TREATMENT OF SNAKE BITE 293 
CERTAIN ALLEGED ANTIDOTES FOR SNAKE POISONING. 
It would be purposeless to enumerate at this place all snake remedies, 
popularly credited as such, and I shall describe only a limited number of the 
antidotes most frequently referred to. None of these are warranted as to 
their antidotal value. 
The best known, guaco or huaco, also known as herba de cobra or yerba 
capitana, is a syntherea with strong aromatic perfume and is found in Colom- 
bia and other parts of tropical South America. Its proper name is Mikania 
guaco Humb. et Bonnpl. Its leaves are well decocted and administered 
internally as well as locally. It is also inoculated for prophylactic purposes 
against snake bite. Chambers failed to obtain any protective action of guaco 
against the venom of Vipera arietans on rabbits. Another reputed plant 
remedy is Simaba cedron, the nuts of which are also believed by the South 
American natives to be antidotal. In the West Indies, the roots of Dorstenia 
contrayerva and Chicocecca anguifuga are also reputed to be valuable as 
antidotes. 
In North America the roots of Aristolochia serpentaria and Polygala senega 
or Euphorbia prostrata, the swallow-root of Arizona, are often used internally 
and externally in the case of rattlesnake bite. 
Among the East Indian vegetables the roots of Ophiorohiza mungos and 
many varieties of Aristolochia, and the wood of Sérychnos colubrina and 
Ophioxylon, are the best known. 
Olive oil and sugar-cane juice are also employed. Ruta graveolens and 
Dictamnus albus are popularly supposed in Europe to be antidotal, but in 
reality are not at all so when experimentally tested. Various ethereal oils, 
namely the essences of camilla, peppermint, thyamin, and baldria, are equally 
inactive. 
Among certain composite antidotes Bibron’s antidote and Tanjora pills 
may be mentioned. The former consists of potassium iodide, mercuric 
chloride, and bromine water, while the latter contains chiefly arsenic acid. 
Mitchell found Bibron’s antidote worthless, while Fayrer did not discover any 
efficacy in the Tanjora pills. 
Psychic treatment is also in practice among the East Indians (though they 
believe it a real antidote), in the form of snake stones. The snake stone is 
obtained from the stomach (?) of cobra and is the concrement known as 
bezoare. The round concretion of cinerated acorn and a dark achatstone 
are also among the Indian snake stones. These are applied locally to the 
place of the bite. The cinerated acorn or achatstone may absorb some of 
the venom, but never any considerable amount. Thus, the snake stones can 
have no real curative value except certain psychic effect upon the super- 
stitious natives. The alleged cases of successful treatment of snake bite with 
snake stones must have been cases which would have recovered without the 
stone treatment. 
