After reading an unanswered post on the SHHS website regarding Aborigines and snakebite, reading some pre AV stats in Munkurs "The Cult of the Serpent", and seeing "I dreamed of Africa" where a kid dies from an untreated Bitis Atheris bite I was left wondering the odds of some things. Assuming that 1) you are 100 miles from road, phone, or any type of communication on a hiking trip through some remote part of the world, 2) You have no available AV, and 3) you receive a full SC or IM envenomation from species X. What are your options or odds of survival with different species of snakes (ie. what is the expected mortality rate w/o hospital treatment for different Bitis, Naja, Crotalis, etc. species)? The question here is of survivability with nothing but rudimentary field treatment. Would immediate amputation of the envenomated limb possibly increase the chance of surviving an untreated Mamba bite? Is there another possible treatment that can be used in the field to nudge up your chances?
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Amor et Lux,
Ron
"The gods tolerate the human race for no other reason than our talent for bullsh1t. It's the only thing about us that doesn't bore them to tears" Tom Robbins "Villa Incognito"
