The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1895-05-11
FOR SNAKE POISON.
DISCOVERY THAT STRYCHNlNE NEU-
TRALlzES THE VENOM.

Facts Recently Demonstrated Concerning
the Bite of Deadly Rcptilcs--The Fisher
man Need No Longer Incumber Him
self With IL Loaded Flask
The deadly fluid secrctcd by ccrtnin spc-
cics of snakes was mado u subject OF study
from very early date, but tho old timo
investigators knew not how to solve tho
Intricate problems of organic chemistry
All that they accomplished was to create a
prOdigious number of antidotcs, so called
most of which in their turn wcro declared
infallible. Not one of them was worth n
penny.
The most notable work In this limo
within recent years has been performed by
DR. Weir Mitchell of Philadelphia, who,
for the sake of obtaining sufficient guam
titles on tho poison, has sometimes kept as
many rs 100 scrpcnts in his laboratory. His
method of securing tho venom for oxa1ni-
nation was to seize the snake by the neck
with tongs, forcing saucer between the
jaws. The cnragcd animal would then bite
Into the saucer, on which the poison emit
ted was left.
The substance thus obtained is yellow
ish, Transparent, sticky fluid, without
smell or taste, easily dissolved In water.
When dried it will retain Its toxic proper
tics for any l1ngth of time apparently.
looking like gum or varnish, and it has
been preserved for % years without alter
ing in the least On this ground 1t Is nd
visablc to handle with cnution even tho
dried fangs of snakes long dead Boiling,
unless continued for long time, does not
render the fluid harmless.
Alcohol has long held the first place in
popular esteem as an antidotc for snake
poison In truth, it is not such mt all.
though useful to sustain the vitality of the
person bitten against tho attack made
upon it by tho toxic agent. 1t stimulates
the nerve centcrs and the action of the
heart If taken in small doses. But the
mistake ordinarily made is to pour into
the patient large quantities of whisky, the
effect of which is exactly the opposite of
that required. In such great doses alcohol
dcprcsscs instead of stimulates the vital
functions. Intoxic;ltion, far from helping
the cure, aids tho poison. And, by the
way, people have often died from snake
bite who were bitten when dead drunk.
With the newly discovered antldotc tho
case is exactly opposite. Danger is far
moro likely to result from hesitation in
using it literally than from IN overdose
Strychnino, itself n poison scarcely less
terrible than snake venom, acts directly
upon the nerves, stimulating and turning
on their batteries, which the snake poison
seeks to dcprcss and turn off. Acting with
the uncrring certainty of chemical test
1t ncutrnliZcS the effect of the serpent
venom. But 1t must bc administered in
extraordinary quantities, even to the point
of producing spasmodic twitchings of the
muscles
In fact, the ordinary doses must he
greatly exceeded, and the administration
of the strychnine must be continued, even
If the total quantity injected within an
hour or two amounts to what In the ab-
scncn Of snake poison would be n danger
Gus if not fatal dose. The few failures
among the numerous successes with the
drug thus far recorded have nearly all been
trsiccabc to an insuilicicncy of the anti
dotc. In urgent cases as much as 20 to -
minims should bc given to any person over
Is years of age. If at the end of 20 min
utcS the symptoms show no abatement, IL
second injection of tho same strength
should be made promptly, and unless then
n decided improvement Is pcrccptible a
third one after II like interval. The action
of the drug when applied as an antidotc is
not cumulative. The tendency To relapse
Is always great where much venom has
been absorbed
Apparently yielding to the strychnnc
for time, the insidious poison, after an
interval during which it seems to have
been conquered, all Mt once rcasscrts its
presence and has to be met by fresh mice
tions, regardless of the quantity previous
ly administered. With children the amount
of the remedy to be given must not be
Judged by the agr of the child, but by the
amount of venom to be countcractcd the
degree of danger chiefly depending upon
the size of the snake. The bigger the rep.
tile OF course the more poison it has Fur
thcrmorc, it is to be remembered that of
all American scrpcnts the rattcSnake is
the most dangerous, the coppcrliead less
so ana the water moccasn least
In case of snake bite, the first thing to
he done Is TO tie u string or IL handkerchief
rs tightly rs possible between the wound
and the heart, whenever practicable. Next,
cut deeply into the puncturcs made by the
fangs, so as to cause the blood to flow free
ly. Suck the blood from the wound-a
proceeding perfectly harmless inaslnuch
as the poison does no harm when taken in
tcrnally. Then carefully loosen the liga-
turc so as to admit IL small quantity OF
fresh blood to the member, in order that
modification may not cnsuc, Small doses
OF whisky may now be given Mt frequent
intervals. If the patient has to wait for
the arrival of doctor, this is the time to
try all means to produce profuSc pcrspirn-
ton The physician will administer cx-
tract of jaborandi for sudorific and diu-
rctic, and will admins hypodcrmic in
icctions of II ito 20 minims of liquid strych-
mia, repeated every 90 minutes until slight
spasms appear.
All Of these facts and suggestions are
summed up in paper published by the
National museum in its annual report.
1t is from the pen of tho famous ophidian
expert, DR.. Leonard Stojncger. The au-