I Was Breaking The No. 1 Rule In Homesteading And In Life
The No. 1 rule in homesteading and life is: Never put your hands or feet where you can’t see them. That’s such a great rule, and it will keep you safe on your homestead as well as throughout life in general.
I was barefoot on my way to the tomato patch. I hadn’t wanted this jungle of indeterminate tomato plants. But a freeze had wiped out my initial planting of the more orderly bushes of paste tomatoes. (If you don’t know what indeterminate tomatoes are, or you would like to see some video of the tomato patch, check out this short video: Homesteading Basics: Determinate vs. Indeterminate Tomatoes.)
These unwanted tomato plants had megalomaniacal tendencies. They created a forest that sprawled and climbed all over everything. They were producing way more foliage than tomatoes. So I had to plunge deep into the patch to find anything.
A Blessing and a Curse
But wow, did I start grinning when my explorations revealed a fat, 6-inch diameter beefsteak tomato hanging in the shade.
My mouth started to water as I cradled the heavy beauty.
Whew, I had no idea this thing had been growing in there. Oh, the bragging rights! It is almost impossible to grow this big, beautiful variety in our climate. And this was a showcase specimen. Were there any more in there?
Pushing further into the nightshade jungle, I felt a cat’s claw vine hook into the top of my foot. Reactively jerking my foot, I felt the barb work its way in deeper.
Ouch!
That Wasn’t a Cat’s Claw
On second thought, I realized that there was a bigger problem.
There are no cat’s claws vines, or any other plants with thorns, in my garden.
Hmm, was the sting from a really big scorpion? Actually, it felt sort of like an ice pick in the top of my foot. It was stronger than a spider bite for sure. And it was definitely stronger than fire ants.
What could it be?
Brushing aside the tangle of tomato plant branches, I knelt down. I saw two neat puncture wounds in the top of my left foot and one big drop of blood. The three of them made a perfect equilateral triangle with about ¼” sides.
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Snake Bit!
The first rule of snake encounters is to stay calm.
OK, so I needed to stay calm.
I took a deep breath and went through the snakebite facts I knew.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that venomous snakes bite only 7,000 to 8,000 people in the U.S. each year. And only about 5 of these people die.1)http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/snakes
I didn’t really know those exact specifics at the moment, but I did know it was something like that. Anyway, I figured the odds were in my favor and it helped to keep me calm.
Identifying the Culprit
The second rule of snakebites is to try and identify the snake. You don’t want to spend a ton of time doing this.
Ideally you should know the snakes that live in your area ahead of time. Be familiar with what they look like so you can identify them quickly.
“Hopefully it was just a rat snake, or a king snake,” I thought. We have a lot of those guys, as they like to eat my chickens’ eggs. They also do valuable work eating mice and rodents in the barn, so I don’t get too upset at them being around.
Plus, rat and king snakes aren’t venomous. If one of them bites you, the worst thing that can happen is the wound getting infected. And preventing infection is easy to avoid with good wound care.
So I would be happy if it were a rat or king snake bite.
Delighted really, when you consider the other options.
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Using the Process of Elimination
The snake with the deadliest venom in my area is the coral snake, with its bright red, yellow, and black bands. They look sort of like a corn snake, which is also occasionally in this area. The way to tell the difference between the two is to remember that famous rhyme, “Red next to yellow, kill a fellow; red next to black, OK for Jack.”
I do see the deadly coral snakes from time to time, but they are always very small. In fact, their mouths are generally too small to do much of anything to humans—except if they get a small toe or finger. But it is extremely rare in my area to get bitten—or die—from a coral snake.
Plus, the way this bite was on top of my foot I knew it couldn’t be a coral snake.
But I looked around under the tomato plants looking for the bright colors anyway, just in case. Even though I know all of this, a sigh of relief slipped out when I didn’t see a coral snake anywhere.
I continued looking for any kind of snake.
Know Your Local Snakes
The rattlesnake, for which the Southwest is famous, can certainly kill you—or at least make your life miserable for a couple of weeks. According to Wikipedia, of the 20 venomous snakes in the U.S., 16 of them are some form of rattlesnake.
But rattlers prefer rocky outcroppings, and I have never seen a rattlesnake on our sandy, post oak savannah land. None of my closest neighbors had seen a rattler, either.
How do you know what kind of snakes live in your area? Especially if have just moved in? Here are 3 suggestions for finding out:
- Start asking the neighbors. Everyone has snake stories (you may hear more than you want, but at least you’ll know what can be around).
- Your local Extension Office, which probably has a wildlife biologist on staff, will also know.
- And finally, one of my favorite go-to wildlife books is the “Readers Digest Guide to North American Wildlife.” This book is for all of North America, and there are lots of great books out there for your region. Look around and I am sure you’ll find one.
And, since The Grow Network is a global community, I dug through the Internet and found some other free resources to help you. Below are some good online PDF docs with photos and identification guides for snakes:
- South African venomous snakes (28 page document with 10 extremely deadly snakes in that region … including the Black Mamba; nice photos and detailed descriptions)
- Venomous Snakes of Nepal (86 page document with beautiful photos covering kraits, cobras, king cobras, coral snakes, bipers, and pit vipers)
- SNAKES: Pictorial Key to Venomous Species in United States (4 page document with very detailed line drawings of snake heads and how to identify venomous snakes; the main takeaway from all this is that it is important to be familiar with the snakes that share your neighborhood.)
The Last Option: Copperhead
So I was pretty sure it wasn’t a coral snake or a rattler. The other options were some of our more harmless snakes … or the final concern, a copperhead.
I knew that while a copperhead bite could also be a very painful experience—sometimes dragging on for weeks—it is rarely fatal.
Since I didn’t see any snakes around, and I didn’t want to spend a ton of time looking for the snake (and you shouldn’t, either), I walked back to the house.
My husband, Dave, was in the kitchen.
“I’ve been snake bit.”
“Do you know what kind?” he asked.
“No.”
He came over and looked at my foot. The drop of blood had smeared into a big Nike swoosh. He glanced up at the clock. “It’s about 7:45—did it just happen?”
“Yes.”
“Does it hurt?”
“It is starting to,” I said.
“Copperhead, then.”
He looked again. “Hmm, punctures about 1/4″ to 3/8″ apart … It was a young’un.”
We both had heard the stories that baby copperheads are more dangerous because they can’t control their venom and they inject all they have. I don’t know if that theory is true or not. And I guessed that, while young, this one wasn’t a baby.
But it is true that the venom in a young snake is just as dangerous as in a fully grown adult. The feeling of the fangs digging in when I jerked my foot back haunted me. I had probably gotten a good-sized dose.
Herbal Care for Snake Bites
“What should we poultice it with?” Dave asked.
Being late June, I had no cabbages on hand. The plantain plants that grow on our land are very narrow-leafed and tiny. It would take forever to gather enough.
I racked my brain. I thought of the half-gallon jar of dried nettle leaf on the shelf in the pantry. But it wouldn’t be enough, and I wasn’t sure that was a good poultice material anyway.
“Prickly pear pads,” I said. “The ones behind the cow shed are a thornless variety and good-sized.”
There really is no such thing as a thornless prickly pear, but there are some that are less thorny than others.
Years ago, there had been a Craigslist ad for free thornless cactus plants that needed to be rescued or they would be destroyed. A girlfriend and I made the expedition into Austin and filled up 2 big sacks full of the pads. I planted them behind the cowshed where it tends to be very hot and dry, which is what they like. I occasionally cut back the grass from around them, but they mostly thrived in their new home with little help from me. Over the years they have given me much medicine and food.
Actually, if you want to see the patch, it is the same one we filmed Doug Simons in, harvesting pads to use in the video we created on “Treating Infections Without Antibiotics.”
Our Living Room Rug: Workshop, Community Center, Hospital, and More …
“I am going to take a cold shower to reduce my blood circulation and I’ll be laying down here in the living room when you get back.” I pointed to the big rug. Everything of importance in our family happens either around the dining table or on the living room rug.
These are the centers of most family activity.
Every evening my family gathers around the rug to hang out together. Through the years, most of my kid’s school projects were created on the living room rug. Vast amounts of artwork have been created on the rug. There have been countless wresting matches, yoga sessions, and gymnastics events held on the rug. At Christmas, the wrappings from piles of presents will be ripped open on the rug. I birthed my daughter on the living room rug.
(No, it is not the same identical rug through the decades. With all that activity, we do change the rug out every few years!)
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I’m Not Afraid to Break the Rules … a Little
Technically, by the rules, I should have laid down immediately and skipped the cold shower. But I was hot and dirty from outdoor work and I correctly guessed that things were going to get much worse. I didn’t want to go into this experience sticky and smelly.
The third rule of snakebites is to lie down as soon as possible.
Dave took a long time to get the prickly pear pads. By the time he got back my foot had swollen enough that you could no longer see the puncture marks. And the pain was increasing.
It was definitely a copperhead bite.
Poulticing a Snake Bite With Prickly Pear
Dave had made poultices of cabbage for me years ago when I had mastitis. But he had never harvested prickly pear, nor made a poultice from it before. He knew the general principles, as he had seen me treat myself for other injuries. He is not the kind of guy to ask for, or read, directions. So he went at it boldly on his own.
He decided to skin the outside of a big pad and then scar it criss-cross with a knife to give it some flexibility. He attempted to apply this to my foot by tying it together with some cloth strips I keep in the medical bag.
I wondered if this technique might actually work.
It didn’t.
Dave sort of understood it wasn’t right and asked, “Is this OK?”
You certainly don’t want to upset the people who are helping you in an emergency. I said, “Hon, I realize now why Doug always takes apart the pad to make a slimy mush for the poultice. That way the material can fit to the contour of the body. The one you made doesn’t get that much good contact.”
He nodded with understanding while trying to work a small thorn out of his finger.
I mentioned, “You know, if you take two big rocks you can use them to scrape all the thorns off the pad before you remove the pad from the plant. It makes it super easy to harvest.”
Warding Off Infection After a Snake Bite
As he headed back out to the prickly pear patch to get more to try again, I asked my 15-year-old daughter, Kimber, to prepare me some garlic. She peeled a fresh clove and crushed it with the side of a knife. Then she minced it repeatedly. She brought me a tablespoon of the garlic-mash medicine and a small glass of water as a chaser.
I wanted the garlic for insurance against internal infection. I was about to ask her for some echinacea tincture when a wave of pain came. The echinacea would have been good to help my immune system, but as events unfolded, I never got around to asking for it and it was forgotten.
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Here Comes the Pain
Pain tends to come in waves, and it was rising much like an incoming ocean tide. Coming in strongly, backing off a bit, and then surging to a new level of intensity.
With the next low in pain, I started giving Kimber directions on how to log into my account in the Honors Lab and where to find the video on treating snakebites.
Dave came back from the prickly pear patch more quickly this time.
“How’s the pain?” he asked.
We all laughed for a moment at the absurdity of that question.
Dave remembered the thing paramedics and doctors always ask: “On a scale of 1 to 10, how much pain are you feeling right now?”
That seemed funny, too. But we decided that a 1 or 2 was your typical fire ant bites or small scratches that drew some blood. Level 10 was so bad you were on the precipice of passing out. At about 5 or 6, the pain demanded most of your attention, but was manageable.
I decided it was going in waves between a level 3 and 7. At its peaks, the pain absolutely demanded my full attention, but I had certainly endured worse.
Dave nodded agreement with my assessment. A copperhead had bitten him just 3 years ago, so he knew what I was going through.
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When Poulticing a Snakebite … GO BIG!
Things then started getting a little hazy for me as the waves came with more pain and less relief. I heard the sounds of chopping in the kitchen and the video going in the office.
Dave got a new, slushier version of a poultice on my foot. It felt so good. The cool, slimy, green, soothing cactus was a good, good thing.
But there are 2 things about a poultice that most people get wrong. The first mistake is that most people make poultices too small. You really need to cover a large area.
When I surfaced from the next round of pain, I told Dave, “You know what, Hon? We are going to need about 4 to 5 times more material. My whole foot needs to be encased in poultice.”
Dave went back to the patch again and got more pads. He came back much faster this time and made a bigger poultice. At some point, I was vaguely surprised to become aware that both he and Kimber were in the office intently watching the “Treating Infections Without Antibiotics” video and figuring out what to do.
Dave figured out that a blender was the best way to make the prickly pear slurry.
Dave discovered that he could use the blender to speed up the process of making the prickly pear slurry. He also figured out the following system for applying the poultice to this unusually-shaped area. First he put my foot into an old pillowcase. Then he poured the prickly pear slurry in so it was covering and surrounding my foot. Then he used a plastic bag to contain the oozing that was coming out of the pillowcase. And finally, he wrapped the whole thing up with a towel and tied it in place with cloth strips.
We poured the slurry into an old pillowcase with my foot inside.
Tying the final bundle together.
Desperate Times Call for Desperate Measures
The pain was increasing more now. “Kimber, please get me that homemade pain medicine. It’s in the way back of the pantry. The black stuff in the pint jar with the white lid.” Normally, all of my home medicine is labeled and dated. But this stuff was special and only Kimber and I knew about it.
Dave furrowed his brow, “What is that stuff, Hon?” he asked. “If I end up taking you to the hospital, I need to be able to tell them….”
“It’s a low grade level of morphine,” I said. “It’s nothing like the strong stuff they shot you up with.”
Dave had been in such pain in the hospital when he was bitten.
My homemade analgesic could take the edge off the pain, make it bearable. It wasn’t strong enough to take all the pain away. But just taking the edge off is a really good thing sometimes. I rarely used it, and when I did, it was because I really needed it. It is pretty easy to grow the plants for it in your garden and process the medicine at home. I make a batch every few years so I always have a small supply on hand. (If you want to know the process, check out the article in the “Inside Edition,” which is the private blog for those with Honors Lab access—but your local herbalist could probably teach you how to do it, too.)
Kimber got me an ounce or so of the medicine.
I now was mostly focused on dealing with pain that was now swinging more from 5 to 8 on “the scale.”
It was going to get much worse before the night was through. But every cloud has a silver lining, and in coming agony I would have a deeply life-changing mystical experience.
There’s more to come. Click here to read the second part of this story….
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(This is an updated version of an article that was originally published on July 1, 2016.)
Marjory Wildcraft is the founder of The Grow Network, which is a community of people focused on modern self-sufficient living. She has been featured by National Geographic as an expert in off-grid living, she hosted the Mother Earth News Online Homesteading Summit, and she is listed in Who’s Who in America for having inspired hundreds of thousands of backyard gardens. Marjory was the focus of an article that won Reuter’s Food Sustainability Media Award, and she recently authored The Grow System: The Essential Guide to Modern Self-Sufficient Living—From Growing Food to Making Medicine.
References
| ↑1 | http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/snakes |
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COMMENTS(116)
Hope you are doing better!!! Some thoughts re other natural remedies that might help with detoxing the poison: Clay poultices ( I have used for nasty spider bites with amazing results ) and internally, Chlorella which helps bind neurotoxins from many chemicals & heavy metals by binding with them in the bloodstream & Liver, as well as Turmeric/Curcumin caps/pwdr taken internally, again to help the body rid from the poisons that create neurotoxins – neurotoxins being poisons in chemical forms that have an affinity for the cells of the nervous system that can create the challenge to the vital organs of the body.
Also, your local homeopath could likely have a remedy for snake venom which could also help neutralize the poison more quickly, or could make one for you from the site of the bite itself.
Huge Blessings & Prayers for a speedy recovery
Arlene, it sounds like you are prepared to deal with snake bites too. So glad to hear from you.
I did have clay on hand although I had forgotten all about it at the time. Funny how that is, huh? In the moment of an emergency your mind is just not what you know it could be 🙂
Oh my! Glad you made it through to write this story for us! I had a little copperhead under my bathroom sink about three years ago that I had to extract myself. Thankfully a pair of long handed grill tongs and an empty shoe box were both within easy reach.
Hi Holly,
Oh I am so glad you did not try to destroy the snake. I have walked by many copperheads and they are really quite docile and friendly snakes. I am sure this on e bit me only because I had stepped on it.
I’m on the edge of my seat! I want to know if the mystical life-changing experience was. ❤️
stay tuned. really, the physical things going on were difficult, but the inner experience was amazing.
I’m surprized you didn’t do massive doses of echinacea extract immediately.
Snake venom (copperheads and rattlers along with others have an enzyme that breaks down the glue that holds our tissue together, allowing the venom to penetrate more freely. Echinacea counteracts this enzyme and stops the penetration of the venom.
It is the original snake oil, and the traveling medicine shows would sell the extract as a cure for everything including snakebite, and since it stimulated the immune system it actually worked (if you were lucky enough to find someone who actually knew what he was doing. Many of the medicine show people regularly allowed themselves to be bit by poisonous snakes as part of their sales pitch.
I would also treat externally with an echinacea poultice
My teacher when asked how much echinacea would he take if he got bit replied ” I would take all I had”
Hi Bob, Yes! I’ve known herbalists who got echinacea right into the punctures, and then taking large doses internally, and it is very effective. We might have been able to do it as I got back to the house quickly (before the punctures were swollen up). That is an excellent plan. And I am glad you’ve brought it up so now I have two possible plans to treat venomous bites.
I also agree on the echinacea dosage for taking internally, you really should be taking a lot. When treating a massive conjunctivitis (eye infection) a year or so back, I was taking 5 to 7 droppersful 4 to 5 times per day.
You dear woman! May you be blessed for your kindness in sharing all the awesome ways your family manages, and I hope you will recover soon! Loved your Tarahumara experience, read every word! Our son served in ministry in MX and knows a cute girl from that tribe! She is a Cirque de Soleil performer, RN and student. volunteer minister, and does 50 more things….(what is wrong with us Americans???) I told him to marry her! I hope he does!
You are such a treasure my dear!
Best Wishes!!!!
Jena Garcia
I know there are several varieties of echinacea in fairly common use. Two of the most common are angustifolia and purpurea.. Are you recommending one of these, or some other variety? Also, as I understand it, spider bites can have an enzymous venom. Would the echinacea work on this kind of bite? Better than plantain/saliva poultice?
Sandy, if you go on the website of Dr. Richard Shulze (American Botanical Pharmacy) he explains all about the uses for Echinacea for ALL venomous bites and we have used his most potent liquid for 20 yrs. If you feel run down or scratchy throat like UH OH I am getting sick….you do 10 droppersful every hour or 2 and PRESTO….you are well…this has saved my family from soooo much suffering, I think his is the strongest. I hope this helps!
Haha! I do a dropper full every few hours. Most of the time that works too! But I will start using more if it seems needed! And maybe for other people….
Very interesting, yes I would like to know how u did!
Wowww! Glad you made it and I’m glad your family was there and helped you through! Peace.
Yeah, me too!
A paste of activated charcoal and bentonite or montmorillonite clay in pure RO or distilled water will work quite quickly to extract the venom. A brief (i.e. no more than 20 min) tourniquet can be used around the lower leg to keep the venom from spreading to the rest of the body. Lather the paste on the wound and leave in place for a few minutes. Wash away and repeat for 3-4 times. Massage the foot toward the wound from all directions during this time. Then apply a final paste, lightly wrap with gauze, and remove the tourniquet. You should experience no systemic body pain with this intervention and you’ll be out of harm’s way. For internal infection control I use monoatomic silver, diatomic iodine, and allicin.
Keep the charcoal/clay ready to go at all times. It will keep very well in a sealed mason jar kept in a cool dark spot. I simply add the ingredients in a blender to mix it well, then allow it to settle overnight. Slowly pour off the liquid into a separate mason jar until you are left with a concentrated slurry. Keep the jar open for a day or two more so that enough water will evaporate to give you a nice pasty consistency. Then seal and store.
Now, keep the liquid that you pour off and use it for times when you suspect food poisoning. It works great for absorbing bacterial endotoxins. The silver, iodine, and allicin should be taken ten to fifteen minutes later to kill the “bugs” themselves. Taking the antimicrobials at the same time as the clay/charcoal liquid is less effective because the clay/charcoal will absorb them as well as the endotoxins and they will not have the same killing power as they will if taken later. You could reverse the process, I suppose, but it’s the toxins which are creating the nausea and gut irritation so I prefer inactivating them first and killing the bugs second.
Phil … what ratio of charcoal to clay to you recommend?
hi I know activated Charcoal is readily available from the pharmacy but where does one get the clay?
When we lived in the sticks we got the clay from Amazon delivered to our door lol. Beat the heck out of having to make a trip to the city!
Phil, wow, a third possible treatment route. Nice!
QUick question: for the charcoal/bentonite paste, what is the ratio you recommend for clay to charcoal? Also, what quantity of paste would you make for each application? 1 cup? Encase the foot?
I definitely like the idea of keeping the paste in a jar available.
Thanks so much for writing in, and I hope to hear from you.
Marjory,
I use equal amounts of charcoal and clay, about a cup apiece. Add water and blend. It is not necessary to encase the entire foot but you can if you wish. A small amount of the mixture will draw out the venom very effectively. Simply cover the wound with a tablespoon or two and repeat 2-3 times. Charcoal and clay are inexpensive, so you can make large batches and store indefinitely without any worries that it will lose any effectiveness over time. It’s always ready to go to work.
In times past people learned to scrape charcoal off of burned firewood and add small amounts to their food to keep their “guts” clean and healthy. Many animals instinctively know that eating small amounts of dirt does the same thing. The silts and clay particles in the water that most animals drink also helps to keep their intestinal tracts clean. These materials gently scrub the intestinal villi and soak up toxins as an added benefit.
Several months ago I developed a severe swelling in my left submandibular salivary gland which would not clear when I pressed on the gland. After a few hours of no relief and increased swelling and pain I decided to add some of my paste directly on the duct beneath the tongue. Within a minute I felt a ticklish tingling at that spot and my mouth filled quite abruptly with a huge amount of mucous from the gland. I was pain free within minutes and awoke the next morning with no discomfort and a gland that was back to normal. I am quite certain that a few pennies worth of nature’s simplest of remedies saved me a trip to the doctor and a ridiculously large medical bill.
By the way, I am also a huge fan of oil pulling. If you haven’t heard of this, it is a simple and effective way to keep your teeth, gums, and interior spaces immaculately clean. I use a tablespoon or two of organic virgin coconut oil and swish it around in my mouth each morning for about 10-15 minutes. I then spit it out and rinse my mouth with clean water. The oil will literally “pull” bacteria and toxic materials out from areas around your teeth which brushing and flossing cannot reach or remove. The mouth is a source of an incredible amount of debilitating health conditions. Keeping it and your gut clean will help add many years of vigorous health to your life.
I have also heard about the use of electrical currents to inactivate venoms but I prefer to remove them quickly and completely. The immune system goes on DefCon 1 Red Alert whenever anything, natural or unnatural, is directly injected into the bloodstream, whether it is inactivated or not. That produces a whole cascade of biochemical irregularities which is quite stressful to the body as a whole and can take many days to dissipate. You may not experience any noticeable symptoms but, trust me, if you could see what takes place at the molecular level after an insult like a venomous snake bite, it would alarm the hell out of you.
I tell people the same thing about these mobile devices that they are addicted to. Those frequencies are an unnatural and highly destructive invasion that produces a tremendous amount of free radical damage, double and single stranded DNA breaks, and probably a thousand other molecular disruptions which will accumulate over time and shorten their lives. I won’t own one and I even took the steps to move out into the country where towers and repeaters are in very low abundance.
Ditto for vaccinations and immunizations for anybody, but particularly for the young. Injecting infants with a cocktail of poisons before their immune systems have even matured sufficiently to handle them is a crime against humanity. I warn people, but they think that M.D. stands for Medical Deity, so they do as they’re told.
The most venomous snakes in our world are not the ones in our gardens. The deadliest are in the hospitals, pediatric clinics, and other appendages of the medical industrial complex. Throw in the pharmaceutical companies, biotech interests, and politicians whose campaign coffers are kept filled with the profits of these poisonous enterprises and you have a society which is sick, getting sicker, and will eventually succumb to its own ignorance, arrogance, and lust for filthy lucre and power.
Good rant, I can sleep now…
WOW
So right on Phil, about everything! Bless your heart for being brave to tell the truth!
I was wondering if it’s Ok to place the clay in a blender as we’re always told no to have any kind of metals in direct contact with the clay? Thanks
The attracting and binding power of clay and charcoal is basically a strong physico-chemical electrostatic attraction and is thus unaffected by the brief few seconds of contact with the metal blades that are needed to blend the mixture. I have used the mixture for many years for many things and it always works and works well.
Metals can be a problem with a variety of therapeutics which rely on more subtle energies and vibrational frequencies such as homeopathics, essential oils, or anything which uses energized water, in a persistent liquid crystalline state, as a solute or a carrier of such frequencies and more subtle energies into the body.
Phil,
A couple of dumb questions for you. I live in KY, and my yard has very high clay content, will that work ok? Do you make your own charcoal, or is an off shelf brand recommended?
Thanks,
James
I wanted to find out where you can get the clay component? and once made and jarred can it keep in a hot environment like the car emergency kit?
I use the calcium bentonite clay from http://livingclayco.com/DetoxClay.php and the activated charcoal from http://thepowermall.com/thecenterforhealth/firstaid_emergency/charcoal.htm#Activated%20Charcoal:
The mixture should be fine at any temperature since it is purely inorganic. Make sure that whatever you keep it in is very well sealed to prevent evaporative water loss. But if that happens just add some water and it will become pasty again in no time at all.
For hikers who want to keep weight to a minimum, I suggest using 50 ml conicals available at amazon (https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=50+ml+conical).
I purchase calcium bentonite clay here — http://livingclayco.com/DetoxClay.php
The charcoal/clay mixture is unaffected by temperature because it is purely inorganic. Make sure that you keep it in a well sealed container to avoid evaporative water loss. If that happens, just add more water and it will become pasty again quite readily.
It also helps to take the charcoal internly 🙂 I haven’t done this myself- but I did give it to one of my dogs who had been bet by a rattle snake and it sure helped.
Gee whiz girl. Ouch… But, I want to hear your mystical experience too. Smiles. I would have used activated charcoal slurry (flooding it) for the first hour, and then used a paste of the Charcoal overnight, with a paste the next day of turmeric/curcumin and plantain moistened with colloidal silver.. Make a thick paste of this and glob it onto the whole bite area. For pain I have my own recipe of herbs.
Bless you and may you be well soon. Linda
Right on Linda, sounds like you could have handled this situation well.
I am so glad to know there are so many others who are confident of their abilities to work with this kind of medicine.
Wow! Snake bites are what I fear most living out in the country. What is the low grade morphine concoction called so I can ask someone how to grow and prepare it?
Boy did I perk up when I saw that headline in the e-mail: “How I Got Bit by a Venomous Snake, Treated it at Home, and Lived to Tell the Tale.” What a page-turner!
First, I’m glad you’re doing well, and can’t wait to hear “The Rest of the Story.”
Second, I had actually been thinking about this very thing over the past week or so. As I’m “new” to living away from the “big city,” I have occasionally thought about this situation, especially as I’ve seen more snakes since being here (two years in about a week, in fact) than I’ve seen in my entire life previously. So it’s on my mind a bit.
Finally, I’m amazed at how you stayed “cool as a cucumber,” even remembering what you needed/wanted, where it was and then giving direction!
Wow…just…wow.
David,
Well I am glad it is on your mind. I hope this post outlines a plan of action for you to take to be prepared. In addition to the treatment I did, there are some wonderful other methods being described in these comments.
Hello, a few months ago I broke my leg. Then got the super bug mrsa. Does anyone have ideas how to get this treated? Been through two rounds of doctors’ antibiotics? I have very little knowledge of natural medicine…due to previous unsuccessful attempts to access your materials because my technology for the blind screenreader won’t read your pages well. Please if possible send directly to my mail for replies if possible answers. Thanks much.
I love this woman. And her family. They’re great.
My two cents to add, spider bite removing old wood limbs dumped in Bradenton Fl. I wore gloves feeding a chipper the large limbs, final cleanup was with rakes and scoop shovels to pickup beds. I got nailed with a bite and my co-worker yelled Brown recluse, I barely saw it jumping away. I didn’t know a Brown recluse from a roach spider but I learned quickly. Didn’t hurt as much as a black widow but that was the start of my learning curve. I got told I had a biggie and off to the clinic we went. The clinic gave me silvadene white creme and told me to keep reapplying it and come back in three days. A thin skin kept forming and sloughing off as the nickle sized hole on the back of my hand kept getting deeper. Three days later when I could see tendon and a pulsing vein the doc at the clinic said all we can do is monitor it. Monitor it then what? was my reply. See if we have to amputate was the docs answer. My second opinion came from a bulk herb shop in Sarasota Fl, comfrey root powder will stop it cold. The next day I knew he was right, swelling and sloughing stopped overnight. Just a good thing to know before you see your vein pulsing with every heartbeat. It has worked for others since and I still have a ball jar of it, I did say it was a bulk herb shop. Glad I got a second opinion
Wow Edward…so glad you found an answer! Dr. Richard Schulze at American Botanical Pharmacy has also said fresh aloe slimy gel has a similar effect to comfrey…Indians called it Knit Bone…I wonder if it is similar to the cactus Marjory used? He also has an Intestinal Formula #2 that has the clay and charcoal already in it with herbs that make a great poultice in 2 minutes with water…..we use it a lot! It saved me from a fever and diarhea in Mexico….like the runs stopped in an hour! Saved my vacation pulling out germs and toxins…I also gulped a lot of his Echinacea super liquid and sweat the fever out in a few hours! Love the outpouring of love and support from all you wonderful folks!
There is a really good snake bite kit (Sawyer) which suctions out most of the venom when used soon after a snake bite. It is also useful for bee and wasp stings. I haven’t heard about it being used for scorpion stings. It uses suction only and there is no cutting involved. It is quite effective.
I’m very glad your bite had a happy ending as well. Scary times, prior knowledge could have saved me the the indent on the back of my hand a coin fits in.
Oh how much easier your life would have been had you used the appropriate homeopathic remedy.
Hi Madeline,
You know, I haven’t ever resonated with homeopathic remedies… They seem to work well for my husband (and of course, lots of other people), but it just isn’t the medicine for me.
BTW, what specific homeopathic remedies would you have used?
Aconite initially if there is fear and/or shock.
Alternate Hypericum 30C (pain) & Ledum 30C (puncture wounds) every 10 minutes.
For rattlesnake bites alternate Cedron 6X with the Hypericum and Ledum. For severe rattlesnake bites give Cedron in between the Hypericum and Ledum.
Other remedies to consider for snake bites: Lachesis, Crotalus Horrodus, Naja (these three are made from snake venoms), Echinacea angustifolia, Ammonium Carbonicum
i keep benzonite clay and activated charcoal in my medicine chest to create a poltice in such emergencies. Note that the activated charcoal poltice first applied and kept on for a few minutes can only be done twice. After that for a longer lasting poltice use benzonite clay. Prior to applying the poltice, a topical application of tea tree essential oil should be applied to the wound. That neutralizes poisonous snake venom…… period. You can use on dogs and horses too, (but not cats) along with the poltices. The echinacea extract taken internally is good for mitigating the affect the venom would have on tissue. There is also a homeopathic med one can obtain at health oreiented farmers markets in some areas which I keep in my med chest in the event of grid down due to natural disaster. That said, I have found from experience that organic lavender essential oil in neutralizing poisonous spider bites is as miraculous for that as it is for treating burns. Lots of good advice here. Everyone should have colloidal silver in their medicine chest as well as liposomal vit c.
Our bible for infectious diseases and toxins (including bites) is on vitamin C by Dr Thomas E Levy, MD, JD and I suppose it may not be your idea of ‘growing’ your stuff, but the bulk supplies from Amazon would be used both topically and orally. In the earlier days before they knew what was in it, apparently the ‘weed’ Boneset tea etc was the herbalists strong and amply growing source of C. So without the herbalists on my doorstep, I’ll stick to my supplies of ascorbic acid (and its other forms, sodium ascorbate, the salt form, and ascorbyl palmitate, the oil-friendly form, though the boneset grows in our yard) and the dosage data in Levy’s book. Thank you for your page-turner and so glad you came through it so clearly thinking.
Interesting article and i’m glad ever thing worked out fine for you i just thought i would tell you the routine in OZ for snake bite rule no 1 apply a pressure bandage no exceptions if you don’t have one use part of your clothing what the bandage doe’s is slow the flow of the venom right down, a tourniquet cuts of the blood flow to that part of the body and can do more harm than good if the snake can’t be identified it’s off to hospital and they take a swab from the bite area and then the snake can be identified and treated with the correct anti venom over here you just can’t chance it
Think it was Southern Outdoors that published a 3 part article on using electric shock to treat snake bite. It was written by a doctor practicing medicine in a 3rd world country, who said even when the victim arrived with the snake that bit them, by the time they got the antivenom in, the patient had died, so when he heard about a local bee keeper who was allergic to bee stings, but still keeping bees, he went to visit him to ask him what he did when he got stung. The man told him that he never worried about getting stung, just used electric shock around the sting and went about his work with no problems. He said the next snake bite victim he got in the hospital, he gave the electric shock around the bite and found that it worked wonders in decreasing the pain, swelling and discomfort, even when they arrived hours after the bite. I have since heard that it also works the same on spider bites, scorpion stings, etc. He did recommend you use the electric current generated by your car or boat to avoid electrocuting yourself if you get a surge during the time you are using it. My brother who had a severe l3000 volt accident told me that it wasn’t the voltage that killed you, it was the watts. He suggested that it should be safe to use an electric fence setup because it was 10 WATTS or less. I suspect one could also use the law mower current, but using my head I decided the safest and easiest way to use your auto current was to use the cigarette lighter found in most cars (also used to recharge cell phones, camera batteries, etc) so I took one of the connectors to power your recharger or device you use in the car, snipped off the end you attach to the object being recharged, removed about 1 inch of insulation, separating the two sides of wires and twisting each group separately. This travels in my car with me. I did the same thing with an old printer computer printer cable that should prevent a dangerous surge to keep in the house. I am thinking of revising my set ups by soldering a 1 1/2 inch piece of copper wire to the separated wires because sometimes those loose small wires sort of stick you. You will hardly feel any current from using it and no explanation for why it works was given, but suspect that it works by changing the molecular structure of the snake venom.
Later read that someone in the Knoxville, Tn. area showed up at the downtown area with his dog lying in the back of his pickup and looking very lethargic and lifeless and someone had read about it and they used it on the dog, who allegedly had recovered and was up and about approximately 30 minutes after the shock treatment.
One clue that might not have helped Marjorie in identifying her biter, since she was in a garden, I never learned until in my early 20’s, although I was raised in the countries and spent plenty of time in the woods, often alone. My husband and I had been hiking in a wooded area, and had just entered a great spot for a picnic, although I couldn’t imagine anyone packing a lot of picnic foods on the long hike we had taken to reach it, when suddenly I stopped deadstill and started looking for any cucumber leavings.
My husband stopped nearby and looked at me and I asked him if he smelled or saw any remains of cucumbers around him, Both of us got the strong odor of cucumbers but saw no signs of any growing or their remains. Stopping at a small grocery on the way home for a cold drink I remarked to the grocer how strange it was coming upon that open grassy area that would have been a great picnic spot and getting a strong odor of cucumbers, but seeing none. Looking at me, he said you must have been standing mighty close to a copperhead because when they get mad they smell like cucumbers. Talking with a friend later, I related the event and conversation to him and was informed that the man was telling the truth. He then related a story about a copperhead that resided underneath a grocery store when he was a kid and he and some of his buddies would poke at it with long poles and when they aggravated the snake, he would give off a strong odor of cucumbers.
Hi Jyoce,
Well, that is interesting. Cucumbers? I have never noticed that. I have wolked by many copperheads but I didn’t disturb them. They are quite docile snakes in general in my experience.
the Rat and king snakes definitely give off an oder… I wouldn’t describe it as cucumber.
Thnaks for htat. I’ll keep it in mind and see if I can notice that someday.
This might explain why my son’s family has complained in the past, of the odor that lingers on his boots after he has finished off a copper head, they had run over on the dirt road. We have a lot, in fact our lane was once called Copper head Alley.
I would caution the use of 12 volts straight from a car battery or similar device, the reason is that you can still get a burn with some car electrical systems, and 12 volts is not the best way to get a DC charge to the venom. Low voltage, especially when not being at a high frequency, has trouble penetrating the skin and will not reach the venom to adequately inactivate the venom. You can use the spark lead from a weed eater, chain saw, lawn mower, outboard motor; a cattle prod or low voltage stun gun or an electric fence. Some have also indicated that an electrostim machine or a TENS unit will also work although I have not had experience with those methods. The action of the DC at a low current (micro-amps) is to break the zinc ionic bond on the protein chains of the venom. These protein chains are similar among most venoms and so the application of the shock will tear the proteins apart, permanently deactivating the venom. This treatment was used, and is still used at the main hospital in Quito, Equador, with great success. An Italian research team proved the action of the electricity on the venom proteins and is the only really good scientific research on the subject. The US studies which were published were not well done and produced misleading results. It is safe and effective so long as you don’t use a high powered stun gun or a very high voltage car ignition system. One further note: AC such as you get from a power socket does not work and is deadly, it must be High Voltage DC Low Current given in single shock doses (6-8 usually are sufficient) There is more info about technique, testimonials etc. at http://www.venomshock.wikidot.com
From now on; whenever I pair tomatoes and cucumbers together, I’ll be calling it “Copperhead Salad”!
Get well soon, Marjory!
Ha ha Dave! Good to hear from you.
Glad you are going to be okay. Is it bad that I chuckled a little that you would use an emergency as a teaching post? Thank you for explaining everything as it unfolded. You are VERY calm in an emergency! Glad your family was nearby to help, too.
Blessings,
L
I cure rattlesnake bites, spider bites and all kinds of toxic bites with DC electricity from a cattle prod also known as a “hot shot”. I would be fairly confident that it will work on the copper head bite as well but I don’t know for sure. If you zap yourself several times it nullifies the venom instantly and also stops the pain.
One substance you may want to keep on hand is Pascalite Clay. It’s a form of bentenite clay with special properties. Of course as a clay it has pulling properties, however it has rare elements in it that also make it anti-bacterial and can neutralize the venom from the brown recluse spider, so maybe a snake bite too. That would be my first choice. Also essential oils are handy to reduce swelling and heal infections.
thank you for sharing this!! I’m learning loads fast, but am having trouble finding anything via google that is anything but ‘get to a hospital’.
I live in Ontario, we only have mississaugs rattlers. they live near water and are very timid, which means they are reluctant to bite, which is good. I remember watching a psa as a kid saying that if you hear rattling, freeze, find the direction of the noise and move away slowly.
my next move is to search out what plants for large poultices work best…
thanks again! I’ve suddenly realized that I have a gaping hole in my education that could mean life or death. fixing that NOW <3
I would have made a poultice out of Dandelion Root, Echinacea, Marshmallow Root, Plantain, Saw Palmetto – Also take internally every 3 hours
Plantain would take the pain away and is an antibiotic. Mallow Root takes the infection out, including gangrene. If you have nothing else, just eat plantain and keep poultices on the wound. http://homegrownherbalist.net/blogs/news/11055129-echinacea-the-rest-of-the-story
Oh how delightful, the Home Grown Herbalist is Dr Patrick Jones? I love his writings. He was also a presenter at the 2016 Home Grown Food Summit. A super knowledgeable guy.
Hi Marjorie,
I agree! Dr. Jones treats snakebite all the time as a veterinarian. He says that even with all the horrible bites he’s seen, he’s never had any problem stopping the progression of the venom once he applies his treatment, which consists of Echinacea and Plantain. Our daughter was bitten by a rattlesnake and the antivenin itself was $86,000. I would use his formula any day over the hospitals if this happened again. Here’s a link to his snakebite remedies:
https://homegrownherbalist.net/?s=snake+bite&post_type=product&title=1&excerpt=1&content=1&categories=1&attributes=1&tags=1&sku=1&orderby=date-DESC&ixwps=1
Oh my gosh. Can’t wait for the rest of the story!
Amazing and I pray you are now doing well. – Everyone has their own thoughts & ideas which I’m sure they all work.
But as for me, I would only suggest that you create a book/notebook for all remedies you use that your family can easily go through & find what to do for whatever happens. And include recipes. – Plus this would be a great item to hand down to your kids. (probably need a small or regular size binder that you can add to/revise etc.)
Or just type & print out a page for snake bites.
Why I think of 3-ring binders:
(I created a cookbook -the smaller -half-size- binder that was filled with mom’s recipes that I had to get her to tell me ‘how to’ -Do you realize how hard it is to write recipes when your mom knows how much of this or that without having to think about measurements-
And I add other recipes that we had used through the years. I created it for my niece w/pics, etc. – was nice, if I do say so myself)
Where is part 2?????
So sorry, just realized I read the date wrong. Can’t wait to hear part 2 and hope you are doing well!
I have treated a copperhead bite and a scorpion bite with umeboshi plum paste, available from macrobiotic supply section of health food stores. The main thing is to have something you can slap on immediately. Your heart can be affected. I think the shock treatment is the best. I never put my bare foot anywhere I can’t see anymore, and that includes a creek. God bless you.
Virginia Snake root (hard to get, you can grow it yourself )or equivalent Plantain. Keep some tincture on hand of either. Blend or chew plantain use a massive poultice. Charcoal anti toxin as is clay…. Snake root and plantain have bee my go to things for bites/stings. Garlic/turmeric (infection prevention anti inflam) poultice after 24-36 hours of the drawing poultice. Echinacea and or 10,000 iu’s of D3 immune support.
I would think that a hospital would have been your first choice, but not knowing the
type of snake that bit you, probably would mean they would administer all sorts of
medications that would not help, unless they knew the type of snake that stuck its
fangs into you. In any event, I trust that you are now are well.
Dear Marjory,
Please hurry and write us what happened next and tell us about your mystical experience. I pray you are feeling OK now. Your story gets a 10 from me on the voting scale.
God Bless you,
Hope Light
Around the farm we do the electric fence shock treatment whenever we get a spider bite and it seems to work pretty well.
All pretty amazing. Can’t wait to read on… Thank you.
YOU are fu&$in amazing my dear! You cured yourself!!! You are an inspiriation. I am humbled at your videos and knowledge of plants, gardening an healing. I have much to learn from you. Thank you so kindly for all the information.
I have had such success with activated charcoal that I consider everything else enhancements. My standard bite poltice is charcoal and snake root followed up with snake root alone. After much disappointment with my wifes medical trearment of frequent spider bites this is what made her realize the crazy person in her house might actually be on to something. I do like the idea of a clay charcoal premix and will whip one up tomorrow.
In ERs tey usually have antivenin for poisonous snakebites and Versed for sedation.
I am so glad you are doing well. I keep activated charcoal on hand for such times, but have not needed it for venomous snake bites in the 20 years living out of town. I made a poultice and have it frozen and waiting. I had to chuckle at the references to electric current therapy though. We have a Blue Tick that likes to touch the hot wire with his nose…every day! I don’t remember when he started doing it, but years for sure. We have to yell at him to knock it off though because he hollers ever time he touches it, but does it over and over again. His tail wags as his body quivers. We figured he was recharging….but for sure he has to be buzzing those parasites don’t you think!?
Regarding the shock therapy, would one of the “Smart Relief TENS Therapy” devices provide a safer yet productive alternative to the other “shocking” methods noted? These can be obtained in grocery stores for about $30. One would only have to keep some spare CR2032 batteries handy to use it directly in the bite area. Use a dampened paper towel or the special pads that are designed for it to make good electrical contact.
Excellent choice and it is portable and low current. Thank you for this post.
When I lived in Africa, it was customary to carry snake-bite kits which consisted of a razor, suction cup and tourniquet. I never relished the idea of making incisions (in a cross shape) over each puncture wound to extract the venom. Of course, dealing with the venom of a black mamba or cobra did not give you much time to sit and think about it. Today it is more common to see people carrying a small stun gun. (place electrodes on either side of the bite area) These can be as small as a pack of cigarettes and apparently do a great job of neutralizing the venom. (high voltage, low current). I hope you have recovered completely.
Hi Majory,
Well done girl and thanks for writing about it, love your work! I’d like also to thank PHIL Welsh for a most enlightening read. When I was a child, my mother always told me to do a pultace of mud onto any stings or bites. I did this many many times with perfect success for bee spider and ant bites. In trying to pass this onto others, I’m invariably met with that flouride stare, sorry for working this in but I heard the phrase last night and loved it. I’d never actually met or heard anyone speak to this method until now and I would certainly never of joined the dots to include snake bite.
Also to corroborate Joyce Duke to a degree, I have also read that it is a well used and standard response in India, but I don’t know if it’s using high voltage such as household power at 240 volt or low voltage at 12 or 24 volt….this would need to be worked out in advance and I’d appreciate hearing if someone knows which voltage for certain.
Another method used down under where we have real nasty snakes that are way deadly and can be severely aggressive is to inject high dose vit C direct into muscle. Our neighbors have apparently done this with success 4 or 5 times with their hunting dogs. Apparently it’s very well known among dear hunters here. In desperation one time, I used this method on another neighbors dog and sadly it failed. Oral liposomal vit c may also have this ability.
Thanks for the discussion and all the best.
Wow Marjory! Glad you’re feeling better. The very thought of a snake bite scares me, but it’s reassuring to read the different remedies people have used successfully. Can’t wait to hear the rest of your story. Take care.
I grew up in rural FL and now live in rural north GA. Rattlers of several different varieties, copperheads, cottonmouth (aka water moccasins) and coral snakes populate these areas. The area I now live in has an abundance of copperheads.
Had an elderly friend that was native to this county tell me that when she was a young child, a neighbor was grubbing potatoes. All of a sudden, she yelped and then ordered the kids to go get her a bottle of turpentine from the house. She then stuck her finger into the bottle of turpentine and the kids could see green stuff coming out of her bitten finger. When the bottle started to turn greenish, she asked them to go ask neighbors if they had any. They brought her another bottle and she again stuck her finger in it and it continued to draw the poison. When the green stopped coming out of the wound, she pulled her finger out….and was fine. As the person telling the story was a model of integrity, I believe her.
If you thing about it, turpentine is made from pine tree sap and that sap is collected by us from the sap tears on a pine tree – the resin. And it’s great on puncture wounds so it makes sense to me that turpentine works on a snakebite.
Growing up in the south and running barefooted in the woods was a good way to learn that unless you pester them, snakes will just slither off. If you but stand stock still – even if they crawl over your foot to get away. JUST. STAND. STILL. They won’t hurt you. (had a baby copperhead a couple of years ago in a wood pile I moved. Never knew it was there. Felt something bump my shoulder as I move the wood into the car trunk to get rid of it. Walked to the driver’s side and as I walked back, there sat the 4-5″ thing coiled up. It just sat there. (I wondered WHERE MAMA was!) But it never made any move to attack.
Note: a cottonmouth WILL go after you. They are a VERY aggressive snake if riled even a little! But the rest of them will leave you alone if you leave them alone. Just keep an eye on where you’re walking so you don’t either step too close or on them.
Have you thought of using colloidal silver? Very powerful!
An electrical shock from a garden tractor or tens unit will neutralize the poison from spider and snake bites and is used in countries where getting to medical facilities is nearly impossible. My husband has been bitten numerous times by brown recluse (fiddleback) spiders and we have shocked them and there was no redness or swelling at all!
I hope this finds you doing well. I have been a student and teacher of the natural medicines that Almighty God put all over this earth for us. I believe that everywhere there is something toxic or poisonous, there is a remedy. I did not know about the prickly pear though. That is a good piece of information for sure.
I would like to add to your list of things that can help in a similar situation.
1. The most effective treatment is electricity. No, don’t plug yourself into the wall. We are talking about low voltage here. Electricity neutralizes the poisons in just about any poisonous sting or bite. I learned this from a missionary that used a stun gun ( way too much power but portable) to help save people on the mission field.
Each of my vehicles has a snake bite kit in it with instructions on a 3×5 card in case I need someone to help me. The kit just consists of the instructions and a cord in a zip lock bag. The cord is the electrical cord off of an old lamp, fan or other appliance. 6-10 feet long. You want the male end left on the cord. The other end you want to strip bare all the wires and twist them together. You can bond them with solder if you wish but a good twisted wire will work fine. Next, you want to pull the spark plug wire off of one of your vehicles, even an electric start lawn mower. Slide the twisted wire end into the spark plug wire and be sure it fits snugly. If the wire is too loose, you might be able to fold the wire over on itself so that it will fit more snugly in the spark plug wire socket. Now that you have your kit made, when needed, simply slide the elect. cord bare wire end into the spark plug wire socket and start the motor. You will see sparks jumping from one of the prongs on the male end to another. Simply touch this to the sting or bite area for a few seconds. If it has been a while since you were bitten, also touch the sparking end further away from the bite where the poison may have spread to. My whole family and I have tried this on our arm a head of time so that we would know how it feels and what to expect. There is a little sting from the sparks until the electrode comes into contact with the skin. You may be able to prevent this by using a damp rag against the skin and touching the sparking end to the rag.
Finally, I have had to use this myself and it is very effective. The swelling goes down right away but the pain from those fangs or stinger sticking deep into your skin will continue to hurt. This brings me to point #2.
2. In a word – Plantain Either Lance leaf or Broad Leaf Plantain is good for most anything involving pain and poison. Making a poultice and packing the area will draw the poison (even blood poisoning) out of the body and help with the pain. A few other things that can be added for pain is Chickweed, Bee balm, Arnica, and I am sure there are a few others that I cannot think of off the top of my head.
3. There are some stings and bites that respond to different alkalinity and substances differently. Sometimes Activated Charcoal or baking soda poultice on the bit or sting will neutralize the poison and help with pain. On the other side of the PH spectrum is and acid base like a wet tea bag or wet coffee grounds. Oddly enough, toothpaste seems to work for some people. This was a common use with fire ants in the south.
There are many other remedies that I want to encourage you to experiment with before an emergency arises.
Trivia Question: Which herb can stop a heart attack in 10 seconds or arterial bleeding in 20 seconds?
Hint: you probably have this in your fridge or on the dinner table with the salt and pepper.
Answer: Cayenne Pepper – A ready made tincture is most any hot sauce. Just take a table spoon or two internally and apply to wound. If a serious wound, you can chase the hot sauce with some sort of sugar drink like lemon aide or a soda. The sugar will help take the burn of the pepper out of your mouth and stimulate the production of more blood.
*This information is for educational purposes only and is not intended to treat, cure or mitigate ailments.
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You are incorrect about the “low voltage”. AC (household) electricity cannot be used because it is HIGH AMPERAGE – it is amperage that kills! The reason that you use a “lawnmower”, car, or stungun is because it is DC electricity. All three produce what is called HIGH VOLTAGE, LOW AMPERES, DIRECT CURRENT. It is the same type of electricity that comes from lightning and the reason that many people survive lightning strikes, with minimal injury; same reason that an electric fence provides such a jolt but doesn’t kill!
There is a gross misunderstanding of snakebites here! I work with venomous snakes as a career. The situation at hand, sounds as though you WERE bitten by a baby copperhead. It is a rumor that the babies are more dangerous than the adults. They have the same toxicity, but it’s a different quantity delivered, and a baby delivers a much smaller dose, even at it’s full potential. I applaud that there is no irrational fear going on here about snakes, it’s wonderful. The reason there is appx 7,000 bites a year and only 5 fatalities, is because we have ONE antivenin for every snake in the united states besides coral snakes (they are on a different antivenom bc they have a different type of venom than all other snakes) and people getting medical attention ASAP! A copperhead is a very “mild” snake as far as venom goes, you CAN “ride out” copperhead bites and be fine. There is so much behind a snake bite and it’s so fast acting that any benefits from herbs are irrelevant to actually “curing” it. Antivenom is NOT witchcraft, the one antivenin for all North American Snakes is called Crofab (only snake again not covered is the coral snake, but it’s very rare to get bit by one), how basically how it works, venom is injected into sheep (not horses), antibodies are produced, those antibodies are injected into us to halt the progression of the venom, which stays volatile and destructive the ENTIRE time it’s in you. Why it is so important to get antivenin as fast as possible. I read about using a shock to neutralize the venom in this thread, that is NOT even sort of true and just about the worst thing you can do to a snake bite victim. Electricity does nothing but harm the patient more. This was a baby copperhead bite, you could take advil and ride it out and claim advil cured you. You could do just about anything and not seek medical attention for this kind of bite and be ok. If it were a more serious snake or you had an allergic reaction to the venom your outcome could be MUCH worse. I am not writing this trying to make you fearful of snakes, but be aware of how a bite works and what is happening and what to do if bitten by a more toxic animal. This is not good advice to be spreading to other people, because it could end up in hurting someone.
Although most of what you wrote is true, you definitely need to learn more! The reason that one antivenim is used for MOST of the venomous snakes in the US is because they are ALL pit vipers and relatively closely related. The Coral snake is an elapid, same relation to a cobra or krait, not a pit viper, and their venom is neurotoxic. What is different is the amount of antivenin necessary for some of the more virulent venoms, like Timber and Mojave rattlers.
Venom is NOT volatile and destructive the ENTIRE time it’s in you! Venom is made of enzymes, mostly digestive enzymes,which are used up as it travels through the body. That is why a bite with minimal envenomation will do significantly less damage than a very severe bite with a large envenomation or more virulent venom. What is true is that a very small amount of venom can cause a lot of damage – for ex: i drop of venom can cause lysis to 10 – 100 times it’s volume depending on it’s potency.
Your claims about electricity are also false. But it is necessary to understand what type of electrical charge is used. More than 30 years ago there was testing using high voltage, low amperage DC for neutralizing the venom. The theory is that the venom (as with everything biological) carries a specific charge, and the HVLA DC changes the venom’s charge making it “harmless” and can then be absorbed by the body. This type of treatment was tested on dogs that had been bitten and it presumably left the dog with no ill effects from either the venomation or the electrical shock. In the 80-90’s stungun manufacturers used the information provided in an article published in Outdoor Life or Sports Afield Magazine to make claims for their stungun use in snake bites and some even provided an attachment for that purpose.
If you want to learn more I suggest anything written by or about Dr. Bill Haast, of the Miami Serpentarium. Haast injected himself with a concoction of venom enzymes over the course of 50+ years, and his blood was even used MANY times to save victims if serious neurotoxic bites. He died in 2011 at the age of 100 (survived more than 170 bites)!
Are you going to finish this blog post?
I too had an encounter with an unseen foe that we decided by the process of elimination was a copperhead/ It was night and I thought it was a scorpion so I took my magic homeopathic remedy I created and went to bed. I woke up with a smurf football foot but because of my remedy did not experience the pain with it. So it was 12 hrs after the bite that I was coerced to go to the ER (waste of my time and money). I decided to trust my immune system. I used epsom salt soaks, continued my homeopathic remedy and a few days later a friend came and did prickly pear poultice on it for me as well as bring we an awesome herbal tissue regeneration blend that Sam Coffman put together for me. It took a grand total of 3 weeks before I was all healed and on my feet again!
Hi Lynn, Oh Sma is an amazing herbalist. Yup, the earlier you get to a bite and treat it, the better. But sounds like you came through just fine int he end.
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Marjory,
I read an article years ago about a guy in Austin at Nova Industries who said that using electricity changes the charge from the metals in the poison of any bite or sting. He told of a missionary who used it in the jungle on poisonous scorpion stings that killed many children and even a sting ray incident on the coast. I later learned that it was a precursor for stun guns. A vet in Georgetown used it on dogs after snake bites. (I live in the same county as you.)I haven’t heard anything about it lately, but it’s worth a Google.
Actually it is NOT about metals in the venom. Venom is made of several enzymes, each causing it’s own specific reaction and the electrical current denatures/breaks down those enzymes making them harmless and the body will absorb them. The type of electricity used is ONLY high voltage, low amperage DC, that is what is provided by a stungun. Initially it was done using jumper wires from the coil and ground on a car. It has been successfully used on dogs, especially hunting dogs but little testing on humans.
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In the Trans-Fly area of Papua New Guinea where I spent several years during the sixties poisonous snakes – mainly ‘taipans’ and ‘Papuan blacks’ – abounded. Far more so than any other area where I served. One of my innumerable duties was to “count heads” and it was very apparent that there was a high death-rate amongst villagers from snake-bite. Being short-sighted and unaccustomed to searching the ground ahead of me for snakes, which often lay across the path largely hidden by tall kunai grass, I would make a point of walking behind a couple of carriers. On sighting a snake at close quarters a carrier would let out a yell and jump over it. At a given moment one might be weeks’ march from the patrol post, where in any case I had no anti-venom (it was not issued because it needed refridgeration) and where wireless contact (via 8-watt valve transceivers) was unreliable and other forms of communication with the outside world infrequent (work-boats) or dependent upon rainfall and cloud-cover (light aircraft).
Would the very interesting methods mentioned in the above article and comments be effective against the venom of such snakes as those I mention ?
NO!!!!!!!!!! The snakes you encountered were mostly neurotoxic, copperheads are hemotoxic. The properties of the venom are not even close! Neurotoxic venom acts on the nervous system, hemotoxic acts on blood and muscle tissue. This is only useful with hemotoxic envenomation, and still not very useful for a SERIOUS bite. A copperhead’s venom is mild compared to most other pit vipers and in most cases, because of the mild demeanor of this species of snake, the victim likely received minimal venom.
Anyone reading this article needs to understand that medical attention is very important with ANY envenomation. What Marjory did was foolish and could have resulted in severe tissue damage or even death. This should only be done by someone who is unable to get medical attention like in a SHTF apocalyptic situation or by a fool!
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Even though I have been studying herbs for a while I don’t think I want to try taking care of it on my own. I would like to know what is the best thing to take or do, if we got bit, prior to heading to the hospital. I do have a few prickly pears around, but is there something better?