Medical Treatment

The doctor treats life-threatening conditions first. A victim with difficulty breathing may need a tube placed in his or her throat and a ventilator machine used to help with breathing. People who are in shock require intravenous fluids and possibly other medicines to maintain blood flow to vital organs.

• The doctor gives antivenom to victims with significant symptoms. This therapy can be life saving or limb saving. Antivenom can occasionally also cause allergic reactions, however, or even anaphylactic shock, a life-threatening type of shock requiring immediate medical treatment with epinephrine and other medications.
  
  
• Antivenom can also cause serum sickness within 5-10 days of therapy. Serum sickness causes fevers, joint aches, itching, swollen lymph nodes, and fatigue, but it is not life threatening.
  
  
• Even victims without significant symptoms need to be monitored for several hours, and some people need to be admitted to the hospital for overnight observation.
  
  
• The doctor cleans the wound and looks for broken fangs or dirt. A tetanus shot is required if the victim has not had one within 5 years. Some wounds may require antibiotics to prevent infection.
  
  
• Rarely, the doctor may need to consult a surgeon if there is evidence of compartment syndrome. If treatment with limb elevation and medicines fails, the surgeon may need to cut through the skin into the affected compartment, a procedure called a fasciotomy. This procedure can relieve the increased limb swelling and pressure, potentially saving the arm or leg.