Antivenoms

[Bryony]

for the people allergic to horse serum antivenom, some antivenoms are not produced in just horses.......just interesting

Australian Antivenoms Animal Produced in:

Tiger snake antivenom -Horses

Funnel web spider antivenom - Rabbits

Brown snake antivenom - Horses

Redback spider antivenom - Horses

Taipan antivenom - Horses

Australian paralysis tick antivenom - Dogs

Black snake antivenom - Horses

Box jellyfish antivenom - Sheep

Death adder antivenom - Horses

Stonefish antivenom - Horses

Sea snake antivenom - Horses

Polyvalent snake antivenom - Horses

[Bryony]

well here is that info i WAS trying to show in the PDF......explains polyvalent antivenom well and i found it interesting

Polyvalent Snake Antivenom (Australia - Papua New Guinea)

WHAT IS POLYVALENT SNAKE
ANTIVENOM?

Polyvalent Snake Antivenom (Australia - Papua
New Guinea) is an injection designed to help
neutralise the effect of the poison (venom) of
most snakes that are encountered in Australia
and in Papua New Guinea. The antivenom is
produced by immunising horses against the
venoms of the king brown snake, taipan, death
adder, tiger snake and brown snake and then
collecting that part of the horse’s blood which
neutralises the poisons of these snakes. The
antivenom for all these snakes is purified and
made into an injection for people who may
need it after being bitten by a poisonous snake.
The polyvalent antivenom is also effective if you
are bitten by other snakes such as the
copperhead or black snake.

WHEN IS POLYVALENT SNAKE
ANTIVENOM USED?
Polyvalent Snake Antivenom is given to those
people who become ill after being bitten by an
unidentified snake, except in Victoria and
Tasmania. If the type of snake is known, it is
much better to use the appropriate antivenom
for that snake; the size of the injection will be
smaller and less likely to cause side effects.
Polyvalent Snake Antivenom may also be used
when the appropriate antivenom for the
identified snake is unavailable.
Not every one who is bitten needs to have the
antivenom as some people have only very mild
effects from the bite or none at all. However,
some people can become extremely ill after
being bitten and in these people it is essential
to use an appropriate amount of antivenom to
counteract the effects of the poison. Several
people die in Australia each year from
inadequately treated snake bite.

WHO SHOULD NOT HAVE THE
ANTIVENOM?
As Polyvalent Snake Antivenom consists of
antivenom to several of the local snakes it is a
very large injection. It should not be used if the
type of snake which caused the bite is known,
as the specific antivenom for that snake will be
just as effective, and less likely to cause side
effects than the large volume Polyvalent Snake
Antivenom injections.
As there are sometimes unpleasant and
dangerous reactions to the antivenom (see
SIDE EFFECTS OF POLYVALENT SNAKE
ANTIVENOM), it should not be given to people
who have no effects from the bite. However as
Polyvalent Snake Antivenom can be an
emergency life-saving product, it should not be
withheld from anyone who needs it.

BEFORE YOU HAVE POLYVALENT
SNAKE ANTIVENOM
Before you have the injection, you should tell
your doctor if:
• you are an asthmatic
• you suffer from hayfever
• you suffer from any other allergies
• you have ever received injections
containing horse serum (snake bite and
other antivenoms)
• you had an anti-tetanus injection before
1974
• you are suffering from any other illness
• you are taking any medicines and what they
are
• you are pregnant
• you are breast feeding.
When medicines are produced in animals
and injected into you, it is always possible
that viruses or other substances could be
present in the medicine and cause an
illness. These could be viruses or other
infectious agents which may not yet have
been discovered. In the past, there have
been no reports of this ever having
2
happened with this product.

SIDE EFFECTS OF POLYVALENT
SNAKE ANTIVENOM
As with any medicine, some side effects may
occur.
As the injection is made from horse serum, side
effects occur most commonly in those who
have allergies, particularly if they have ever had
injections before which were also prepared
from horses. Allergic reactions such as rashes,
low blood pressure, wheezing and palpitations
occur commonly. Headaches and fever are
also common. Less commonly, localised
swelling, muscle and joint pains, abdominal
pain, vomiting, chest pain and blue
discolouration of the skin can occur. The
allergic reactions can be very severe and can
cause death, but allergic complications can be
treated by your doctor.
An illness consisting of a rash, swollen glands,
joint pains and fever may occur about a week
after the injection.
Always tell your doctor if you have any
unpleasant effects after receiving Polyvalent
Snake Antivenom.

THE DOSE OF POLYVALENT SNAKE
ANTIVENOM
The dose for both adults and children is one
vial (40,000 units) which is considerably diluted
and given slowly as a drip into a vein. The
dose can be repeated as necessary. Your
doctor will take precautions to counteract any
allergic reactions if they should happen.

OVERDOSE
There is no information on overdose.

WHAT DOES POLYVALENT SNAKE
ANTIVENOM CONTAIN?
Polyvalent Snake Antivenom contains:
1,000 units Brown snake antivenom
3,000 units Tiger snake antivenom
6,000 units Death adder antivenom
12,000 units Taipan antivenom
18,000 units King brown snake antivenom
in about 50 mL of liquid. Each injection also
contains phenol as a preservative, sodium
chloride and substances found in horse blood.
The Australian Registration Number is AUST R
74899.

HOW TO STORE POLYVALENT SNAKE
ANTIVENOM
Polyvalent Snake Antivenom should be
protected from light and stored at 2-8OC (in the
refrigerator). It must not be frozen. It should
not be used after the expiry date on the
package.

WHERE CAN I GET MORE
INFORMATION?
You can get more information from your doctor
or pharmacist.

[Jonny]

Brown snake venom is now produced with sheep and chickens
Antivenom from sheep to neutralise the neurotoxic effect and antivenom contained in the injected chooks egg to neutrasalise the anti-coagulant.
Pretty interesting stuff

[Sdaji]

You're screwed if you get tagged again. They can't use it twice on someone and can't use a specific antivenom either if u have identified the snake. Thats why they prefer to use a detection kit first.

I believe you are quite mistaken there. Allergic reactions/anaphylactic shock can occur but are rare and can usually be counteracted with appropriate medication. There are plenty of people who have been bitten and recieved antivenene many times.

[Sdaji]

Hospitals generally only keep antivenoms for snakes in their area, eg no antivenom for taipans in sydney hospitals



In saying that, if you are bitten by a highly venamous snake and you dont have any anitvenom is there anyway i which you could still survive?

If you get bitten by a taipan in Sydney, you'll still get taipan antivenom. I once had all the tigersnake antivenom from all the Melbourne hospitals stuck into me (4 vials), fortunately that was enough, but they were on the phone to one of the hospitals in Sydney, where more was sitting ready to be rushed onto a flight to Melbourne if the need was there.

If you stick your bandage on and don't remove it (never, ever, let anyone remove it until antivenom is right there ready to go) you'll be fine for ages, days if necessary, which is enough time to get antivenom to you. In some cases they may be able to save you, such as with neurotoxic bites they could possibly stick you on life support until your heart and lungs start opperating on their own again. There are certainly cases where the only thing that can save your life is antivenom, without which you will die.

Don't get bitten.

I think the best way around the worry about if or if not you can get the anti-venime is to ring your local hospitals and ask what they carry. If they dont have any immediate stocks for the snake you want to posess, dont get the snake. If they do, then get the snake but just even so, common sense should prevail when handling any deadly creature.
And as Sdaji said, "DONT GET BITTEN!!".

Cheers, Alan.

[Sdaji]

I've heard stories (yes, I'm quite aware that anything you hear in our game must be taken with a large sack of salt) that it is a legal requirement that if you hold dangerously venomous snakes you must notify your local hospital and they in turn must keep a supply of antivenom for that snake on hand. I find this a little difficult to believe, but heard it from a respected Melbourne herp who you would think should know. Can anyone shed light on this?

That does sound about right, cause "what if" someone else was to get tagged if your snake (although highly doubtful) was to escape into the public????

Anyway, i want to get adders and RBB's in the years to come, so im pretty sure there would be some anti-venom for those bad boys in the sydney basin somewhere.

[Sdaji]

Anyway, i want to get adders and RBB's in the years to come, so im pretty sure there would be some anti-venom for those bad boys in the sydney basin somewhere.

In my opinion, two very, very good choices

Originally Posted by Sdaji

In my opinion, two very, very good choices

They are definately my favourite venemous. And damn they look hot!!!
Especially the Adders, something about their head shape just appeals to me. They look tough as nails!!!

[Bryony]

well i hope you all found this interesting, the prices for the antivenom is up to date from this months catalogue

[missing_linc]

The pdf. dowloaded fine for me, thanks Bryony. I didn't have to do anything fancy, just clicked on "Download". I use a mac ibook, maybe it's easier (lots of things are on macs).

Polyvalent sounds like quite a procedure if you're being given it.

[Bryony]

cause you if you don't know the snake that had bitten you and can't id, the dosage is much higher to that of a specific antivenom

buggger hey

[hey_im_sam]

Great stuff bry, thanks! Very interesting

[Bryony]

sammy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!