Quotation from: Manual of Surgery

Written by: Alexander Miles and Alexis Thomson


The _general symptoms_ may come on at once if the snake is a
particularly venomous one, or not for some hours if less virulent. In
the majority of viper or adder bites the constitutional disturbance is
slight and transient, if it appears at all. Snake-bites in children are
particularly dangerous.


The patient's condition is one of profound shock with faintness,
giddiness, dimness of sight, and a feeling of great terror. The pupils
dilate, the skin becomes moist with a clammy sweat, and nausea with
vomiting, sometimes of blood, ensues. High fever, cramps, loss of
sensation, haematuria, and melaena are among the other symptoms that may
be present. The pulse becomes feeble and rapid, the respiratory nerve
centres are profoundly depressed, and delirium followed by coma usually
precedes the fatal issue, which may take place in from five to
forty-eight hours. If the patient survives for two days the prognosis is
favourable.

PREVIOUS GROUP HOME SITE HOME NEXT
Part of the RabbitHoleResearch Project
Change Tag: ~~ 0 ~~