Ever use "The Extractor" on a snake bite?

[Dr. D]

I need to check mine....i've had it awhile. Never used mine but watched a guy use one and it worked.

[lbbf]

When I worked as an EMT I asked our poison doc and he said they jury was still out on them. He also said as long as you don't do anything else but apply the suction device and DO NOT CUT the bite or apply a restriction band they couldn't hurt so as long as you don't delay getting to the hospital go ahead and use it. This was 15 years ago and I haven't heard an update from him.

[TEAMXL]

That pic Snakelover posted reminds me of that show on animal planet...think its called bitten or something like that. Never knew how bad a snake can jack you up 'til I watched a few episodes.

[JDALEX]

i was bitten by a rattlesnake in 1990, wish i would of had an extractor then. had to drive myself about 10 miles to highway dept. in meridian, they called ambulance, took me to goodall wicher (sp?) in meridian. took about 45 min. spent 4 days in intensive care and 7 days in regular room. might have turned out different if i had an extractor.

[mitchbcs]

forgot to mention that I do carry a kit in my pack and my samurai... better than nothing!

[wellingtontx]

Got one and have used it on wasp/bee stings on my kids and myself. They swear it makes a difference and I also thought it helped.

[Dr. D]

Good thread...i went and checked mine. Still fully functional and you don't cut with the Extractor, just suction. The razor is for shaving hair.

[flufster]

Reading the article on the little girl who died got me to thinking about how much the conventional wisdom has changed regarding first aid for snake bites. Obviously the old Hollywood cliche' of "make a razor cut and suck out the venom" is not recommended but now most experts say not to do anything at all except hustle to the hospital. I wonder if so many people have done more harm than good with various wacky folk-treatments that they figure doing nothing is preferable. Many even say using "The Extractor" is no help. However, a few years ago a hunting buddy of mine got bit on the hand by a rattler while picking up a dove he'd shot. He had an Extractor and you could see it pulling venom out of the wound. He still got really sick and had a long recovery but how could removing at least some of the venom be a bad thing??

jerp i had actually posted about the extractor on that topic as well...here is my story but may get long

i go to big spring to help a buddy run a booth at a snake round up...he is the kind of guy that has never met a stranger and both of us are snake people so by the time i get there, he is big buddies with the family of snake handlers

they taught us all the ropes from how to hand pick the right personality for each snake for each part of the show...anyhow, during one of the shows, one of the guys goes head first into a sleeping bag of hand picked rattlers...well, the trick is normally done feet 1st and the guy can stop and chat with the crowd if a snake gets fired up...well with going head 1st, his family was pulling him out by the feet and they had no clue a snake got pissy. All of a sudden they pull him out and everyone thanks people for coming to show and out the ring they go....We realize the show was at least 15 minutes shorter than the other shows and my buddy says "someone just got bit". We go back stage to their little tent or room or whatever it was and they have the guy sitting in a chair, they took the little razor out of the extractor and shaved a 2 or 3 inch square on the guys scalp around the bite marks. They had a stack of extractors and as a family member pulled the plunger on the extractor and threw it down, someone handed him a fresh one (they said if using one you would need to clean it out which would take more time)...they went through at least 10 of those extractors. THEY told us that THEY would never go to a doctor for a snake bite and that cutting on people or taking the anti venom kills way more people than the actual bite from the snake. This guy never went to the doctor and the next day he was swollen from about his nipples to the top of his head. Most of the swelling was in his ears and they looked about an inch thick...lol Anyhow, I carry one in my truck and hope I never need it.

[prkchp]

jerp i had actually posted about the extractor on that topic as well...here is my story but may get long

i go to big spring to help a buddy run a booth at a snake round up...he is the kind of guy that has never met a stranger and both of us are snake people so by the time i get there, he is big buddies with the family of snake handlers

they taught us all the ropes from how to hand pick the right personality for each snake for each part of the show...anyhow, during one of the shows, one of the guys goes head first into a sleeping bag of hand picked rattlers...well, the trick is normally done feet 1st and the guy can stop and chat with the crowd if a snake gets fired up...well with going head 1st, his family was pulling him out by the feet and they had no clue a snake got pissy. All of a sudden they pull him out and everyone thanks people for coming to show and out the ring they go....We realize the show was at least 15 minutes shorter than the other shows and my buddy says "someone just got bit". We go back stage to their little tent or room or whatever it was and they have the guy sitting in a chair, they took the little razor out of the extractor and shaved a 2 or 3 inch square on the guys scalp around the bite marks. They had a stack of extractors and as a family member pulled the plunger on the extractor and threw it down, someone handed him a fresh one (they said if using one you would need to clean it out which would take more time)...they went through at least 10 of those extractors. THEY told us that THEY would never go to a doctor for a snake bite and that cutting on people or taking the anti venom kills way more people than the actual bite from the snake. This guy never went to the doctor and the next day he was swollen from about his nipples to the top of his head. Most of the swelling was in his ears and they looked about an inch thick...lol Anyhow, I carry one in my truck and hope I never need it.

...........I got squeamish at headfirst in a sleeping bag full of snakes.......

[flufster]

...........I got squeamish at headfirst in a sleeping bag full of snakes.......

yeah i think one of them held the record for most snakes in a sleeping bag...at the time anyway

was pretty cool hanging out with them for a weekend

[jerp]

wow flufster-now that's a snake story. You mentioned people getting sick from the anitvenon. The friend I referred to that got bit on the hand had a reaction to the antivenon that put him in the ICU for a day. I guess there is no way to know how you will react to it - the cure can be potentially fatal in itself

[Snakelover]

If you want to read some interesting stuff about snake venom, Google "Bill Haast."

I’ve been bit more than 170 times and maybe almost died 20 or 25 times. I don’t count the little bites.

[flufster]

wow flufster-now that's a snake story. You mentioned people getting sick from the anitvenon. The friend I referred to that got bit on the hand had a reaction to the antivenon that put him in the ICU for a day. I guess there is no way to know how you will react to it - the cure can be potentially fatal in itself

its pretty scary but those guys say to not take the anti venom cuz it is worse than the bite for a large number of people....they also explained "dry-bites" and a bunch of other stuff but basically that your odds of dying from a rattlesnake bite was really slim.....unless, you are a child like that other story or have other issues