In a message dated 7/13/01 12:57:39 AM Pacific Daylight Time, oben@xxxxxxxxx
writes:
> The recommendation for snake bites is to wrap lightly but firmly the
> affected limb with material or gauze. The venom spreads into the
> circulation via the lymphatic system which is very superficial in the
> subcutaneous tissues. This treatment is able to limit the spread of venom
> via lymphatics. The common misconception of using a tourniquet to tie off
> the circulation in the mistaken belief it spreads via the circulating
blood
> is wrong. So is the practice of cutting into the wound and sucking out the
> venom. The venom has proteolytic enzymes that ensure a very quick
> penetration into the tissues so that attempting to suck venom from the
> wound is futile.
>
Thanks, Oben. Might not seem "On Topic", but many of us are
outdoorsmen/women. Even photographers get into the "wild". Most of my
relatives are hunters/fishermen/hikers/campers. WA state isn't like "Oz", or
even Texas, w/regards to poisonous snakes, but we do have the western
diamondback rattlesnake, from the east slopes of the Cascade Mountains all
the way to Idaho. Near where I grew up in N. Central WA (Peshastin end of
Blewett Pass, for you locals), they grow as big as your arm and up to seven
feet long. That's a lotta venom. One of my dads co-workers & hunting
partners had one strike just past his face from a tree! That would have been
potentially fatal, I presume?
Rich
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