It must be remembered that the following described technique is still under a lot of attack but there are many cases where the efficiency of the technique has been tested on snakebite vicims especially in third world countries with positive results.

If you research the treatment you will find many articles, pro and con. It must be left up to the individual to decide for himself for and or against using the technique.

Due to my allergy to equine antivenin I opted to go with the shock technique. As a zoo director and a naturalist I have been bitten twice before the incident described when I was bitten by the diamond back rattlesnake and I definitely know what a hot bite is, wherein venom is injected. (Localized swelling accompanied by intense burning pain as well as the wounds where the fangs penetrated the skin is a pretty good indication.)

Over the years I have been bitten many times by an assortment of non-venomous species of snakes. Those bites only needed cleansing and I was always sure to keep current with my tetnus shots.

C. Towne

The following is a reprint of an article in the July 26, 1986 copy of The Lancet.

The mainstay of treatment of a person bitten by a venomous insect or reptile is to give anti-venom as soon as possible. However, the serum needed may not be available in remote areas of the world. In Ecuador high voltage, low current electric shocks have proved very successful. In the eastern Amazon jungles of Ecuador 4% of deaths are caused by snake bites. 45% of the Waoroni tribe have been bitten by a snake and 50% of adult males will be bitten more than once. Most of the bites in Ecuador are from snakes identified by Dr Giovanni Onores (Catholic University, Quito) as Bothrops atrax, B bileneatus, B nasutus, B schlegelei, B castelnaudi, and Lachesis muta.

The idea of using an electrical current for treating venomous bites arose from a report in a local paper in Illinois, USA, of a farmer who was hyperallergic to bee stings and who found that applying a high voltage, low amperage, direct current shock to the site of his bee stings prevented his usual severe reactions.

For snake bites a 20-25 kV,unit, popularly known as a “stun gun”, with a 9 V battery to deliver a direct pulsating current of around 25 kV and less than 1 mA. One probe acts as the ground while the other applies the current to the bite. Such currents do not stimulate myocardial muscle.2

The biological basis of this treatment is unknown. There may be a local effect on the host tissues or there may be a direct effect on the activity of the venom itself. Venom has a short half-life and a shut-down of local vessels by electrospasm may confine the venom locally long enough for it to become inactive. Whatever the mechanism, this technique is a practicable and potentially Life saving procedure.

Hospital Vozandes Quito Ecuador RONALD H. GUDERIAN Wolfson Tropical Pathology Unit London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. London WC1E 7HTCHARLES D. MACKFNZIE Department of Microbiology Michigan State UniversityMichigan, USAJEFFREY F. Williams
Disclaimer: Again, the reader must be forewarned! Reasearch yet needs to be performed to bear out the findings but as for me, I would opt for the shock treatment. I don’t know why it works but that it does work is good enough for me.

Sincerely, Charles Towne

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