pushing the product. It gives a completely false sense
of security and causes more harm than good.
If you get envenomated, simply get to the nearest medical facility, or use the extractor if you wish, but the data doesn't lie.
Michael B. Alberts, Marc Shalit, Fred LoGalbo. 2004. Suction for Venomous Snakebite: A Study of “Mock Venom” Extraction in a Human Model. Ann Emerg
Med. 2004;43:181-186.
and
Sean P. Bush. 2004. Snakebite Suction Devices Don’t Remove Venom: They Just Suck. Ann Emerg Med. 2004;43:187-188.
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Halboo
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Say what you will; I've seen as much evidence to the contrary.
As I said before;
Watch where you step, don't put your hands in places you can't see and for Pete's sake leave 'em be.
BTW, My dogs have both been to rattlesnake avoidence class; Gonna tell me that doesn't work also?
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ursidae69
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Location: Youngsville, NM
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Halboo
Say what you will; I've seen as much evidence to the contrary.
As I said before;
Watch where you step, don't put your hands in places you can't see and for Pete's sake leave 'em be.
BTW, My dogs have both been to rattlesnake avoidence class; Gonna tell me that doesn't work also? |
No need to get defensive, I'm just pointing out what the experts say. They don't sell the extractor. If you have evidence to the contrary, how about
you publish it in the peer reviewed literature? Rattlesnake avoidance for dogs is a great idea by the way. Nice work. We need people to take that
training too. I agree witrh you, leave 'em be.
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Halboo
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| Quote: |
I'm just pointing out what the experts say.
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An expert knows all the answers - if you ask the right questions.
An expert is a man who has stopped thinking - he knows!
If the world should blow itself up, the last audible voice would be that of an expert saying it can't be done.
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bajaguy
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Mood: must be 5 O'clock somewhere in Baja
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Dogs
You can also get your dogs a series of vaccines against bites.....doesn't make them bullet proof, but slows down the effects. Also take the dogs to an
avoidance class.......worked for my Lab.....after the avoidance class, she saw a 3 foot section of re-bar......started barking at it and would not go
near it!!!
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Mexray
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Have you ever noticed how the 'sound' of your dog's bark changes when they run across a snake?
When we used to live closer to snake territory, our dogs would give out a very destinct bark upon finding one. I could always tell they'd found a
snake - I don't think most dogs like em' either!
Around our place, we didn't have the luxury of 'relocating' a rattler! If it invaded 'our' living space, it was dispatched, post haste...I'm sorry,
there just never seemed to be any shortage of them - and our cats took care of the rodents, for the most part...
[Edited on 4-3-2007 by Mexray]
According to my clock...anytime is \'BAJA TIME\' & as Jimmy Buffett says,
\"It doesn\'t use numbers or moving hands It always just says now...\"
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DanO
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Halboo
As I said before;
Watch where you step, don't put your hands in places you can't see and for Pete's sake leave 'em be. |
This is my rule number 1. Last thing I want to do is to see how fast I can cover that X miles back to la clinica whatever for antivenom. Frankly
though, I worry more (for my kids) about the widows and recluses (spiders, of course).
\"Without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible.\" -- Frank Zappa
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