Originally Posted By: falcon5000
Cigna's View
http://www.cigna.com/healthinfo/snake.html
Do not use a suction extraction device. There is no proof these devices actually help, and they cause further injury and increase your chances of having an infection.

Keep in mind that this portion does not apply directly to the Sawyer Extractor, but refers to suction extraction devices in general. Many of the suction extraction devices recommend cutting an X in the skin to (supposedly) allow for more fluid removal, and this is the action that "causes further injury and increases your chances of having an infection".

This point of view is also expressed in Doug's recommendations (http://www.equipped.org/medical.htm):
Quote:
Snake bite kits are found in many survival kits, but most are worse than useless. It is best to abide by the classical physician's dictum, "primum non nocere," Latin for "first do no harm." The old fashioned snake bite kits often included can cause additional damage, potentially more dangerous than the snake bite itself, and don't work worth a damn anyway. You cannot suck or drain an appreciable amount of venom from the bite using oral means or cutting into the bite. The traditional "Cutter" kit and its clones, with a razor blade to cut an "X" across the fang punctures and rubber suction cups to suck the blood out, is now universally derided by knowledgeable experts. If you own one, throw it away! Really!
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