General Snakebite FAQS
IN THIS LESSON
Asclepius Snakebite Foundation provided this detailed blog explaining why venom extractors do not work and are potentially harmful. Please check out their article https://www.snakebitefoundation.org/blog/the-truth-about-commercial-snakebite-kits-including-the-venom-extractor.
Written by Dr. Spencer Greene
NSS does not recommend extraction devices. Not only are they a waste of money, they are HARMFUL. A number of us are involved in a public awareness campaign to get them off the market.
Extraction devices are not helpful in snake envenomation. They remove almost no venom following a bite (no more than 2% in one study). Certainly not a clinically significant amount.
Furthermore, there is good evidence that they are harmful. They can cause a negative pressure injury and, by preferentially removing interstitial fluid, these extraction devices could theoretically concentrate the venom.
These kits are good for one thing: profits for the people who manufacture and sell them. But they are certainly not beneficial to a snakebite victim.
Additional Resources
Snakebite suction devices don't remove venom: they just suck
Suction for venomous snakebite: a study of "mock venom" extraction in a human model