Cobra Anti Venom

[kbb]

We live up in Issarn - Two hours West of Khon Kaen. 

 

Live in a pretty small town (I call Walton's Mountain).

 

We've had several Cobras on our property. 

Last year, one spit at one of our dogs & got her in the eye. 

We were lucky - But had another close call last month. 

 

((In case you've never had the pleasure:

Having one of these buggers sit up and hiss certainly gets your attention. 

Every cell in your body instinctively knows they'd rather be someplace else. ))

 

I'm worried that the supply of Anit-Venom up here is not great.

 

I've been looking at how to improve the supply. 

 

We have a clinic in town. 

Staffed by a dedicated Nurse Practitioner. 

Very limited hours. 

They don't keep the AV. 

(Haven't got proper storage). 

 

Chum Phai Public Hospital is an hour away. 

They do have the AV. 

 

There is a small 24 hour hospital 30 minutes away. 

They don't have the AV.

 

I am trying to work out a deal, where we pay for AV to be kept at the local hospital. 

If it happens to get used, we'd resupply. 

Would keep doing this until/unless it becomes too expensive. 

 

Unfortunately, no one appears to be in much of a hurry. 

My wife is starting to give me the "You're being a Farang ... etc etc etc ".

Meaning, I shouldn't push it too much. 

 

I figure that 30 mins could actually be the difference between life & death. 

 

Anyone out there have experience with Cobra Bites (and AV)?

 

 

 

 

[RJRS1301]

I hope you are successful

Cobras are attention getting

 

[MJCM]

^ +1

 

We never had cobra's but lots of other Snakes (green and gray) some around 1-2 meters in length.

 

Fortunately our dog alerts us and fights them but I doubt that she will win from a cobra (especially with that spitting)

 

May I ask how did you deal when your dog got hit in the eye with the Cobra spitting????

 

TiA

[kbb]

We took the dog (& the now dead snake) to the Vet University in KK. 

We checked on the way out - No local vets had AV available. 

She stayed overnight. 

The staff were great. Treatment relatively cheap. 

It's mostly dumb luck that the dog didn't either die or lose her sight in that eye.

Worst part was the 8+ hours of driving & eye drops that didn't go down well. 

[IvorBiggun2]

The OP is worrying about nothing.  Chances of getting bitten are remote and approximately 50% of poison snake bites are 'dry bites'.

[placeholder]

https://thailandsnakes.com/how-many-deaths-thailand-per-year-venomous-snakebite/

[IvorBiggun2]

You have more chance of dying from rabies than a snake bite in Thailand and Bangkok area has the largest amount of lethal snakes.  

 

 

[jak2002003]

Your wife is right, you are definitely 'being a farang'. 

 

The chances of getting bitten and dying from a  cobra bite are really miniscule. You would have a better chance of winning millions on the lottery.

 

We get a few in our garden each year..and some are quite large. They will rear up and even move towards us, but just leave them alone and they soon slither away.  

 

Your dog got spit in the eye only as it got too close and cornered the snake.  If that happens again simply wash the dog's eye out with water. No need for a vet.  Same for humans. It will hurt like hell, but you won't get damaged sight, die or go blind if you clean the venom out of your eye.  That would only happen if you did not wash out your eye and left the venom in it for a long time...like over an hour.

 

People usually get bitten only when they are trying to kill or catch the snake leave them alone and they will quickly go away.

 

Having cobra is actually safer for you...as they eat much more dangerous snakes like banded krait and coral snakes.

 

Maybe look up how many people die of a cobra bite each year in Thailand.  Then compare it to how many people die of a road accident or falling down the stairs and you will be a better perspective.

 

 

 

 

 

[Khabib]

We had a cobra in our garden last year. It hid under an aircon unit, and our 3 dogs were going mad. I used a pool cue, to agitate and poke it out. Then when it raised up, thats when I identified it oops! It is quite a thing, and 2 of my dogs were caught in a single eye each. I was trying to get them away, put was impossible without getting too close myself to the cobra. Didn't know what to do, but instinctively did in fact wash their eyes with water. The snake had vanished, and the dogs eyes returned to normal the next day.

[Led Lolly Yellow Lolly]

Any hospital, even the local anamai will have anti-venins.

I disagree about the risk of being bitten. If you're a city slicker, yes, the risk is vanishingly small. . .. but I can tell you for sure, I'm the highest risk farang in Thailand for snake bites. You'd have to know me to know why. I'm not some jerk amateur herpetologist, I'm just working in a very high risk environment.

The snake responsible for most bites are the green Pit Vipers. People tend to look to the ground for snakes, neglecting the risk from trees.

Most bites from Thai snakes are survivable, many cause serious illness and permanent damage. . . but If you get bitten by a Blue Krait, you're really in big trouble.

 

 

 

[pacovl46]

https://www.snake-antivenin.com/
 

They sell all sorts of anti venoms. I think they’re made by the Thai Red Cross Society snake farm in Bangkok, if I’m not mistaken.

 

Keep in mind, though, that one vial most likely won’t do the trick. In case of a king cobra bite you’ll most likely need 20 or 30 vials depending on how much the snake actually injects you with. You’ll have to do some research on how many vials you will need for a monocle cobra. Also, snake venom has a rather “short” shelf life. So, this can get rather expensive. 

[IvorBiggun2]

Quote

The average list price for CroFab is $3,198 per vial, according to the health care information tech company Connecture. Manufacturing costs, product improvements and research all factor into the drug's price

Shelf life of the anti venom is about 2 months. So yes it's a really good idea to stock anti venom.????

[crazykopite]

A few years back I lived up in the mountains with a lot of snakes Cobra and pythons being the main ones . The King cobra loves eating fellow snakes the biggest python I saw in my garden was more than 5 mtr I always knew when the <deleted> was around as one of my 10 cats would go missing until I was left with just two and yes I had a monocle cobra inches away from me in my car port all you do is stand still and they go away . Dogs agitate them by barking at them and yes when they spit they can spit a few mtrs which cause blindness when ever I came across a cobra in the garden I would always put my crash helmet on and pull down the visor for protection I understand that we’re you to get a venomous bite you’ve got 45 minutes left on this Earth if you panic however if you stay calm and relaxed it slows down the poison so you should be good for another 30 minutes I would of thought  you could of stored AV in a household fridge if this is the case should you get bit stab yourself with it and get down to the hospital .by the way Cobra is very tasty I’ve had it twice once in South Korea and once when my Burmese gardener caught one and made the most wonderful soup out of it but you have to know what your doing in preparing it !

[sezze]

We have many snakes around also , and even found a cobra , as far as i though it was in front of our house on the street ( nighttime ) . TBh i really don't care , i leave them alone , they leave me alone . 99% of the time , the people being bitten or killed by one is in rainy season , and people stepping on them .

It does not mean it doesn't happen , it can ,but stay away from them if they are around . Dogs warn us every time , and they killed many snakes in the past , only when they very big they scared also .

Snake bites are rare , and snakes do not want to meet you , and opposite also . See a snake , give them plenty of ways to run and they will run .

[sezze]

5 minutes ago, crazykopite said:

A few years back I lived up in the mountains with a lot of snakes Cobra and pythons being the main ones . The King cobra loves eating fellow snakes the biggest python I saw in my garden was more than 5 mtr I always knew when the <deleted> was around as one of my 10 cats would go missing until I was left with just two and yes I had a monocle cobra inches away from me in my car port all you do is stand still and they go away . Dogs agitate them by barking at them and yes when they spit they can spit a few mtrs which cause blindness when ever I came across a cobra in the garden I would always put my crash helmet on and pull down the visor for protection I understand that we’re you to get a venomous bite you’ve got 45 minutes left on this Earth if you panic however if you stay calm and relaxed it slows down the poison so you should be good for another 30 minutes I would of thought  you could of stored AV in a household fridge if this is the case should you get bit stab yourself with it !

wow , a 5mtr one is huuuge , thats very uncommon . Biggest i've seen so far was a 1.5 to 2 m , but they were a few around that length . I don't measure them , when they get sizes like that , better stay my distance and not take my measuring tape ... haha

[Bigz]

Cobras will warn but not attack unless threatened. Vipers are much more dangerous. Nevertheless(sadly) my father in law always kill  the cobras if they come near the house and eat it with his mates. Apparently it is an aphrodisiac.

[fabruer]

One hour to the next hospital will be close enough, even in case of Cobra bite.

Instead of focusing on AV, I would recommend to learn and train First Aid practises with regards to snake bites. Eg, wound cleaning/disinfecting and correct bandaging. Another poster pointed out a very good point: staying calm and keeping heart rate down.

 

OP, I don't want to promote certain businesses openly here but will ve happy to answer your PM in this regard.

[MrJ2U]

Cut back the vegetation around your yard close to your house.

 

I live in Issan.  I make sure the front and back yard is CPack or tiled.

Plants are in containers.

 

I've never seen a Cobra in our backyard in 5 years.

 

That would freak me out!

 

Good luck!

[Gsxrnz]

The recommended weapon to deter all snakes is a 7-iron.  A 6-iron will work at a pinch.

[Iron Tongue]

Just start wearing these when outside.  Snake bite leggings.

Your neighbors won't even bat an eye since you're a Farang, although wearing them with flip flops might decrease effectiveness a bit!

[sead]

Actually there's a reason it's hissing. There's snakes not hissing ????

[sjbrownderby]

For guidance you might contact the Queen Saovabha Memorial Institute in Bangkok. Conveniently they have a Facebook page and they are open to visitors. On their website at

 https://www.saovabha.org/home

 they even show anti-venin is available under the 'Service and Products' section and the site is available in English. 

[ThaiSmarterThanYou]

On 12/10/2021 at 7:58 PM, IvorBiggun2 said:

The OP is worrying about nothing.  Chances of getting bitten are remote and approximately 50% of poison snake bites are 'dry bites'.

and chances of dying of covid ? but still, cattle vaccinates...

 

 

[ThaiSmarterThanYou]

On 12/11/2021 at 6:51 AM, pacovl46 said:

https://www.snake-antivenin.com/
 

They sell all sorts of anti venoms. I think they’re made by the Thai Red Cross Society snake farm in Bangkok, if I’m not mistaken.

 

Keep in mind, though, that one vial most likely won’t do the trick. In case of a king cobra bite you’ll most likely need 20 or 30 vials depending on how much the snake actually injects you with. You’ll have to do some research on how many vials you will need for a monocle cobra. Also, snake venom has a rather “short” shelf life. So, this can get rather expensive. 

 

I was told by red cross 10 vials for the most dangerous.

 

 

 

[ThaiSmarterThanYou]

On 12/10/2021 at 9:48 PM, Led Lolly Yellow Lolly said:

Any hospital, even the local anamai will have anti-venins.

clearly wrong, most do not, I already asked and checked.

 

 

[ThaiSmarterThanYou]

On 12/11/2021 at 7:31 AM, IvorBiggun2 said:

Shelf life of the anti venom is about 2 months. So yes it's a really good idea to stock anti venom.????

also wrong, antivenom has 5 years shell life...

and as most expiration dates, this is pure bull$hit and you can use them so much more time !

 

 

[Led Lolly Yellow Lolly]

18 minutes ago, ThaiSmarterThanYou said:

clearly wrong, most do not, I already asked and checked.

 

 

Clearly they were just giving you the answer that would make you go away.

[pacovl46]

1 hour ago, ThaiSmarterThanYou said:

 

I was told by red cross 10 vials for the most dangerous.

 

 

 

I know a guy in the states that got bit by a king cobra and he needed 30 vials in total. It all depends on the species and how much venom is injected. I’d rather have too many vials than not enough. 

[pacovl46]

1 hour ago, ThaiSmarterThanYou said:

also wrong, antivenom has 5 years shell life...

and as most expiration dates, this is pure bull$hit and you can use them so much more time !

 

 

Where did you get five years? Normally it’s between 1 and 3. The main problem, though, is that once it’s expired hospitals might not administer it to you anymore, despite the fact that it might be good for much longer than the actual expiry date. 

[farmerjo]

I've had 4 cobra's at the house this year.

Thanks for letting us know Chumphae is the closest hospital with av.

They do get the hairs on the back of the neck to stand up.

I have a dog which has lost one eye from a cobra and a family of mynar birds who are good for alerting the presence of a snake.

The tool i use to remove them is a 10 foot long piece of bamboo with a fishing harpoon end on it with 4 spikes.