Sucking on a Snake Bite
Channel: Rosemarie Vrancia
Date: 2019-04-04

Transcript:

If you're bitten by a poisonous snake, leave your pocket knife alone and use your mouth to call for help.

It's a dramatic scene in many old western movies: after a cowboy is bitten by a rattlesnake, he bravely carves an ”X” into the wound and sucks out the venom.  This first-aid approach has become so common in popular culture that most people assume it's the right thing to do. But here's why it doesn't work.

Cutting into the site of a snakebite can damage underlying tissue and increase the possibility of infection. Sucking the wound is unlikely to remove any venom, and it puts the person at risk of absorbing the poison through mucous membranes. Instead, the bite should be washed thoroughly with soap and water, if it's available.

There are four types of venomous snakes in the United States: rattlesnakes, copperheads, cottonmouth water moccasins, and coral snakes. Each can be deadly, but whether the snake injects venom with its bite depends on its mood and its precision. About 50% of the time, snakes deliver a venomless dry bite.  Either it figures the prey is too large to consume and chooses not to release the venom, or it doesn't release the poison at the right time.  However, even a venomless snake bite can cause serious, even life-threatening, injury and infection if not treated.

There are three types of snake venom, and each has a different effect on the body: cytotoxic venom attacks the cells, neurotoxic venom attacks the nerves, and hemotoxic venom affects the blood clotting process. Venomous snakes use their fangs to deliver venom directly into the bloodstream, much like a hypodermic needle. The victim often feels the effects quickly. Anyone bitten by a poisonous snake should seek immediate medical attention, which could involve the administration of an antivenin. Time is of the essence.