262 VENOMS 
In the case of animals intoxicated by venom, injections of 
strychnine, morphia, nicotine, or curare in small doses always 
prove ineffective ; they even considerably assist the progress of 
the intoxication and hasten death. The use of these drugs in the 
case of human beings should therefore be absolutely forbidden. 
It appears, on the other hand, that alcohol and coffee, or tea, 
absorbed by ingestion, are very often beneficial. Indeed, it was 
long ago observed that the swallowing of alcohol until symptoms 
of drunkenness appear retards or diminishes the phenomena of 
torpor and paresis that precede the ultimate phase of the intoxica- 
tion. Its use may therefore be recommended when it is impossible 
to have recourse to the only treatment really specific that modern 
science places in our hands—antivenomous serum-therapy. It is 
important, however, to state that, when serum is used, alcohol must 
be forbidden. The latter hinders the effects of the former. 
In practice, the rational treatment of the bite of a venomous 
snake must be directed towards :— 
(1) Preventing the absorption of the venom. 
(2) Neutralising, by the injection of a sufficient quantity of 
antitoxic serum, the effects of the venom already absorbed. 
In order to prevent the absorption of the venom introduced 
into the wound, the first precaution to be taken is to compress 
the bitten limb by means of a ligature of some kind, such as a 
handkerchief, as close as possible to the bite, and between it and 
the base of the hmb. The ligature must be tightly twisted, and, 
by compressing the tissues around the bite, an attempt should be 
made to squeeze out the venom that may have been introduced 
into them. The expulsion of the poison should be hastened, either 
by making an incision 2 or 3 cm. in length and 1 cm. in depth in 
the direction taken by the fangs of the reptile and also parallel to 
the axis of the bitten member, or by sucking the wound hard. 
The ligature on the limb should not be applied for more than 
half an hour ; if it were kept on longer it would interfere with the 
circulation to a dangerous degree, and would certainly injure the 
