Spitting Cobra

[Chinavet]

Yesterday (in rural Surin), my brother in law sitting with a rice cutting group, having a lunch break, had a cobra rise in front of him (more than a meter away) and spit venom into both of his eyes.

After killing the snake and immediate washing of his eyes, he was bought back to the village by motorbike where he continued washing his eyes with water. He was in severe, increasing pain. We then rushed him to Sangkha public hospital where he received immediate treatment with each eye irrigated for about 10 minutes.

He was then given a shot for infection (I guess anti-biotic) and put on a drip. He was increasingly losing vision and scared by the obvious thought of going blind. Pleased to report a few hours later he was much improved and should be fine.

I verified the local public hospital does carry anti-venom, I assume that is country wide. The hospital said this was only their second case of venom in the eyes, however snake bite was common. A teenage lad with a very swollen foot showing clear puncture marks from a 'green' snake was on his third day of treatment.

Anyway, a quick Google produced realms of information.

In the unlikely event you need to know this first aid, at least it is simple common sense and easy to remember. Rubbing the eyes will make matters worse. Immediate and lots of eye irrigation with any benign fluid. Water of course, but if needed milk, beer or even urine will work. Hold eyelids open and rotate the eyes while washing. Get medical attention. If this is done the victim can be reassured that they will avoid permanent damage.

An interesting observation from one scientific study....even non-spitting cobras have been known to spit at eyes.

[BangkokJazz]

Thank you for the good information Chinavet. My first 6 years I didn't see a single snake (out of sight, out of mind) but in the last year I have seen 5! At least 3 of those were of the poisenous variety, and with a small child in the house, I am definitely glad to know more about the treatment options!

[IanForbes]

Human urine works well as an antidote. Pigmies in Africa have been successfully using that antidote for centuries. One liquid is a base and the other is an acid and they counter act with each other.

[Chinavet]

Human urine works well as an antidote. Pigmies in Africa have been successfully using that antidote for centuries. One liquid is a base and the other is an acid and they counter act with each other.

So it would actually make good sense to quickly drink all the available beer, process it into antidote. Win win.

Pleased to advise the brother in law is home. Uncomfortable, but hopefully no lasting damage.

[IanForbes]

A scary experience to be sure, and hopefully the fellow will recover completely. It certainly will be an experience to tell his children and grand children. I always wear glasses when dealing with cobras. I can never tell which ones will spit and which ones won't.

[needforspeed]

A scary experience to be sure, and hopefully the fellow will recover completely. It certainly will be an experience to tell his children and grand children. I always wear glasses when dealing with cobras. I can never tell which ones will spit and which ones won't.

Me as well always wear glasses when dealing with Cobras, average seen about 15 a week, many between Sukhumvit soi 3 and 7.

[BigWheelMan]

Human urine works well as an antidote. Pigmies in Africa have been successfully using that antidote for centuries. One liquid is a base and the other is an acid and they counter act with each other.

This only proves that when someone pisses on you, it stunts the growth.

[IanForbes]

Human urine works well as an antidote. Pigmies in Africa have been successfully using that antidote for centuries. One liquid is a base and the other is an acid and they counter act with each other.

This only proves that when someone pisses on you, it stunts the growth.

Good reply. Concentrated urine works better than beer dilluted stuff.

[Thongkorn]

Human urine works well as an antidote. Pigmies in Africa have been successfully using that antidote for centuries. One liquid is a base and the other is an acid and they counter act with each other.

Also works to keep leaches off you, But the downside is all the dogs in the area want to hump your legs.

[haybilly]

A scary experience to be sure, and hopefully the fellow will recover completely. It certainly will be an experience to tell his children and grand children. I always wear glasses when dealing with cobras. I can never tell which ones will spit and which ones won't.

Me as well always wear glasses when dealing with Cobras, average seen about 15 a week, many between Sukhumvit soi 3 and 7.

Not my words but my Thai wife (40) says you must live in a zoo or jump out of trees in the jungle scaring snakes. Cobras avoid humans like the plague (bit like me)unless you scare them. Most Thais never see a Cobra in a lifetime. As l said, not my words, l know nothing about snakes.

I think you'll find that he is joking when referring to 'snakes in Sukhumvit'

[Beardog]

A scary experience to be sure, and hopefully the fellow will recover completely. It certainly will be an experience to tell his children and grand children. I always wear glasses when dealing with cobras. I can never tell which ones will spit and which ones won't.

Me as well always wear glasses when dealing with Cobras, average seen about 15 a week, many between Sukhumvit soi 3 and 7.

Not my words but my Thai wife (40) says you must live in a zoo or jump out of trees in the jungle scaring snakes. Cobras avoid humans like the plague (bit like me)unless you scare them. Most Thais never see a Cobra in a lifetime. As l said, not my words, l know nothing about snakes.

I think you'll find that he is joking when referring to 'snakes in Sukhumvit'

Probably the vendors or the Indian tailors if there are any in the area. Not sure about the spitting in the eye though.

[ballpoint]

A scary experience to be sure, and hopefully the fellow will recover completely. It certainly will be an experience to tell his children and grand children. I always wear glasses when dealing with cobras. I can never tell which ones will spit and which ones won't.

It's mainly the football playing ones that spit. When they start making that hoicking sound watch out.

[mauGR1]

Thanks to the OP for sharing.

I read about that cobra's special weapon,but it's the first time i hear of it as a real experience

That spit must be toxic like rocket fuel

I'm going to get very large glasses to deal with cobras too,but now that i give a second thought,no,i'm not going to deal with them.

[Bagwan]

Cobras spit as a warning to you to back off. They know that you are too big to eat and don't want to waste their venom on you. I was told this at Transvaal Snake Farm.

Other things that we were told is that since snakes have no hearing apparatus a good precaution is to to tread heavily as that sets up vibrations in the ground that the reptile can pick up and they get out of the way. I was assured that snakes are more scared of you than you are of them. Pit vipers can locate prey easily and accurately since they have heat receptors. Scientists are still wondering how cobras can target so accurately since snakes have poor vision (reputedly).

Probably the most dangerous venomous snake in these parts is Russell's Viper known to be very aggressive, found mainly in Kanchanaburi I think.

If you are bitten stay calm and do not panic, get medical help asap - and do identify the dam_n thing.

[phetaroi]

Cobras spit as a warning to you to back off. They know that you are too big to eat and don't want to waste their venom on you. I was told this at Transvaal Snake Farm.

Other things that we were told is that since snakes have no hearing apparatus a good precaution is to to tread heavily as that sets up vibrations in the ground that the reptile can pick up and they get out of the way. I was assured that snakes are more scared of you than you are of them.

...

If you are bitten stay calm and do not panic, get medical help asap - and do identify the dam_n thing.

Just wonder:

Wouldn't spitting venom waste a larger quantity than a good bite?

This idea that snakes will escape if they can is bull toddy. It is not something you can count on. Twice, back in the States I have run into rattlesnakes while hiking who were clearly well aware of my presence but made no effort to move. In one case I stayed a safe but detectable distance, and the snake stayed put for 20 minutes, after which I had to give up the hike since at that particular spot there was no way around.

I have also run into copperheads (and other snakes) a half-dozen times who made no effort to move out of the way.

I love the advice that if you are bitten by a viper, stay calm!

[IanForbes]

This is too close... This guy tapped the lens on my camera.

[steelepulse]

This is too close... This guy tapped the lens on my camera.

How is it that you are dealing with so many snakes on a regular basis?

[Sheryl]

Human urine works well as an antidote. Pigmies in Africa have been successfully using that antidote for centuries. One liquid is a base and the other is an acid and they counter act with each other.

Urine is a common folk remedy for painful stings that involve an acid, because urine is (usually but not always) a base.

However this will in no way reduce the lethal effects of the venom, which will be readily aborbed into the bloodstream. Immediately irrigate the eye like crazy and rush to nearest hospital.

[Chinavet]

Waaay too close Ian! Get a zoom lens.

[Bagwan]

I love the advice that if you are bitten by a viper, stay calm!

So glad that you enjoyed it. If you allow yourself to get into a highly emotional state your heart will beat faster and presumably your blood pressure will pick up speed therefore spreading the venom faster. The victim should be made to lie or sit down and constant reassurance given. Statistics show that it is a myth that death from snakebite is usually soon in coming. Unbelievers may care to Google for the facts. If the snake injects into an artery I understand that it is like taking a brain shot.

Regarding snakes choosing to avoid human contact, if they have moved off on sensing your approach how would you know they were there in the first place? You will only see the ones that have not shifted themselves. This often happens when a snake is sunning itself to pick up body heat. Much the same as you or I, sunning makes for being lethargic so a snake will stay put, maybe not even aware of your presence until you are too close for its comfort. I saw this demonstrated with the rinkhals shown below. It was as docile as a kitten until it was cooled down by pouring water over it. It then sprayed the keeper three times when he provoked it.

Snakes do not have antibodies in their blood so any injury that becomes infected is a death sentence. At the Transvaal Snake Farm they feed live food to the snakes. On one documented occasion a white mouse was put into a tank containing a black mamba. The mouse ran over to the snake and bit it before retiring to a far corner. The mamba was found dead the following morning. Paracetamol will kill a snake (and cats) pretty quickly.

To go off at a tangent I saw a TV program (Discovery or National Geographic) in which three guys were out in the Mojave desert. They came across a Western Diamondback and killed it. Since, according to the programme, snakes have a very rudimentary nervous system it takes them sometime for them to realise that they are dead. To make sure, about ten minutes later they cut off its head. Twenty minutes later the snake head bit one of the guys. They were about thirty miles from the nearest hospital which they rushed him to and he spent a week in intensive care. He was unconscious for three days during which massive amounts of anti venom were pumped into him. Given that Hollywood is less than careful with the truth regarding events, and masters of the terminological inexactitude, I find this very hard to believe.