Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am looking at getting into hots, (ps: thanks to everyone who answered my last post), and was just wondering about allergic reactions to antivenom.

Why can't a person inject a very small amount to see if they react badly?

I can never spell analphylaxis either, but know there is a "y" in there somewhere

What you suggest can be done I'm sure, but whether it is cost effective may be another manner. I would consult your doctor if you would like to go about with an allergy test. If not done properly the results may be missed, and/or misinterpreted.

Another thing to consider is that allergies can be developed over time, and second exposures are often way worse than initial ones. Having an allergy test may just initiate your immune system to load up and really set off when it is next used.

Either way, allergies to both the venom, and the antiserum can be minimized with other drugs. Antivenom should be on hand whether you are allergic or not. There is also the chance that someone other than you may be tagged, however minimal this may be.

it is my impression that Anaphylaxis is more of a factor in cases that result in death. Joeysgreen is right about the allergy tests as I have checked into it myself. If you are serious about keeping HOTS go to your doctor & ask him to prescribe "Epi-pens" (epinephrine) for you. This & Benadryl may save your life. Every HOT keeper should have Epi-pens on standby. I believe it to be more of a necessity than anti-venom as death associated w/ Anaphylaxis is almost sudden while death from envenomation is usually not. Here is a helpful link about Anaphylaxis -
http://www.venomousreptiles.org/articles/97
Here is another article you may find necessary -
http://www.venomousreptiles.org/articles/56
Be safe........

DO NOT test yourself for an allergy to antivenom!
This was done for years and in essence all it did was sensitize people or make them 'allergic' to the serum. It is not a useful test, it IS harmful.
Whether you are allergic or not, if in the event of a serious envenomation you WILL require the serum. So it doesn't matter if you know you are allergic or not. By testing you are making yourself allergic.
Anaphylaxis is treatable symptomatically.
Epi-pens are a must have for a venomous protocol.

I asked the question about injecting a small amount as an allergy test myself a few years ago and was told basically the same as these responses-if you don't react with that exposure, it can "prime" your body for a reaction with a "real" bite. I thought I read somewhere that it takes two exposures to become allergic, as with the first incident you don't have any antibodies at all to the toxin. One type of antibodies is OK and the other causes allergies-not sure if it's true or not, I wish I could find the place I read that.
Anyway, it wouldn't be as simple as taht with snakebite anyway, horse allergies can cause a bad reaction, and if the above case is right couldn't your body treat the antivenom as the second exposure(being made of venom?)?I do know that the time I asked this question the response was much longer than this, explaining most every type of possible reaction.