Sucking the venom out is ineffective in most cases because it was injected further in than what most will be able to apply suction to and many have had complications from the cuts some try to use after watching the old movies.
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 tourniquet only speeds up the process by limiting flow earlier in the game - most snake bites are highly survivable and unless the person has a bad heart or other problems, swelling is the biggest threat.
Got that info while attending rattlesnake roundups while stationed in Oklahoma - they taste like dry chicken....
I’ve been bitten on the foot by a cooperhead.
Did not receive anti-venom from the hospital I went to..
still cost me out of pocket 3K+ with 80% emergancy coverage, they only did blood test, marked the swelling, watched it for an hour or so. that’s it.
correct about the tourniquet - don’t want to contain venom in one area because it will do mass damage to less tissues as apposed to spreading lighter damage to more tissue.
She felt a sting - When the snake got me I felt loud painful pop, then after I flung the snake about 20 years it felt better. It felt OK for about 3 hours so I went to bed, but when I woke up I couldn’t stand up because it was so painful so I went to hospital. Doctor said give it 24 hours and it all downhill from there. Not in my case, it kept getting worse till eventual the swelling was above my knees and 3 days later, then it started to get better.
“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.