Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am no doctor, but I am concerned that what Mike Jolliff did by sticking himself with the Epipen is what caused him to lose conciousness.

If he had been bit by a neuro toxic snake, that epipen might have made sense, but he was bit by a WDB which is very hemotoxic.
The last thing in the world you want to do when bit by a WDB is increase your heart rate.

I think Mike is lucky to be alive and I think he may have almost killed himself. I am quite concerned that other people have read his posts and think that epinephrine is the cure all to WDB bites.

Mike, you are a lucky guy.

AS can occur w/ any protein, doesn't matter what the content of the genus is(ie, elapid, crotalid). Your IgE kicks it off with the exposure of the antigen. Premature Epi's can cause the proble you bring up, and that's a good point with certain snakes. It's a tough call. As far as I'm concerned, IgE AS is as bad as a bite. The two come together and bring death by differnt routes. A low LD 50 can mean death, just as a high LD 50. Peace, Tim Friede

I would not want to second guess Mike's actions, since I was not there, nor was I in his shoes.

Antivenom is the only treatment for a verified snake envenomation. However, many keepers may be sensitized to venom and not know it. The allergy can be aquired just from routine exposure to venom in the process of caring for them. Anaphalaxis is certainly more of an medical emergency, if it occurs,in the first few minutes folling the bite.

You should make sure you're really having an severe allergic reaction and medical help is not available before wacking yourself with an Epi-pen. I would say use of such is only a last resort if the above conditions exsist. IM Epinephrine is a drastic response not without it's own dangers. As I said before, I keep chewable Childrens Benedryl (12.5mg) on hand so if I suspect an allergic reaction my response is measured, not all out. Finally, there's no substitute to having an experienced EMT or Physician respond to your emergency rather than transporting and or treating yourself.

Al

-----
You can take the snake out of the jungle but you can't take the jungle out of the snake.