“Putting a tourniquet on will only exacerbate the biggest problem from most snake bites - swelling has been known to cut off blood supply to the point where amputation is necessary”
The swelling on both of my friends bites was so bad that the doctors made long incisions, slicing the skin open to relieve pressure. If they hadn’t of done that, the skin would have ‘popped’ or tore open. It is quite gruesome to see an appendage 3 or more times its normal size. As I mentioned earlier, they wanted to cut off my friends fingers and thumb, the swelling and necrosis was so bad. They did slice the skin to allow it to swell. It was the prickly pear pass that helped draw out the rotten stuff and protect it, much like a bandage made of Aloe.
I’ve seen the swelling first-hand when a handler at a rattlesnake roundup got careless - scary kind of ugly and the best thing one can do for one bitten is to leave the wound alone and get them to medical help ASAP.