If you are bitten by a rattlesnake, I probably wouldn't go to the medicine cabinet. If you think you can treat snake bites like you do season allergies then you're dead wrong. It could kill you.
A viral rumor claims that children's Benadryl allergy medicine could save your life in a pinch from a rattlesnake bite. But it's a false and dangerous rumor. Do not do this if you have the misfortune of getting bit by the snake.
"That (rumor about Benadryl) is total fiction. I don't know where it got started," Teton County Coroner Dr. Brent Blue told Cowboy State Daily. According to Blue, you must get medical treatment at the hospital. Rattlesnake bites can cause severe injury or even death. While the rumor claims that the allergy medicine can help with swelling, Bulue said he "would not count on that at all."
You see, venom is a toxin. Allergy medication won't do anything for it. "It's basically a poison that causes tissue destruction," he said. The venom will start to break down your skin and muscle tissue and stop blood's ability to clot. So basically, Benadryl will help you if you have a runny nose but not if you've been bitten by a rattlesnake.
Rattlesnake Bite
The expert urges against wasting any valuable time trying to get some allergy medication. That can be time spent getting to the hospital.
"Sometimes when a rattlesnake bites, it doesn't release any venom," Blue said. "Sometimes, it releases just a little venom. And sometimes, it releases a huge amount of venom."
The size of the person matters a lot when it comes to the prognosis of the bite.
"If you have 'X amount' of venom, then it's going to cause more problems in a 50-pound kid than it will in a 250-pound adult," he said. "The pain can't kill you, but it can make you want to die."
The snake expert wishes the rumors were true. But they're not, and they could get you killed.
"I wish it did work, because then we could just keep Benadryl on hand everywhere," he said.
