Good point Ken! Crystalized? Do you snort it? I lost it!!! LOL!

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Posted by C.Gex on June 28, 2000 at 23:24:57:

In Reply to: MsTT although I agree... posted by Kenny Wray on June 28, 2000 at 23:04:49:

: : : Dont always believe what you read! I will swallow a ml of Crot venom and allow you to watch! I will milk the creature and drink the venom in front of you! If I'me not mistaken you agreed to a "Atrox" hunt in the near future here in Texas. I will do it in front of witnesses. The text you posted is totally incorrect!

: : My religion hasn't much to do with this. Talk to anyone who regularly works with venom or venom fractions, and they will tell you that almost everyone develops exposure allergies. It can be rapid onset (one or two large exposures) or it can take years of more gradual exposures, but it happens to almost everyone. Almost, because there are still mysteries about the human immune system that we don't completely understand.

: : Drinking venom is probably a lot less likely to trigger a reaction, as your saliva and digestive enzymes go to work on the proteins and pretty much do them in. It's breathing dried or aerosolized venom that gets you in trouble a lot faster. But drinking it is *still* not a good idea, because some sensitization probably occurs. It may take time for it to occur, but you're basically sitting on a ticking time bomb that may randomly go off at some point, leaving you with uncomfortable allergies. Since you keep and catch snakes regularly, you definitely want to minimize your exposure to the venom if at all possible because the last thing you need if you get bitten is to have already exposed and possibly sensitized your immune system to that venom.

: : It's difficult to predict exactly how much you have already been sensitized to venom, and even more difficult (like, impossible) to predict what the next exposure will do. So what you're doing is basically playing around blindly with your immune system and hoping that the bad thing doesn't happen. Maybe it won't happen for years. Maybe it will happen tomorrow. Ask a knowledgeable doc if you don't believe me. Personally, I won't take those kinds of risks. I expect the odds may eventually catch up to me and I'll probably be bitten. I expect to spend the rest of my life working closely with venomous snakes, and as careful as it is humanly possible to be, sometimes sh*t happens. When the fecal matter hits the fan, I'd prefer not to have had prior exposures to the venom as this can go a long way towards making a bite an even bigger mess than it already is.

: : And another thing. Why the heck would you want to stress and annoy a poor innocent atrox so that you could drink its venom? Geez, Gex. The stuff doesn't even taste good. You can do what you want to your snakes, but keep your soda straws away from my collection. LOL

: : PS - when are we on for the atrox hunt? I really have to get some scutulatus though, so I might have to duck out and head to a different habitat pretty quick.

: : Regards,

: : MsTT

: with your comments on inhaling crystallized venom, I don't know how much of your commnets on ingestion are true. I am not aware of any studies done on ingestion of venoms, but I am aware of several people that have drank venom on many occasions, some to prove a point, others for "health" reasons, with no ill effects, even after being bitten. The digestive system tissue tolerates many harsh environments (stomach acid = HCl = pH ~ 1.5) with, normally, no ill effects. Although I think cavities, ulcers, or other open wounds, may cause problems, I don't see how ingestion into a healthy system could cause any problems, even of an allergic kind, I may be wrong though. Ross Allen did it for years, as well as many other old timers. And I will repeat, they all seem to agree that it was not that unpleasant, much like slightly bitter OJ!
: Best regards, KW.

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: : : : Dont always believe what you read! I will swallow a ml of Crot venom and allow you to watch! I will milk the creature and drink the venom in front of you! If I'me not mistaken you agreed to a "Atrox" hunt in the near future here in Texas. I will do it in front of witnesses. The text you posted is totally incorrect! : : : My religion hasn't much to do with this. Talk to anyone who regularly works with venom or venom fractions, and they will tell you that almost everyone develops exposure allergies. It can be rapid onset (one or two large exposures) or it can take years of more gradual exposures, but it happens to almost everyone. Almost, because there are still mysteries about the human immune system that we don't completely understand. : : : Drinking venom is probably a lot less likely to trigger a reaction, as your saliva and digestive enzymes go to work on the proteins and pretty much do them in. It's breathing dried or aerosolized venom that gets you in trouble a lot faster. But drinking it is *still* not a good idea, because some sensitization probably occurs. It may take time for it to occur, but you're basically sitting on a ticking time bomb that may randomly go off at some point, leaving you with uncomfortable allergies. Since you keep and catch snakes regularly, you definitely want to minimize your exposure to the venom if at all possible because the last thing you need if you get bitten is to have already exposed and possibly sensitized your immune system to that venom. : : : It's difficult to predict exactly how much you have already been sensitized to venom, and even more difficult (like, impossible) to predict what the next exposure will do. So what you're doing is basically playing around blindly with your immune system and hoping that the bad thing doesn't happen. Maybe it won't happen for years. Maybe it will happen tomorrow. Ask a knowledgeable doc if you don't believe me. Personally, I won't take those kinds of risks. I expect the odds may eventually catch up to me and I'll probably be bitten. I expect to spend the rest of my life working closely with venomous snakes, and as careful as it is humanly possible to be, sometimes sh*t happens. When the fecal matter hits the fan, I'd prefer not to have had prior exposures to the venom as this can go a long way towards making a bite an even bigger mess than it already is. : : : And another thing. Why the heck would you want to stress and annoy a poor innocent atrox so that you could drink its venom? Geez, Gex. The stuff doesn't even taste good. You can do what you want to your snakes, but keep your soda straws away from my collection. LOL : : : PS - when are we on for the atrox hunt? I really have to get some scutulatus though, so I might have to duck out and head to a different habitat pretty quick. : : : Regards, : : : MsTT : : with your comments on inhaling crystallized venom, I don't know how much of your commnets on ingestion are true. I am not aware of any studies done on ingestion of venoms, but I am aware of several people that have drank venom on many occasions, some to prove a point, others for "health" reasons, with no ill effects, even after being bitten. The digestive system tissue tolerates many harsh environments (stomach acid = HCl = pH ~ 1.5) with, normally, no ill effects. Although I think cavities, ulcers, or other open wounds, may cause problems, I don't see how ingestion into a healthy system could cause any problems, even of an allergic kind, I may be wrong though. Ross Allen did it for years, as well as many other old timers. And I will repeat, they all seem to agree that it was not that unpleasant, much like slightly bitter OJ! : : Best regards, KW.

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