can you help counter snake venom with a tourniquet..? 🐍

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If someone got bit by a snake or other deadly venomous creature on their hand of foot would isolating the poison in that limb by applying a tourniquet be a good/potentially life saving thing to do..?

Logic being the infected blood cannot reach the vital organs/systems granting time to get treatment or anti venom.

If not then why.. ?

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6 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

I learned first aid decades ago, so things might have changed since then. (I’m a bad person. I should get updated.) The common wisdom about tourniquets back then was “lose a limb, save a life.” The meaning was that if you use a tourniquet, there’s a good chance the limb will have to be amputated due to blood flow being cut off so long. If the victim is sure to die without a tourniquet, go ahead and do it, but be aware that amputation is a possibility.

If you are a medical professional, there are times a tourniquet can save a life. If you are a layman, a tourniquet will often do more harm than good.

Later, after a quick Google search…

A MedlinePlus article about snake bites says, “DO NOT apply a tourniquet.”

https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/000031.htm

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