I got the coolest present last year (and have only just now gotten around to pics)! It's an old snake bit kit from Mine Safety Appliances Co. It doesn't have a date anywhere on it, but it looks old to me.



What struck me about it at first was how similar is seemed to a Sawyer Extractor. It was significantly smaller, but it operated the same way. A plunger creates a vacuum when pushed in and a selection of suction cups allows the user to best fit the bite for applying suction.



The major difference seemed to be that the Sawyer Extractor has a disposable safety razor for clearing the wound of hair and more suction cups. It has four, whereas the Snake Bite Kit has (er ... had) only two. They both have antiseptics: The Extractor has disinfectant wipes and the Kit has a crushable iodine swab. Interestingly, the Kit had an ammonia inhalent to revive the patient if they felt faint. It also has a small reservoir of petrolatum to lubricate the plunger regularly for maintenance.



But then, after I had gotten all philosophical thinking about how the more things change, the more they stay the same and how there's nothing new under the sun, I read the instructions.



The instructions either assume the user would have a knife with them (safer assumption in the day this was manufactured, I'm sure), or this kit originally came with one. Yep, it tells you to cut the wound! <img src="images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> But first, apply a tourniquet! (Oh well, at least they say, "not tight enough to constrict arterial flow".) It even says, "At end of one hour new incisions should be made around circumference of swollen area, if swelling develops." <img src="images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" /> ("Keep cutting! Keep cutting! I just know we've got to be doing some good!")

Basically, every hour, you loosen the tourniquet, cut 'em again, let 'em bleed some more and suck the wound again. Yeesh, no wonder you might feel faint!

The instructions also say to cover the wound with a sterile dressing, but I don't know if it came with one or they just left that up to the user.

Okay, so things might have changed just a bit. <img src="images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> (Thank goodness!)

More images of this Kit and the Extractor can be found here.

Jet,

Nice review! Looks like with some minor modifications, it should be quite servicable.

Comanche7