Check out this story on what it takes to survive a bite from a black mamba. Sounds like there is some anti-venom around, but what's the chance you could get it while in the bush?

"...the black mamba's poison goes straight for the nerves, attacking the central nervous system and shutting down major organs. Twenty minutes after being bitten you maybe lose the ability to talk. After one hour you're probably comatose, and by six hours, without an antidote, you are dead."

$400 for enough anti-venom to counteract a mamba bite sounds like a DEAL after reading that description of how fast and fatal a bite can be.

Thanks, Vic, for making me even more paranoid about those damned things.

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Sometimes one can die in less than an hour, according to other sources.

Hi Alf,

I believe Jack Seale survived due to an informed doc who had no faith in antivenin and kept him on life support until he came throught the coma as te only real means of response - as you accurately write, the venom can be cardiotoxic so the best form of treatment is simply lifesupport/respirator through the coma.

This is true of all deadly neurotoxic bites/stings (I have never heard of anyone dying from a Buthus or Parabuthus sp. scorpion sting - but they are deadly and I am sure people have succumb)

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Kayaker beat me to the point about a respirator.

Seems to me I have read that the usual method is to put the victim on a respirator, test for reaction to anti-venom and go from there. If there is a reaction to the anti-vemom, then the victim is left on the respirator and one hopes for the best.

I don't pretend to know. I'm not a doctor.

And here's another question: if the venom causes organs to fail, it would seem to me that a respirator alone does little to combat that issue?

!!!!!!!!!!!

The cardiotoxicity of black mamba venom is new to me. I've always understood it, black mamba venom, to be neurotoxic only: It damages or somehow affects the nerves - including those nerves that keep you breathing and keeps your heart beating. Now if any one of these two nerves' main function is seriously impared and you stop breathing or your heart stops beating, naturally you die! If however you can artificially keep the patient breathing and keep his heart pumping, i.e. keep the life support going the patient will continue to live. My understanding is further that if you keep on with CPR the patient will continue to live and eventually (?) the neorotoxins from the snake bite will be somehow neutralised or metabolised by the body's defence mechanisms and the patient will survive without any treatment other than continued CPR.

With my limited understanding of medicine and doctoring, additional help like cortizone and other will assist the patient to keep alive. But I've been told: Don't give up on a mamba bite victim - continue CPR unlil rigor mortis is evident. Then you know you've lost the patient, not before! I do realize that the "eventually" period may be days?

Are there any knowledgable medicos that can confirm my basic understanding or enlighten us all on the true first aid requirements. Here I refer to a remote area mamba bite - far from any possible medical help or antivenin. My short and sweet advice: Calm patient, wrap affected limb tightly with crepe bandage to slow venom spread, keep patient still, keep patient cool, start CPR when required and do not stop CPR until rigor mortis sets in, or a qualified doctor declares patient beyond help.

In good hunting.

Andrew McLaren

The number 1 rule when bitten by a snake on our farm:
- Go and lie in the shade of the nearest big
tree as a corpse in the shade doesnt stink
as much as a corpse in the sun

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We had fun a few years ago with a indigo snake we had.

It was black, and people thought i was a black mamba!

It was totally harmless, and very friendly.

We used to take it down to the shooting room, and leave it lying between the rifles, especially wen we had someone new coming to visit!

It never occured to us to take a video of what is happening, because we had some absolutely helarious times.

The screaming, knocking things down, and falling down the stairs was quite funny1

Sadly, the snake was killed by a mouse!

Yep, you read that right.

We fed them live mice, and this mouse got on top of the snake, and bit it through spine!