TREATMENT OF SNAKE-BITES 



355 



snake-poisons. These efforts have produced the 

 now celebrated anti-venomous serum, discovered 

 by Dr. Calmette, of the Pasteur Institute of Lille, 

 France. It is obtained by very gradually inject- 

 ing cobra-venom into the flesh of a living domestic 

 animal, and giving Nature time to counteract the 

 poison by her own methods. Eventually the sub- 

 ject becomes immune to these injections, and 

 produces within itself a product which when in- 

 jected into other animals renders them immune. 



This material, now popularly known as anti- 

 venine, is prepared in large quantities, and sent 

 all over the civilized world for use against ani- 

 mal poisons generally. 



Aside from the use of the antitoxin referred 

 to, the key-notes of the treatment of a snake- 

 bitten patient are, bleeding the wound, isolation 

 of the bitten part if it be possible, the applica- 

 tion of an antidote, and stimulation. In case 

 of an accident, the regular medical treatment 

 appears to be about as follows : 



1. Cut cross the wound, or stab it, and compel 

 it to bleed freely. 



2. Tie a ligature, of cloth, rope or string, 

 around the bitten member, above the wound, to 

 keep back, as long as possible, the poisoned blood 

 from the veins of the body. 



3. If anti-venomous serum is at hand, inject 

 it according to the directions which accompany 

 it. 



4. Give any alcoholic stimulant that may be 

 available, in small doses, at frequent intervals; 

 but remember that a quantity of any strong 

 stimulant will do more harm than good, and may 

 actually hasten complete paralysis, and death. 

 Ammonia is of very little use^ if any ; and its use 

 depends so much upon conditions that it should 

 be employed only by a physician. 



5. If the serum is not available, inject directly 

 into the wound, as quickly as possible after the 

 accident, a solution of chromic acid, or perman- 

 ganate of potash, 1 to 100, and see to it that the 

 hypodermic needle penetrates to the bottom of 

 each wound. In the absence of a syringe, bathe 

 the wound with the solution. 



6. Having done all possible at the wound it- 

 self, then give hypodermic injections, on leg or 

 arm, of " 15 to 20 minims of liquid strychnine, 

 every 20 minutes, until slight tetanic spasms 

 appear." (Stejneger.) 



7. The ligature must be loosened from time 



to time, to permit a limited circulation of fresh 

 blood, or mortification will ensue. 



8. If medical aid is within reach, it should be 

 procured as speedily as possible, but in most 

 cases,, the life of the patient depends upon what 

 is done for him during the first hour following the 

 accident. 



Mr. Gruber's Treatment. — A practical 

 method by which to escape death from the bite 

 of a rattlesnake can be learned of Mr. Peter Gru- 

 ber, of Rochester New York, who has been bitten 

 about twenty times. His method of treating 

 himself was described, to the writer as follows : 



"I no longer suck the venom from a wound. 

 Unless a man's mouth is in very perfect condi- 

 tion, it is dangerous. My first act is to take my 

 knife, and cut a slit an inch and a half long 

 straight from my body into the wound, and con- 

 tinue it the same distance beyond; and I make 

 these two cuts bleed freely. This is to make the 

 poisoned blood flow out of my veins, instead of 

 farther into them, to poison my whole system. 

 After the wound has bled as much as I think it 

 should, I inject the permanganate above and 

 around the wound. The proper proportion is 

 one five-grain tablet of permanganate of potash 

 dissolved in two ounces of water, and I inject 

 about thirty minims — the capacity of a hypo- 

 dermic syringe — about three times around and 

 above the wound. I always have it ready, and 

 I bathe the wound with this solution, using ab- 

 sorbent cotton to cover the wound so that it is 

 not exposed to the air. 



"During this time I take two or three small 

 doses of whiskey, — but not much. After the 

 permanganate has had a chance to take effect, 

 I bathe the wound freely with a solution of two 

 ounces of laudanum and two ounces of Goulard's 

 extract in two quarts of water, and keep it moist 

 with this until all unnatural colors leave it. And 

 I drink quantities of milk — all I can swallow. 

 After a time my stomach ejects it, and at first it 

 comes up the color of snake venom. But I con- 

 tinue to take milk, again and again, until I am 

 sure my stomach has been washed free from the 

 poison. If the action of my heart grows weak, 

 I inject strychnine into my arms with a hypo- 

 dermic syringe." 



Mr. Gruber bears on his forearms and hands a 

 number of scars, as ocular proof of the success of 

 his method in the treatment of rattlesnake bites. 



