290 VENOMOUS SNAKES AND THE PHENOMENA OF THEIR VENOMS 



fasciatus, and Enhydrina valakadien. In the case of each lo or more lethal 

 doses were neutrahzed by very small quantities of permanganate in solution 

 (lo per cent), and in most of them 20 lethal doses were readily rendered 

 harmless. This salt will neutralize about its own weight of the venom and 

 is effective against every class of snake venom. 



After the injection of the venom the ligature is to be applied to the limb for 

 30 seconds to 10 minutes, the release occurring in from 2 to 3.5 minutes. 



The results with rabbits were very encouraging, but better results were 

 obtained with the experiments on cats. 



Practical Merit of the Treatment : 



The practical value of the potassium permanganate treatment on human 

 subjects may be very great. Rogers ^ has already reported 17 cases of snake 

 bite in India in which this local treatment has been resorted to. The results 

 recorded by him show that only 2 out of 17 cases ended fatally. In these 

 cases nothing definite about the quantities of venom injected by the snakes 

 could be learned, hence no conclusion can be drawn as to the absolute efficacy 

 of potassium permanganate. It seems, however, that this salt has done 

 much in averting death, as evidenced by the small mortality of cases thus 

 treated in comparison with the deaths usually following the bites of these 

 deadly Indian serpents where this treatment is not used. 



The table given by Rogers presents many interesting facts and it is given 

 here for those interested in scrutinizing various points concerning the cases 

 of snake bite in human subjects (table 42). 



Table 42. 



1 Killed and identified. 



2 Snake not killed. 



Several cases of snake bites have lately been successfully treated by the 

 same method, but I deem it superfluous to record them at this place. 



• Rogers. Five cases of snake bite successfully treated by the local application of permanganate of 

 potash. Indian Med. Gazette, 1905, XL, 41. Twelve cases of snake bite treated by incision 

 and application of permanganate of potash with ten recoveries. Indian Med. Gazette, 1905, 

 XL, 369. 



