Snake bite pill in development

[Lost River]

In 2019 my wife (now ex) was bitten by a Copperhead while we were visiting my sister at her place at Bull Shoal Lake, AR. Would end up with a nasty looking wound. Had to drive quite a ways for treatment. Very painful experience. We literally had ZERO medical knowledge on how to treat snake bites, and initially did some things wrong, until we consulted DR GOOGLE.

Fortunately, on the drive we had myself, my brother in law and nephew who are both Army officers with plenty of medical training and my niece who is a nurse. We had made a game plan that if she went into cardiac arrest we would put her in the bed of the truck and work on her while one person drove straight to the hospital which was a 40 minute drive.

As it was a holiday weekend, there were no available ambulances within a reasonable timeframe (hours).

Took a very long time for it to heal. Obviously a very painful experience. She came extremely close to having a fasciotomy, which is where they basically filet your limb open.

[ST911]

Snakebites are all about 1) how much did you get; 2) what else is wrong with you, and 3) how far from resources are you. Always good to have more options. CONUS, snakebite issues are overblown. Many bites are dry, then infection and necrosis, anaphylaxis, and other cardiac or respiratory issues due to panic. The farther you are from resources the more the deck stacks, but most will be fine. Lots of air and ground transport for snakebites because protocol, not presentation. More species or remote conditions OCONUS, more issue. Still, tends to be more about available resources than inherent lethality.

Always good to have options.

Tx: clean, dress, monitor, transport.

[Glenn E. Meyer]

The TX doc who got bitten right at the university medical center had to give up his surgical practice due to the effects. Medical care was right there.

[Borderland]

I know about venomous snakes. Bumped into a few growing up in AZ and working in the SW as a surveyor. I knew someone who lost some fingers from a snake bite.

Anything that could help someone to reach a medical facility in time to prevent an amputation would be wonderful.

[uechibear]

Cool. I like snakes, but I don't want anybody to be hurt by them.

[lwt16]

This is awesome. I'm definitely going to consider buying some if it ever gets to the market. Twice this year I or my buddy nearly stepped on rattlesnakes while hiking in the Blue Ridge Mountains miles from any medical support. In both cases the snakes were just off the trail in ankle-high weeds and virtually invisible. Prior to this year, I hadn't seen a rattlesnake in the wild for nearly 20 years.

Chris

Same. If it’s relatively affordable, I’ll purchase it. I hike a good bit. I did 10.5 miles 2 days ago and the temps weren’t as cool as I wanted them to be. We got canebrakes, copperheads, cottonmouths, etc in these limestone hills.

I try to only hike in fall and winter due to the venomous snakes that are indigenous to N Alabama.

[Sensei]

There is a bit to unpack here and the LA Times article is very misleading.

1) Varespladib is being studied as an adjunctive treatment for venomous snake bites - not as a stand alone therapy. That is to say, all of the studies are designed as Varespladib + Standard of Care (SOC) vs placebo + SOC. The SOC in this case is anti-venom when available. The notion that Varespladib alone will prevent the multi-system organ failure that can result from severe envenomation is very very unrealistic and doesn’t comport with the reality.

2) Varespladib will be administered intravenously followed by oral dosing in the most recent BRAVO trial. There was a trial of oral dosing + SOC that completed 7 months ago, but we do not have the final published results of that trial. Again, the notion that an oral medication alone will reverse the effects of severe envenomation borders on extreme fantasy.

3) All of the data on snake bites in humans for Varespladib comes from industry-funded trials. Correct me if I’m wrong, but there doesn’t appear much in the way of published human data on snake bites for this drug, and all of the other studies on heart disease, RA, etc. were negative. I do not recall the LAT article mentioning any financial relationship between Dr. Lewis and the manufacturer, Ophirex, Inc. Where is the gun forum skepticism of these trials that I grew to know and love during the COVID vaccine era? I agreed with some of your skepticism (at least a small part), but it’s nowhere to be found now.

Anyway, I don’t know the doctor featured in the LAT article. However, if that was me I’d be calling their office demanding retractions for large portions of their statements and claims. Here are the ClinicalTrials.gov registrations for the two Phase 2 BRAVO trials: one for oral administration (https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT...pladib&rank=10) and the other for IV and oral (https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT...spladib&rank=5)

[fatdog]

Will follow this closely and also definitely purchase if it is reasonable and gets past all the clinicals to prove effective.

Two timber rattlers I killed within 50 yards of our house, the big ancient one was 54" long and his body the size of my arm. Everything within 300 yards of the house is considered a no slither zone for venomous snakes. I end up wacking 1-2 a year, more copperheads than rattlers. We watch where we step, pay close attention to what is near the outside faucets, assume something is under anything we turn over or inside something we stir up outside, use a handheld light to see anything at night you reach for, always.

Probably my number one concern/risk in hiking, one more reason I maintain an inreach subscription for those no bars places I go.

I see and avoid them all the time in the Talladega national forest. I tend to only hike the closed forest roads March through October because they are easy to see Vs. narrow trails like the Pinhoti Trail sections.

[lwt16]

I’ve always figured if I get bit it’ll be miles away from the car and I’ll be in a hollow and won’t have cell service.

My wife has a coworker that hikes year round. I can’t believe she hasn’t been bit. She does miles every weekend.