The saying that you shouldn’t believe everything you read on social media has particular weight when it comes to the widely circulating virus claim that Benadryl allergic medicine in children can help save people from rattlesnake bites, medical experts said.
“That (rumorning about Benadrill) is totally fiction. I don’t know where I started,” Teton County Coroner Dr. Brent Blue told Cowboy State University every day.
It is shared as serious medical advice on many Wyoming community social media groups, especially in areas known to have rattlesnakes.
He said only proper treatment can save someone from severe injuries and death if they are bitten by Ratler as quickly as possible.
Claim
The argument being made is that the potentially fatal effect of rattlesnake biting is swollen.
Therefore, giving victims a benadril can help reduce swelling and increase the chances of survival.
Some online posters even recommend that people heading out on outdoor adventures in rattlesnake country have a bottle of liquid children’s bena drills in the case of snake biting.
There is no truth to that
Packing allergy medications in the case of snakebite is terrible advice, Blue said.
“I wouldn’t rely on it at all,” he said.
Although the venom of rattlesnake bites is a toxin, allergic drugs are designed to counter allergic antigens and affect the body in a completely different way, he said.
Rattle toxins are awkward, Blue said.
“It’s basically a poison that causes tissue destruction,” he said, adding that it can lead to horrific wounds and, in some cases, closure and death of major organs.
Rattlesnake toxins kill muscle tissue by “breaking through the cell walls of each muscle cell,” Blue said.
He added that it could disrupt the ability of blood cells to clot, slowing or stop bleeding.
Drop the Bena drill and grab the Tornicket
He added that it is as bad as rattlesnake venom, not as bad as venom of some African snake species. These include neurotoxins that can cause death immediately by closure of a person’s nervous system.
But there’s nothing light to take on a rattlesnake bite, Blue said.
In an emergency, the best course of action is to apply a rotten cornea over the bite site to prevent the bloodstream from spreading toxins throughout the body.
It might buy someone for an hour or so to go to the hospital.
Allergy medications do something completely different
Allergy drugs do nothing to the tissue destruction caused by rattlesnake biting, Blue said. These drugs are designed to combat dysfunction in what is called mast cells.
When they are functioning normally, mast cells play important roles, such as functions such as healing wounds and fighting pathogens.
But allergies can cause mast cells and release a chemical called histamine, Blue said.
Histamine can cause symptoms such as watery eyes, runny nose, cough, wheezing and skin irritation, he said.
Most simply, what allergic drugs like benadryl do is block the unnecessary release of histamine, Blue said. And it has nothing to do with delaying or stopping the tissue destruction caused by rattlesnake venom.
How long does Bite Actims have?
There’s no definitive answer as there’s so many variables regenerate as to how much time someone has after being bitten by a Rattler, Blue said.
The short answer is: Don’t waste it for a moment. He said he’ll go to the hospital as soon as possible.
The variable starts with the bite itself.
“When a rattlesnake bites, it may not release any poison,” Blue said. “Sometimes it releases just a little poison, and sometimes it releases a huge amount of poison.”
Another variable is the location of the bite, he said.
If you bite on your feet or ankles, it will take longer for the toxin to hit areas where the toxin is more important than if the bite is high on your body.
And the size of the victim can also make a difference, Blue said.
“If you have an ‘xx amount’ of poison, it’s going to cause more problems for a 50-pound child than an 250-pound adult,” he said.
He said – rattlesnake bites hurt like hell, and the pain continues to get worse as more tissue is destroyed.
“Pain cannot kill you, but it can make you want to die,” he said.
Avoid bites in the first place
The best way to combat rattlesnake bites is to avoid being bitten in the first place, Blue said. When hiking in Snake Land, it’s a good idea to wear snake-resistant boots or gators above your ankles.
He adds that you’ll stumble too close to the snake and take care to avoid anything surprising.
As far as the rumors of Benadrill go, Blue said that it’s fine if it’s true.
“I hope that works because we can keep the Benadrills handy everywhere,” he said.
Mark Heinz It can be accessed at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
