Snakebite

DISCLAIMER: The information provided herein is in relation to a role playing game based on a fictional book series. None of the information provided herein should be used to treat yourself or your pets. Please consult someone trained in first aid, Human Medicine, Veterinary Medicine, or another appropriate professional before attempting to treat a living creature.
Snakebite
Overall:

An injury caused when an Adder or other Snake causes puncture wounds using its fangs. Depending on the species causing the injury, it may or may not involve envenomation, which radically increases the potential danger of the injury.

Notes:

Severe cases of this injury are almost always fatal.

Related Herbs: Alder, Ash, Basil, Burdock, Colt's Foot, Coriander, Daisy, Dandelion, Goldenrod, Horsetail, Juniper, Little Daisy, Marigold, Oak, Poppy, Rosemary, Willow,
Related Symptoms: Coma, Envenomation, Infection, Inflammation, Nausea, Pain, Severe Pain,
Mild Cases
Details:

Indicates a bite caused by a non-venomous snake.

These cases involve puncture wounds, a danger of infection, mild pain and inflammation.

Duration: The wound should close in less than 24 hours. Infection will become apparent within 2 days. A bite that does not become infected should heal within 3-5 days.
Treatment:

For the bite of a non-venomous snake the following steps should be undertaken:

  • First flush the wound thoroughly with water, preferably running water, to remove as much venom as possible and clean the wound thoroughly.
  • Treat the wound, once it stops bleeding, with herbs to appropriate to draw out infection, and pain.

The patient should be kept as still as possible until it stops bleeding. Once the bleeding is stopped and the wound is treated, the patient may return to light duty. The next day the patient should be able to return to normal duty. Followup treatments to ensure the wound stays clean and free of infection should continue until the wound is fully healed.

Residual Effects:

Mild to Moderate Pain for 1-2 days.
Up to a quartermoon of contact sensitivity to the wound site.

Complications:

Moderate probability of the wound becoming infected (the longer the wound goes untreated the higher this probability).

Moderate Cases
Details:

Indicates a bite caused by an Adder from an introduced local population.

These cases involve puncture wounds, a danger of infection, pain or severe pain, inflammation and envenomation. The poison of the Adder creates pain and inflammation in most cats. In the very young, old or weak, however, it can trigger a coma and/or heart palpitations and cause death.

Duration: The wound should close within 72 hours of the bite. Venom related swelling should reduce (with treatment) within 3 days. Infection will become apparent within 4-5 days of the bite. A bite that does not become infected should heal within 5-10 days.
Treatment:

For the bite of an adder the following steps should be undertaken:

  • First flush the wound thoroughly with water, preferably running water, to remove as much venom as possible and clean the wound thoroughly.
  • Treat the patient internally with herbs appropriate for envenomation to give them the best chance of fighting the effects of the poison.
  • Leave the wound open and bleeding for as long as it will; this is how the body flushes the poison from the wound.
  • Treat the patient internally for the pain they will be experiencing.
  • Treat the wound, once it stops bleeding, with herbs appropriate to draw out poison, infection, and pain.

The patient should be kept as still as possible for the first 3 days. They should also be monitored for complications during this time. Weak cats, such as the very young or old, might not shake the effects of the poison and begin to fade during this time. Should this happen, the medicine cat should attempt to use herbs and knowledge to strengthen the cat in hopes that they will recover. If the patient falls into a Coma they will almost certainly not recover from the bite.

Once the patient is free of the severe pain and the wound is closed, they may return to light duty, as the lack of pain indicates they are free of the poison. Followup treatments to ensure the wound stays clean and free of infection should continue until the wound if fully healed.

Residual Effects:

Severe pain & inflammation for up to 3 days.
Mild to Moderate pain for an addition 2-3 days.
1 – 2 quartermoons of contact sensitivity to the wound site.
The wound should be fully healed within a moon.

Complications:

Complications caused by an infected bite are potentially fatal, as the infection is usually blood-born and too late to treat by the time it is caught.
This condition is potentially fatal to the very old or very young.

Severe Cases
Details:

Indicates a bite caused by the extremely rare (locally) Rattlesnake.

Shortly after the bite of a rattlesnake, the patient will begin to experience inflammation of the bite location, heart palpitations and potentially go into shock. Within an quarter hour, the patient will experience convulsions as the venom takes hold. Shorter after convulsions begin, the patient falls into a coma. Survival rates for rattlesnake bites are very, very low. Any patient that experiences more than extremely mild convulsions (little more than small tremors of the extremities) will not survive.

Duration: Signs of deadly envenomation should be revealed within an hour of the bite. Tremors from minor envenomation typically pass within a moon and are replaced with whatever permanent damage was done by the venom. Coma is almost always fatal. Infection in the bite wounds of survivors usually becomes apparent within 4-5 days of the bite.
Treatment:

For the bite of a rattlesnake the following steps should be undertaken:

  • First flush the wound thoroughly with water, preferably running water, to remove as much venom as possible and clean the wound thoroughly.
  • Treat the patient internally with herbs appropriate for envenomation to give them the best chance of fighting the effects of the poison.
  • Leave the wound open and bleeding for as long as it will; this is how the body flushes the poison from the wound.
  • Keep the patient under close observation for a day. If the patient does not fall into a coma within that time it can be assumed they will survive and treatments should be continued and efforts to keep the wound from becoming infected should begin. If they do fall into a coma, efforts may be made to help them survive (giving them water, ect), but it is rare for a cat in a coma to come back out and those that do are generally never robustly healthy again.

It should be noted that a cat who sinks into a coma and stays there for more than three days is more kindly sent to StarClan than kept in the forest.

Residual Effects:

Cats who do survive such a bite are generally left with neurological damage and permanent weakness.

Complications:

Rattlesnake Bites are almost always fatal.
Cats who do survive such a bite are generally left with neurological damage and permanent weakness.