In looking over the first aid supplies in the various medical kits I don't see the Sawyer Extractor listed. It is highly recommended for snake bites, insect bites and stings. It sucks out the venom without making cuts like the old snake bite kits. Anyone have any experience with this device?

Can be seen at:

http://www.sawyerproducts.com/sawyer_products/pages/extractor/

Doug talks about the Sawyer Extractor here:

http://www.equipped.org/medical.htm#BitesStings

Regards, Vince

I have used it on insect stings and bites several times. Works better than anything else I know of. Fascinates some little kids and freaks out others. Cheap at Wally World ($11) VERY strong vacuum.

Tom

Cody Lundin recommends it too. I bought one for my first aid kit that comes along on Cub Scout Pack events and my own family trips, but luckily haven't had to use it yet.

It is quite simple to use - a good feature when chaos erupts, though I do wish the container it comes in was a bit smaller.

I keep Rattlesnakes as pets, I have the Sawyer extractor and it is awesome. I hope I never have to use it but I am confident that if the time comes it will work perfectly.

From what I have read, the Sawyer Extractor has/is falling out of favor, esp in snakebite cases. It doesn't seem to remove much if any venom and may actually concentrate it near the bite and lead to more extensive local necrosis.

I quit carrying mine a year or two ago.

Suction for venomous snakebite: a study of "mock venom" extraction in a human model.
Ann Emerg Med 2004 Feb;43(2):181-6 (ISSN: 1097-6760)
Alberts MB; Shalit M; Lo Galbo F
Department of Emergency Medicine, University Medical Center, University of California, San Francisco, Fresno 93702, USA.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: We determine the percentage of mock venom recovered by a suction device (Sawyer Extractor pump) in a simulated snakebite in human volunteers. METHODS: A mock venom (1 mL normal saline solution, 5.0 mg albumin, 2.5 mg aggregated albumin) radioactively labeled with 1 mCi of technetium was injected with a curved 16-gauge hypodermic needle 1 cm into the right lateral lower leg of 8 supine male volunteers aged 28 to 51 years. The Sawyer Extractor pump was applied after a 3-minute delay, and the blood removed by suction was collected after an additional 15 minutes. A 1991 Siemens Diacam was used to take measurements of the radioactive counts extracted and those remaining in the leg and body. RESULTS: The "envenomation load," as measured by mean radioactivity in the leg after injection, was 89,895 counts/min. The mean radioactivity found in the blood extracted in the 15 minutes of suction was 38.5 counts/min (95% confidence interval [CI] -33 to 110 counts/min), representing 0.04% of the envenomation load. The postextraction leg count was less than the envenomation load by 1,832 counts/min (95% CI -3,863 to 200 counts/min), representing a 2.0% decrease in the total body venom load. CONCLUSION: The Sawyer Extractor pump removed bloody fluid from our simulated snakebite wounds but removed virtually no mock venom, which suggests that suction is unlikely to be an effective treatment for reducing the total body venom burden after a venomous snakebite.

Duckear,

Thank you for sharing this medical review of the Sawyer Kit. I too bought one because it is listed in the book “98.6”. I have taken it on Cub Scout campouts. We have rattlesnakes here in Arizona. What is your recommended first-aid for snake bite?

Also, is ammonia a good first aid for insect bites?

Thanks!

Many people don't realize that snake venom moves through the lymph system, NOT the veins, and they immediately want to put on a tight, blood-restricting tourniquet.

DON'T DO IT!

These seem to be generally accepted instructions (from the U of MI - http://www.med.umich.edu/1libr/pa/pa_bitesnak_hhg.htm ):

"Remove any rings or bracelets. If you are more than 2 hours from the hospital, put a lymphatic tourniquet between the bite and the heart, at least 2 inches above the bite. A lymphatic tourniquet stops lymph flow through the lymph vessels. Use a wide band such as an elastic wrap or stocking. Make it snug but not tight enough to stop blood flow in the veins or arteries. If the veins stand out, the tourniquet is too tight. If the hand or foot turns white or the pulse disappears, the tourniquet is much too tight. The American Red Cross recommends that you not release the tourniquet until after antivenin has been given.

They also say that if the snake has been killed, make SURE it's dead, and take it to the hospital with you for ID (most people don't seem to know a rattler from a coral snake from a refrigerator & the antivenin can be different).

Here in W WA, if you do get bitten by a poisonous snake, you're pretty much SOOL, as the hospitals don't carry much (if any) antivenin. Why? Because "there aren't any poisonous snake here". I'll bet the delivery fee from E WA or CA is horrendous. Slow, too, considering the circumstances....

Sue

Duckear, I sent a copy of the California findings to the Sawyer factory and ask for their response/comments. If they reply, I will post the reply here. One unanswered question was why they waited three minutes before beginning the procedure. Venom can move a lot in three minutes. Also, they just tested it on mock snake venom but made no mention of tests on various insect bites/stings.
I am not totally convinced that it is worthless at this point but I appreciate your input.

Sue, interesting post. Seems we are back to "cut & suck" which I thought was obsolete. Interesting that you say there are no poisonous snakes in W. Va. I would have thought you would have copperheads and rattlesnakes at least.

In West Kentucky we have copperheads and cottonmouths here in the Mississippi River bottoms. As you go further East, add rattlesnakes. I have seen maps that include West Kentucky as the home range of the coral snake but I have never seen one nor have I ever heard of anyone else seeing one. As to identifying poison snakes around here, all I mentioned except the coral snake have elliptical or "cat eye" pupils and nonvenomous snakes have round pupils. I have read that the coral snake has round pupils.