How did the pioneers treat snake bites?
For the longest time people treated snake bites the wrong way. Pioneers used to do the old put on a tourniquite, make a cut and suck out the venom. Even up to 10 – 20 years ago. The proper way to treat a snake bite is to keep the person calm, keep the bite area lower than the torso if possible and put ice on the wound. Seek medical attention immediately. NEVER I repeat NEVER apply a tourniquite. Tourniquites have caused more arms and legs to have to be amputated needlessly than you could imagine. NEVER make an incision on the bite holes like you see in the movies. This just gives the person a nasty cut and you will do more harm than good. NEVER try and suck out the venom like you see in the movies. Do you want snake venom in your mouth? Anyway within seconds of the bite, the venom is away from the wound. The amount of people that die each year from snake bites in the U.S. is very low. Mostly it is the very young or the elderly. The main thing is to get to a hospital and it is very impo
