Re: Re: [at-l] My Saturday Adventure

["W F Thorneloe, MD" <thornel@ibm.net>]

At 04:13 PM 6/28/1999 -0400, TOKTAADN@aol.com wrote:
><< Cutting the bite site and allowing blood to spill our of the
>wound (taking toxin along with it) would have been better.>>
>
>I thought that was the advice current a decade ago.  Current advice I've
>heard and use in boy scout training suggests the complications -- nerve
>damage, infection, etc -- of cutting at the bite site make that a high risk
>strategy, and therefore no longer recommended.

Probably is dated. The key was to incise the superficial wound, not to cut 
to the marrow. Most people do not carry a sufficiently sharp knife to make 
a clean incision. Given the rather low lethality of common snake venom in 
this country, keeping a clear head and getting to appropriate medical 
attention is the most important item.

OrangeBug
Atlanta, GA
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