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for fun:1904 reprting on captive Gila monster bite
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by tigers9 on November 28, 2008
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http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9902E2DB1130E333A25751C0A9
619C946597D6CF
The only thing I would change about this reporting and treatment is to have
vodka instead of whiskey;-)
But hey, no AR call for exotic bans????
Z
Published: July 2, 1904
Copyright C The New York Times
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RE: for fun:1904 reprting on captive Gila monster
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by Cro on November 28, 2008
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Z, that link that you posted does not seem to work.
Sounds like an interesting old story though.
Now days, the drink of choice, "prior" to being bitten by a Gila Monster seems to be Budwiser, LOL.
Best Regards John Z
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RE: for fun:1904 reprting on captive Gila monster
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by tigers9 on November 28, 2008
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the whiskey was surgery sedation, the bitten guy was not drunk, lets try again, copy/paste whole link in the browser:
http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=9902E2DB1130E333A25751C0A9619C946597D6CF
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RE: for fun:1904 reprting on captive Gila monster
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by Buzztail1 on November 28, 2008
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Interestingly enough...
108 years later and the treatment hasn't changed THAT much.
Apply pain killers - back then alcohol was given for that reason - and plenty of fluids - alcohol for that too.
Still no antivenom for these little "monsters".
Cool on-topic post.
R/
Karl
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RE: for fun:1904 reprting on captive Gila monster
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by tigers9 on November 28, 2008
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104 years ;-)i think if my math is correct, anyway, why isn't there AV, isn't the bite bad enough to make it worthwhile to produce AV, like with most spiders or scoprions?
Z
<<108 years later >>
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RE: for fun:1904 reprting on captive Gila monster
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by Buzztail1 on November 28, 2008
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You're right.
My math is off.
I believe that the bite is almost always (if not always) NOT FATAL.
So - the thought is probably - why make something so expensive that isn't needed to save a life. The venom will eventually flush out of the system. Just treat for the pain and wait it out.
Just my guess, though.
R/
Karl
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RE: for fun:1904 reprting on captive Gila monster
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by Cro on November 28, 2008
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I love reading old stories like that.
The one person I know of who was bitten by Gila Monster said the pain was very, very intense.
He also had moderate swelling that lasted several days.
Like Karl stated, it is not likely that a Gila Monster bite would be fatal, unless it was a small child or infirm elderly person who was bitten.
The idea of producing antivenom for an animal that only two or three people are bitten by every year just would not work. And trying to collect venom from those critters would be a real pain. The jaws are very strong. I am not sure how you would coax them to open their mouths, and collect venom. Perhaps the venom could be extracted by using a syrynge and needle that was inserted directly into the venom gland, but that seems to be kind of cruel to the poor old Gila Monster.
Just keep your fingers out of your pet Gila Monster's mouth, and you should have no problems with a bite.
Best Regards John Z
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RE: for fun:1904 reprting on captive Gila monster
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by tigers9 on November 28, 2008
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I just found this article from few months ago, April 2008, supposedly more painful than rattler?I don't want to experience any bites...
Z
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2008/04/16/Zoo_keeper_survives_Gila_monster_bite/UPI-42341208382718/
Zoo keeper survives Gila monster bite
Published: April 16, 2008 at 5:51 PMOrder reprints | Feedback
CLOVIS, N.M., April 16 (UPI) -- A New Mexico zoo keeper said he is ready to go back to working with reptiles after being hospitalized for nearly a week with a Gila monster bite.
Cody Machen has been hospitalized since Thursday after being bit by the venomous lizard while he was holding it, KRQE-KBIM TV, Albuquerque, reported.
"It's the most painful thing. It's more painful then a rattlesnake bite. I knew it was bad," Machen told reporters.
Machen's arm reportedly ballooned to three times the girth it was before the bite. Doctors will be required to perform surgery on Machen's arm if the swelling doesn't subside, KRQE-KBIM reported.
Gila monsters, native to numerous deserts in the southwest, can be 2 feet long and have rigid teeth that release venom while biting into their victims. The lizard's bite is usually not fatal to humans.
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RE: for fun:1904 reprting on captive Gila monster
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by 23bms on November 29, 2008
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No one has mentioned the potentially catastrophic effect of administering alcohol to a snake bite (that include gilas) victim. It is probably one of the worst things you can do. The fact that it was once the preferred folklore treatment is irrelevant.
We tend to forget that up until the last seventy-five years of so, doctors were more likely to kill the victim than the affliction they were treating.
For those interested in the subject, a recently published book discusses the progress of medicine from 1492 to 1941. It is:
Frontier Medicine
by David Dary
Knopf, 381 pages, $30)
Those interested in a review, and a particularly gruesome example of the way things were, can find an article at:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122783278695963047.html
The case described at length in the review is quite famous. In fact, two hospitals in Tennessee (I believe) are named after the patient and the doctor.
Before you whine because the doctor is hurting you a little bit, imagine yourself, in 1809, lying on that table, and be grateful you are living in 2008.
jrb
(If anyone wants to read the article and can't access the Wall Street Journal link, email me. I will send a pdf.)
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