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:
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. |
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:
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. |
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. |
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:
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. |