292 VENOMOUS SNAKES AND THE PHENOMENA OF THEIR VENOMS 



of blood pressure. In America some cases were reported where strychnine 

 and brandy had been given with success, although no therapeutic value of 

 this substance could be confirmed in these cases. According to Elliot, 

 strychnine has no stimulating action upon the cases where the patients are 

 in an aphasic state. 



Raston Huxtable 1 collected 426 cases of snake bite, of which 113 were 

 treated with strychnine, with 15 cases of death, a mortality of 18.2 per cent, 

 while 313 without strychnine resulted in 13 cases of death, the mortality 

 being only 2.4 per cent. 



Although Fontana rejected it as quite worthless, ammonia enjoyed much 

 reputation as an antidote against snake bite for many years without, how- 

 ever, any definite experimental verification. The strongest advocate of 

 ammonia as an antidote against venom poisoning was Halford, who recom- 

 mended the injection of 10 to 40 drops (diluted with 2 to 3 parts of water) of 

 ammonia into the vein in all cases of snake bite. Yet the injection of ammonia 

 is by no means harmless, but is often followed by serious complications, 

 such as phlebitis, perivascular necrosis, etc. Experimentally ammonia is 

 entirely powerless to delay the usual course of toxication with venom. There 

 may still be certain physicians who adhere to this worthless traditional am- 

 monia treatment, but its practice should be discontinued. 



Alcohol, in the forms of wine, whisky, and brandy, has been freely admin- 

 istered by physicians, perhaps partly encouraged by the popular belief ascrib- 

 ing certain cases of recoveries of snake bite to their use, although there is no 

 solid foundation whatever for this notion. Certain investigators recommended 

 the use of alcoholic beverages with the supposition that the absorbed venom 

 is partly secreted from the stomach and this can be precipitated by the alcohol 

 before its reabsorption. But, as we all now know from experiment, alcohol 

 precipitates but does not impair the toxic properties of the venom, hence 

 alcohol administered per os can have no value as an antidote. Indeed, it 

 was shown long ago by Mitchell and Reichert that in animal experimenta- 

 tion, at least, alcohol has a distinctly injurious influence and quickens death 

 from venom-toxication. It is, therefore, not advisable to prescribe whisky 

 or brandy in the cases of snake poisoning. It is certainly harmful to give 

 alcohol in any excessive quantity. 



Certain diaphoretics, e.g., Folia jaborandi and philocaspin, have also been 

 recommended with the view of eliminating venom, but in reality such would 

 be of no avail. In some cases, where alcohol was given, stomach-irrigation 

 was practised with the hope of removing the precipitated venom. 



In the case of violent excitement, potassium bromide, morphia, and other 

 narcotics have often been used. 



Rogers recommends the administration of adrenalin chloride in the case 

 of bites from Daboia and those snakes the poisons of which have a marked 

 paralytic action on the vasomotor center. 



1 Huxtable. Transaction of Third Intercolonial Congress, 1892, 152. 



