Tourniquets are no longer recommended for snakebite; they are easily misused,
are effective for too short a period and have a high and proven potential for
causing severe injury to the victim through ischaemic necrosis. The resulting
gangrene may prove lethal, while the personal and social cost of amputated limbs
is devastating. Suction applied to the bite site is inappropriate. Using mouth
suction, active venom may be transferred to the oral cavity and bacteria instilled
in the wound. Purposely designed suction kits, contrary to many positive claims,
remove only small, often negligible quantities of venom and may disrupt local
tissues, promoting venom spread and absorption. Cutting the wound, or worse
still, excision, only serves to add further injury to the victim, increases
venom absorption and provides an avenue for major haemorrhage if there is a
coagulopathy. Application of local electric shock, as used in parts of the Americas
and Africa, has never been shown in either experimental studies or clinical
trials, to be other than a charleton treatment. Similarly, the use of cryotherapy
is without merit and associated with tissue damage. Traditional healing, such
as snake stones, have no rational basis, but it is possible certain native plant
extracts may ultimately prove beneficial. However, until their safety and effectiveness
have been conclusively demonstrated, they cannot be recommended.
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information useful to improving outcomes for humans suffering from envenoming or poisoning by
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either because they are not available to us or are in a language we cannot translate internally.
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