>>Hi Everyone:

>>

>>I just read this thread on Dr. Fry's forum this morning. Anyone who keep venomous needs to read this. It's an important lesson learned the hard way.



I don't know, someting is odd here. If this were some hyper-toxic Aussie elapid, where a few mg are enough to kil you, then I could believe it, but with a puff adder?



Put simply, puff adder venom is not that potent drop for drop or dried crystal for dried crystal - to kill someone, you need something of the order of 50 mgor more of dried venom. 8 vials of SAIMR is the sort of dose you would use for a serious bite that injects a large amount of venom.



How much venom is contained dried in a shed fang? How much of that is dissolved and absorbed into the flesh in the seconds that the fang was stuck in the skin? Surely only a very tiny fraction of what would be injected in a bite - only a few mg at most.



I have seen snake handlers impale themselves on freshly shed fangs of Bothrops spp. and suffer nothing more than a swollen digit for a few hours - I have a very hard time understanding how a normal person would get a major envenomation from a puff adder in this way.



I am not doubting that the incident took place, but if it did as described, then there is some extra angle to it that we are missing so far.



Cheers,



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