Snake Bite - a true veterinary emergency
The continuing early autumn hot weather has the snake population out and active and unfortunately this means we are seeing a large number of dogs who have been bitten.
Andrew Litchfield explains why snake bite poisoning in a dog is a true veterinary emergency and how you can help in the event your dog may be affected.
The outcome of snake bite cases is determined by
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owner awareness
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the ability to get the dog to a veterinary facility as soon as possible
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diagnosis
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administration of adequate amounts of correct antivenom
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supportive care
As an owner, if you observe your dog fighting with a snake, it is important to assume they have been bitten until proven otherwise. With brown snake envenomation dogs will sometimes show an initial ‘allergic reaction’ to the bite. This may involve vomiting, drooling and incoordination or collapse. After a few minutes the dog will often show an apparent recovery and they appear perfectly normal for minutes to hours before the catastrophic signs of envenomation develop and rapidly progress (respiratory distress, heart arrhythmias, blood clotting problems, paralysis and death).
Ideally administration of antivenom should be done during the apparent recovery stage rather than waiting to observe signs of envenomation. This requires an accurate diagnosis of snake bite which can be difficult on just physical examination especially if the dog has not been observed with the snake.
If we have a high level of suspicion, a snake venom detection kit is done as soon as the dog presents to the surgery. The test takes about 20 minutes so sometimes antivenom administration is commenced whilst the test is running if the dog is already showing signs of envenomation. The advantage of the snake venom detection kit is that it not only confirms the diagnosis but also helps with selecting the antivenom.
Over the last few seasons we have observed many confirmed brown snake bites (owners arrive with the dead snake which is identified by counting scales) that have cross reacted with Tiger and Black snake on snake venom detection kit. In these situations we will administer multivalent antivenom rather than straight brown snake antivenom. In addition the snake venom detection kits are an essential part of determining which dog has been bitten when several dogs are found with a snake.
If you think your pet or working dog may have been bitten please contact us straight away - 63618388.
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