 G.M. "DOC" Lousignont, Ph.D. ORDERS ONLY PLEASE ! 1-800-477-3211 EXT. 14 questions, tech support 1-702-732-8000 ext. 11 |
|
G.M. "DOC" Lousignont, Ph.D. ORDERS ONLY PLEASE ! 1-800-477-3211 EXT. 14 questions, tech support 1-702-732-8000 ext. 11 |
|
HIGH VOLTAGE SHOCK TREATMENT FOR BITES.
by G.M. "DOC" Lousignont, Ph.D.
WARNING!
Recent Studies have concluded this device does not work on Venomous Snake Bites!!Does using a venom zapper work to neutralize venom? Well because there have been no FDA trials no one can say for sure. All we have is anecdotal evidence. I do not warrant this product to work or recommend that you use it, that will have to be your decision.
Here's what I know. Hoss Blackman on a trip to Australia picked up a handful of dirt to find a nugget and got bit by a white centipede. It was extremely painful. Hoss gave himself a few zaps and the pain started to go away and he suffered no ill effects what-so-ever.
A dentist called me to order a zapper saying that he has had one for years but had dropped it and broke it and needed another one. He said that he was deathly allergic to bee stings. Prior to getting the zapper he had to carry a kit with epinephrine in it in case he got stung. He said bee stings made him go into anaphylactic shock and his throat with swell shut and he couldn't breathe. Since getting the zapper when he has been stung he immediately zaps himself and he suffers no further complications.
For three years in a row I have a camera man for national Geographic that has called and ordered 10 of these prior to leaving for South America. He said they are like gold down there. He says he has seen two people bitten by poisonous snakes that were treated with the zapper and no further problems were encountered with the bites after the treatment was applied.
Personally my feeling is, the best protection is not to get bit in the first place. I carry a zapper personally. My feeling is, if I am out in the middle of nowhere and get bit by an bee, I would rather try something than do nothing while attempting to get myself to immediate medical attention.
Why would this work? Well I asked my two sons, the oldest who is in dental school and the youngest who is a genius majoring in Bio-chemistry. They said that venom molecules are held together with a very loose electrical charge, and perhaps the zapper disrupts this loose electrical bond causing the molecules to be disrupted and break apart thereby neutralizing the effect.
Presented here are articles as well as forum posts regarding the use of electrical charges to neutralize venom. I must warn you however, that a search of the internet will show just as many articles that question and criticize this technique and say that there is no clinical trials which prove that it works.
The following Lancet article came from: http://www.flashfill.com/stuninfo.html "...then in a letter to the editor of the prestigious medical journal The Lancet, July 26, 1986, p229, we find the following article titled
HIGH VOLTAGE SHOCK TREATMENT FOR SNAKE BITE.
WARNING!
Recent Studies have concluded this device does not work on Venomous Snake Bites!!The mainstay of treatment of a person bitten by a venomous insect or reptile is to give anti-venom as soon as possible. However, the serum needed may not be available in remote areas of the world. In Ecuador high voltage , low current electric shocks have proved very successful. In the eastern Amazon jungles of Ecuador 4% of deaths are caused by snake bites. 45% of the Waoroni tribe have been bitten by a snake and 50% of adult males will be bitten more than once. Most of the bites in Ecuador are from snakes identified by Dr. Giovanni Onores (Catholic University, Quito) as Bothrops atrox, B bileneatus, B nasutus, B schlegelei, B castelnaudi, and Lachesis muta. The idea of using an electrical current for treating venomous bites arose from a report in a local paper in Illinois, USA, of a farmer who was hyperallergic to bee stings and who found that applying a high voltage, low amperage, direct current shock to the site of his bee stings prevented his usual severe reactions.
For snake bites a 20-25 kV, <1 mA direct current is applied to the site of the bite. The bitten area (usually a limb) is electrically grounded as close to the site as possible and current is applied via an insulated probe to the bite for 1-2s. Usually four or five shocks are given with 5-10s between them. An outboard motor is one commonly available source of such current. A lead carrying an insulated probe can be attached to a spark plug, and the current is best applied with the engine at half-throttle. Other motors with spark plugs (eg, lawnmowers and auxiliary lighting plants) have also been used with excellent results. We have records on 34 cases of bites on limbs where there was evidence of penetration of the skin. The current was applied within 30 min, and 10-15 min later all pain had gone and the usual sequelae of an untreated bite (swelling, serosanguinous bullae, bleeding, shock, and renal failure) did not develop. No patient died.
After an hour the patient was usually able to go home. At follow-up there was no necrosis of tissue around the bite due to the bite or treatment. 7 people who refused the shock treatment experienced the classic complications and 2 needed life-saving amputations. 2 other patients were not treated until 2h after being bitten by viper snakes (B atrox and L muta) and they arrived with swollen limbs and intense pain; 1 had signs of spontaneous bleeding. Seven electrical treatments were given, producing pain relief in 30 min; 12h later the swellings had not progressed and there were no signs of bleeding. After 3 days the swelling had almost disappeared; however, 1 had a small necrotic area around the bite site. This technique has been used equally successfully by other investigators in the jungles of Ecuador for other types of bite, such as those of the ant (Paraponera sp).
Colleagues in Irian Jaya, Indonesia, and Peru have also used this technique with similar results. Moving towards a more portable system for this treatment, we have modified a 5 x 13 cm unit, popularly known as a "stun gun", with a 9 V battery to deliver a direct pulsating current of around 25 kV and less than 1 mA. One probe acts as a ground terminal while the other applies the current to the bite. Such currents do not stimulate myocardial muscle. The biological basis of this treatment is unknown. There may be a local effect on the host tissues or there may be a direct effect on the activity of the venom itself. Venom has a short half-life and a shut-down of local vessels by electrospasm may confine the venom locally long enough for it to become inactive. Whatever the mechanism, this technique is a practicable and potentially life saving procedure.
Hospital Vozandes, Quito, Ecuador Ronald H. Guderian Wolfson Tropical Pathology Unit London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine London WCIE 7H7 Charles D. Mackenzie Department of Microbiology and Public Health Michigan State University, USA Jeffrey F. Williams
FORUM POSTS
Using D.C. current to treat snake bites.... Posted by RockChuk February 26, 1999 at 17:36:32
This isn't a new idea, most of us have heard about using DC current to neutralize snake venom. Years ago there was quite a bit written about it. However, anybody heard the latest on it? I actually used this method one time, about 10 years ago, to completely neutralize a Black Widow bite. Here goes the story. I was welding on a project in the back yard one afternoon, and I moved an 8 hp motor, amongst many other things.
About 5 minutes after finishing I noticed pain in the web between two of my fingers. Didn't think much of it and kept working. 10 minutes later this pain had become pretty intense and I noticed a slight swelling. I checked the area closely and saw a small, but bright red welt. I figured it was a nasty sticker that got me, or something like that, and tried to dismiss it. However, after another 5 minutes it was real clear something was wrong. Swelling was very obvious and the pain very intense. I now figured that bright welt just might be a bite of some kind. I retraced my steps, flipped over that motor, and saw a BIG Black Widow with two legs missing. Obviously I had put my hand right on her and she nailed me good.
I immediately recalled reading an article in a recent Outdoor Magazine about the use of DC current to "treat" venomous bites. Following its advice, I took the plug wire off the motor (after dispatching the spider), put the wound on my hand directly on the plug, and with the other hand cranked that sucker half a dozen times. Yes, it was a bit painful. And yes, I was more than slightly irritated, however, the end result was worth it. My first wife begged me to crank the motor, but I wouldn't give her the satisfaction as she had recently broken off part of a fork in my right bun and I was still mad at her.
Anyways, and this absolutely delighted and amazed me, within minutes, 3 at the most, the pain started to noticeably subside! Within 20 minutes the swelling started to go down, and by 45 minutes I was back at work and had nearly forgotten the incident!!!!! That evening there was not the slightest pain and absolutely no indication of swelling. Just a tiny red dot that didn’t bother me in any way whatsoever.
When my older brother was a teen he was bit by a Black Widow and ended up in bed, sick as a dog, for 3 days. So, needless to say I was pretty impressed and shared this info with a lot of my friends at the time. One fellow said that maybe the positive reaction I received was due to the "mind over matter" effect of my having read the article. Possibly, but I really doubt it. First off, I was zapping myself, not out of faith in the method, but out of desperation because I remembered how sick my brother became from that bite. I didn’t want to be a victim as well.
Having shared all this, does any body else have a personal experience, or first hand knowledge of this method for bites? Spring's just around the corner (yea Lanny!), and we all know of areas we'd like to check out that can be pretty heavy with snakes, so I think this is an important issue. They make these DC zappers for self-defense, but most of those are in the 80,000 to 100,000 volts range. That's not only enough to neutralize a bite, but also can ignite your ear-wax as well as wither your loins. They said in the original article, if I remember correctly, that 20,000 volts was plenty. Does anyone make a zapper in this range? I used to carry around a very small but snazzy 2 cycle generator in my truck (that I got from army surplus, only about 5 lbs). However, it was still too big to lug around while prospecting.
Last spring I hiked up a ravine, and in two miles had close encounters with 3 small, but aggressive, buzztails. That made me plenty jumpy and took all the pleasure right out of the trip, and I swore to myself that I’d try to get a handle on this DC treatment thing. ANY THOUGHTS OR IDEAS OR PERSONAL EXPERIENCES OUT THERE? Thanks a lot! RockChuk PS….Important Note: DISCLAIMER!!!: use DC, NEVER AC current!!! AC has a better kick but gets old fast. DC may have other benefits as well. It’s rumored that an old Scotsman in a nearby town, wears a wee battery under his kilts and periodically zaps himself. He swears that it keeps him young, supple, and simply irresistible to the lasses. Cheaper than Viagra too. PPS…Ahhhem…to all you prospectors who detect in the nude (Doc), if you don’t tie up your johnson and it drags and gets bit, you might just be able to pee on an electric fence to receive the needed benefit.
http://www.treasurenet.com/forum/prospecting/archives/19990328/messages/9606280385.shtml
The facts about using D.C. current to treat snake bites.... Posted by Jim McCulloch February 27, 1999 at 20:09:52
In Reply to: Using D.C. current to treat snake bites.... posted by RockChuk on February 26, 1999 at 17:36:32
Chucker, you've got a good memory. The article in "Treasure" magazine which sparked so much interest, and even a part in "60 Minutes," was written by little 'ol me. No brag, just fact.
I took the info from the British medical journal, "The Lancet." The first part of the whole story took place in the US midwest, when a farmer who was deathly allergic to bee stings got stung on the hand, and, to his horror, found that his antivenin kit had been misplaced.
Deciding to "loose a hand rather than his life," he attempted to cauterize the site with the spark plug wire from his tractor engine. It killed the effect of the venom. This was reported by his doctor in an Amercian medical journal, and two doctors in South America (one British, the other German) took up on it, and did experiments. They determined that FIVE closley-spaced shocks, of no more than 25,000 volts, at less than 1 milliamp, at the site of the bite, totally destroyed the effect of deadly snake bites, if the shocks were administered quickly enough.
This information was made public, and lots of people now claim that their lives have been saved by electrical shock therapy after snake, bee, wasp, etc. stings/bites. Really. Interestingly, a friend of mine has a little electrical shocker, which he uses to cure muscle pain. He claims that on several occasions he has used it to neutralize bee stings. Seemingly, even little shocks help. I just bought a couple of portable hand-held "bug zappers" at the San Bernardino show, and they give a nifty zap.
I plan to carry them with me when in the field, as a precaution. NOTE: all my efforts to get the FDA to concede that the method works have come to nothing. Very frustrating. Anyway, I hope readers find this helpful. The original article generated an enormous amount of publicity. Although I CANNOT TELL YOU TO DO SO (as I was ordered by the FDA) IT IS UP TO YOU TO DECIDE TO USE SUCH A METHOD TO CURE SNAKE BITES. Nuff said? HH Jim and if that's not enough (grin) you'll have to go look yourself!
WARNING!
Recent
Studies
have
concluded
this
device
does
not
work
on
Venomous
Snake
Bites!!
