re: shock? chk out this 9v DC m.o. for venomous snakebiten miners, hikers, fishermen, et al...
OPEN QUOTE:
".. in a letter to the editor of the prestigious medical journal
The Lancet, July 26, 1986, p229, we find the following article entitled
HIGH VOLTAGE SHOCK TREATMENT FOR SNAKE BITE.
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The mainstay of treatment of a person bitten by a venomous insect or reptile is to give anti-venom as soon as possible. However, the serum needed may not be available in remote areas of the world.
In Ecuador high voltage , low current electric shocks have proved very successful. In the eastern Amazon jungles of Ecuador 4% of deaths are caused by snake bites. 45% of the Waoroni tribe have been bitten by a snake and 50% of adult males will be bitten more than once. Most of the bites in Ecuador are from snakes identified by Dr. Giovanni Onores (Catholic University, Quito) as Bothrops atrox, B bileneatus, B nasutus, B schlegelei, B castelnaudi, and Lachesis muta.
The idea of using an electrical current for treating venomous bites arose from a report in a local paper in Illinois, USA, of a farmer who was hyperallergic to bee stings and who found that applying a high voltage, low amperage, direct current shock to the site of his bee stings prevented his usual severe reactions.
For snake bites a 20-25 kV, <1 mA direct current is applied to the site of the bite. The bitten area (usually a limb) is electrically grounded as close to the site as possible and current is applied via an insulated probe to the bite for 1-2s. Usually four or five shocks are given with 5-10s between them.
An outboard motor is one commonly available source of such current. A lead carrying an insulated probe can be attached to a spark plug, and the current is best applied with the engine at half-throttle. Other motors with spark plugs (ergo, lawnmowers and auxiliary lighting plants) have also been used with excellent results.
We have records on 34 cases of bites on limbs where there was evidence of penetration of the skin. The current was applied within 30 min, and 10-15 min later all pain had gone and the usual sequelae of an untreated bite (swelling, serosanguinous bullae, bleeding, shock, and renal failure) did not develop. No patient died. After an hour the patient was usually able to go home. At follow-up, there was no necrosis of tissue around the bite due to the bite or treatment.
7 people who refused the shock treatment experienced the classic complications, and
2 needed life-saving amputations.
2 other patients were not treated until 2h after being bitten by viper snakes (B atrox and L muta) and they arrived with swollen limbs and intense pain;
1 had signs of spontaneous bleeding.
Seven electrical treatments were given, producing pain relief in 30 min;
12h later the swellings had not progressed and there were no signs of bleeding.
After 3 days the swelling had almost disappeared;
however, 1 had a small necrotic area around the bite site.
This technique has been used equally successfully by other investigators in the jungles of Ecuador for other types
of bite, such as those of the ant (Paraponera sp). Colleagues in Irian Jaya, Indonesia, and Peru have also used this technique with similar results.
Moving towards a more portable system for this treatment, we have modified a 5 x 13 cm unit, popularly known as a "stun gun", with a 9 V battery to deliver a direct pulsating current of around 25 kV and less than 1 mA.
One probe acts as a ground terminal while the other applies the current to the bite. Such currents do not stimulate myocardial muscle.
The biological basis of this treatment is unknown. There may be a local effect on the host tissues or there may be a direct effect on the activity of the venom itself. Venom has a short half-life and a shut-down of local vessels by electrospasm may confine the venom locally long enough for it to become inactive. Whatever the mechanism, this technique is a practicable and potentially life saving procedure.
Hospital Vozandes,
Quito, Ecuador
Ronald H. Guderian
Wolfson Tropical Pathology Unit
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
London WCIE 7H7
Charles D. Mackenzie
Department of Microbiology and Public Health
Michigan State University, USA
END OF QUOTE
Y'all are encouraged to print this out, stash a few 9v batteries in the tacklebox or fishing vest or shirtpocket,
plus a couple feet of extension cord with ends trimmed back, exposing the copper wiring. May save a life
or that of someone you love--maybe even a pet jackass like ole #9 <grin>
gold_tutor |
