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[-] 50MYT@aussie.zone 142 points 1 day ago

The bite actually doesn't kill you, it just shuts down your nervous system so you can't breath.

People if given cpr immediately (kind of need someone to know it's what bit you) till it wears off / get on a ventilator will live.

I remember reading about someone who survived. They got but, and a team started doing cpr. The only issue was his eyes were open the entire time on a hot sunny day. So he was blind after the damage the hot sun did.

[-] gnutrino@programming.dev 108 points 1 day ago

The bite actually doesn't kill you, it just shuts down your nervous system so you can't breath.

I feel that's like saying "getting mauled by a bear doesn't kill you, it just causes major lacerations so all your blood leaks out". Technically sure, but it seems like a bit of a pedantic distinction...

[-] bisby@lemmy.world 13 points 1 day ago

Getting bit by a venomous snake in Australia and you're blood starts to disassemble itself. The only counter is antivenom or die. Your blood breaking down is what kills you. And there is no way to separate the bite from that.

Being able to counter the venom in such a simple way is what makes it different. You can logically break it down into steps that are separable.

[-] NeverNudeNo13 5 points 1 day ago

Yeap, but that's because the venom is a hemotoxin rather than a neurotoxin.

[-] bisby@lemmy.world 6 points 1 day ago

Correct.

For the hemotoxin, you aren't going to "just wait for the effects to wear off." The toxin will kill you.

For the neurotoxin, you can just wait out the effects by countering the symptoms. Can't breathe? Respirator can save your life.

The hemotoxin itself is doing terrible damage, but the neurotoxin itself doesn't do any "damage" other than disabling systems.

[-] NeverNudeNo13 5 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Yeah that's mostly true... But it's not like a hangover... I had a friend bitten by a snake out in the Mojave once and I'm sure she would have strong opinions about how strenuous the recovery was from it. Neurotoxins, especially potent ones, can be disruptive enough to create long term disabilities. If you are someone who performs a lot of skilled fine motor movements as part of your job or as part of a hobby or something it could be a significant amount of time for you to fully recover from a neurotoxin.

Cytotoxins are interesting as well, though generally not considered deadly they can really mess up your quality of life and be extremely debilitating, even disfiguring.

Generally just a good idea to stay away from anything venomous.

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this post was submitted on 21 Nov 2024
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