Dog & Cat Snakebite Management
IN THIS LESSON
Why are snakebites not managed the same throughout the USA?
NSS often receives questions asking why some vets seem well-versed in proper snakebite management and others do not. It’s important to keep in mind, this is also an issue in human medicine. There is only so much you can learn in vet school. In addition to that, not all pet owners are willing or able to pay for emergency care.
Why do some vets not treat snakebites with antivenom?
Written by Dr. Burns
Many reasons. One reason might be that small and medium-sized primary care practices often do not even stock antivenom (largely due to cost but also due to inexperience with using it and/or treating snakebites). To get antivenom for a patient often requires a transfer to a regional ER or regional specialty and critical care practice, which are sometimes quite a distance away. So many clients decline transfer. Another reason is cost of antivenom. Many clients may have antivenom mentioned and/or offered but they may have to decline it due to financial constraints. Another reason is many veterinarians are not well-trained or experienced at using antivenom and their experiences with snakebite (particularly copperhead bites) is that most patients live in spite of not getting it. This last statement is also a problem in human medicine--which NSS is working to educate health care providers about.
How confirmation bias leads to some vets treating envenomations with Benadryl.
Written by Dr. Crocco-Khan:
A lot of vets are not well versed in correct treatment for snakebites. It happens a lot in human medicine as well. We learn very little about snake envenomations in vet school and unless you go out of your way to read the current research and learn from experts in the field, you don’t perform the correct medicine. [Benadryl and steroids] LITERALLY do nothing for snake envenomations, but it would help with almost any other mechanism of swelling. Unfortunately, a lot of people don’t realize that snake envenomation swelling doesn’t work like other swelling.
“High stress levels and suicide rates are an issue among veterinary professionals. A 2019 Centers for Disease Control study shows veterinarians are between two to four times more likely to die by suicide than the general population.”
Please check out this article that explains in greater detail. NPR Why suicide rates are high among veterinary professionals