The Ypsilanti daily press. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 1928-1962, 1944-07-08

are exposed it will be comforting
10 know that advances in the study
of anti-venin and other methods
Of treatment have not been slowed
up to any appreciable extent by
the war and they have resulted in
a high degree of technical success
About the time that bacteri-
ology and immunity came Of age
it was evident that snake venom
had the same kind of actions and
reactions as bacterial toxins. In
fact, according to tradition, 1t was
Ehrlich's experience during his
travels in India that led TO the
development Of the side-chain
theory. which is the philosophie
basis Of all our thinking on inn
\munity. lie saw two men bitten
by u cobra at the same time ana
one Of them lived and one OF them
died and he found that the one
who lived had been bitten before.
So the scientific study Of snake
venom began on the theory that
the venoms are toxic and that the
animal body can build up resist
ance to them. That theory has
been proved TO be essentially
valid.
The four poisonous snakes In
the United States are the rattle
snake, the copperhead. the cotton
mouth moccasin and the coral
snake. Some authorities name 20
varieties Of snakes here as venom
Gus. but this is in dispute and at
any rate the four mentioned are
the most numerous.
Types Of Snake Venom
Snake venom 10 poisonous on
account Of two venins-the haze
morrhagic and the neurotoxie.
The former predominates in VI
pers to which group the rattle
snake, the eopperhead and the
noccasin all belong. and the latter
predominates In the colubrines 70
which the coral snake and the
cobra belong. The result Of the
action Of the haemorrhagic venom
Is to cause liquifsction Of the
blood and rupture Of the blood
vessels all over the body, resulting
in shock and collapse. The nsuro-
toxic has an especial ahinity for
the nervous system and results IN
death from paralysis and rsspira.
tory failure.
! The treatment Of any snake
bite may be specific or general.
Specific 10 by the use Of anti
'vsnin injected in the muscle. Anti.
vsnin against our American vari-
stiss 10 available at nearly all drug
stores in snake localities. Give
plenty Of anti-vcnin because there
IL no telling how much venom has
been received by the body. II has
been estimated that rs milligrams
Of concentrated venom from .
young, active RATHER will kill .
$50 pound man. and Il 10 possible
for q snake to inject over 200 mil
ligrams At one bite.
Use Of Tourniquet
But the same rule applies here
~ to any kind Of poisoning which
10 that II you haven't got the sps-
eife antidots handy proceed with
the general methods and rsmsm-
Der that they are ~ effective 40
the specific methods.
The general method for use
against . thing such ~ rattle
snake poison 10 the use Of the tour
niqust. This has scientific approx
al and has been put on . definite
basis. Anybody has q tourniqvst--
O belt, . piece OF rope. . handksr.
>ehisf. The ideal one should b
elastic, but that In not absolutely
necessary. The principle Of the
treatment is 20 shut Of the blood
in the bitten limb from the gen.
eral circulation, and release it q
little a. q time. The body will
manufacture is own antitoxin X
not overwhelmed with too much Of
it. After the tourniquet is applied
above the site Of the bite it 10
loosened every 20 minutes for a
half minute interval. The site OF
the bite should be opened and the
iuicea in thu naarhv tiaaues