# The effects of venom on asthma



## Biggys (Jun 6, 2010)

Hello guys 

I have been wondering this for a while I am getting more seriously into my snakes now, and am looking to get a Fear fanged venomous snake not DWA, 
something like a FWC or maybe a mangrove cat snake (most likely a FWC to start with), but I had asthma at the Age of 4, and had grown out of it by the age of 6, I'm 16 now so haven't had any symptoms for 10 years, 

but I have the problem now, that my dad thinks all venom from any snake, will kill me due to used to having asthma, this has lead to a few arguments regarding fear fanged snakes, so can someone finally put the nail in the coffin and answer my question,

If a rear fanged venomous snake bites me (non DWA) me, will It seriously effect my respitory system.

also, I am not allergic to bee's, wasps...ect

Sorry if this seems abit of a stupid question, but it is sort of holding me back with what spp. of snakes I can keep.

thanks for taking your time to read this,

Kind regards 
Tyler,


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## leecb0 (Apr 14, 2009)

The simple answer is yes it could.
It doesnt matter what you have or havent had in the past, if your body reacts to the perticular venom then you have the chance of anaphalaxis.
I have had a couple of good bites of FWC and one really made my arm swell etc also it has been known to put people in hospiral. Also Boiga were DWA there venoms are fairly powerfull and can cause bad reactions.


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## Biggys (Jun 6, 2010)

leecb0 said:


> The simple answer is yes it could.
> It doesnt matter what you have or havent had in the past, if your body reacts to the perticular venom then you have the chance of anaphalaxis.
> I have had a couple of good bites of FWC and one really made my arm swell etc also it has been known to put people in hospiral. Also Boiga were DWA there venoms are fairly powerfull and can cause bad reactions.


Ahh thanks for your anwser mate ,

But i think i didn't explain well enough, am I more at risk for anaphalaxis, becuase is my past ?

Sorry this was what i meant to say


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## DavidR (Mar 19, 2008)

I'm afraid I don't know much about asthma so can't be of much help. The chance of getting a bite from a rear fang that put somebody into respiratory arrest is very slim. It is also very difficult to develop a specific venom allergy if you only keep rear fangs. Allergy requires pre-exposure to the antigen (venom component), exposure across a mucous membrane is the most effective means. Rear fangs don't secrete anywhere near the quantity of venom that many front fangs (especially spitting cobras) do, so coming into contact with/inhaling dry venom particles is very unlikely and therefore it is very difficult to develop an allergy if this is your only exposure. Whether as an asthmatic you are at greater risk of allergy I am afraid I have no idea, I would suggest that your doctor is the best person to ask. It must be remembered that the allergenic/antigenic qualities of snake venom are no different than those of peanuts or a multitude of other compounds you come into contact with every day. If you were likely to have an allergy problem it would probably be apparent by now.

David.


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## Biggys (Jun 6, 2010)

DavidR said:


> I'm afraid I don't know much about asthma so can't be of much help. The chance of getting a bite from a rear fang that put somebody into respiratory arrest is very slim. It is also very difficult to develop a specific venom allergy if you only keep rear fangs. Allergy requires pre-exposure to the antigen (venom component), exposure across a mucous membrane is the most effective means. Rear fangs don't secrete anywhere near the quantity of venom that many front fangs (especially spitting cobras) do, so coming into contact with/inhaling dry venom particles is very unlikely and therefore it is very difficult to develop an allergy if this is your only exposure. Whether as an asthmatic you are at greater risk of allergy I am afraid I have no idea, I would suggest that your doctor is the best person to ask. It must be remembered that the allergenic/antigenic qualities of snake venom are no different than those of peanuts or a multitude of other compounds you come into contact with every day. If you were likely to have an allergy problem it would probably be apparent by now.
> 
> David.


Ahh thank you very much mate , I have booked a doctors appointment, for next week so well go and chat to the doctor about it, I just thought It might be worth asking here too as you keep DWA spp. and know about venom ect. thank you for taking the time out to reply, it's much apprecitated 

Tyler


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## becky89 (Nov 24, 2009)

DavidR said:


> I'm afraid I don't know much about asthma so can't be of much help. The chance of getting a bite from a rear fang that put somebody into respiratory arrest is very slim. It is also very difficult to develop a specific venom allergy if you only keep rear fangs. Allergy requires pre-exposure to the antigen (venom component), exposure across a mucous membrane is the most effective means. Rear fangs don't secrete anywhere near the quantity of venom that many front fangs (especially spitting cobras) do, so coming into contact with/inhaling dry venom particles is very unlikely and therefore it is very difficult to develop an allergy if this is your only exposure. Whether as an asthmatic you are at greater risk of allergy I am afraid I have no idea, I would suggest that your doctor is the best person to ask. It must be remembered that the allergenic/antigenic qualities of snake venom are no different than those of peanuts or a multitude of other compounds you come into contact with every day. If you were likely to have an allergy problem it would probably be apparent by now.
> 
> David.


So when I got bitten by my hognose, the first time she bit me on the thumb and it was a little numb, the second time she bit me on my finger, both my finger and hand swelled up, would that have been allergic reaction or not? Both times fangs were engaged and chewed for a few minutes. Not really 100% sure how it works, whether it's a reaction to venom or allergic reaction.. :hmm:

Sorry to interrupt your thread Biggys just thought I'd ask as David's put an interesting post up!


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## DavidR (Mar 19, 2008)

becky89 said:


> So when I got bitten by my hognose, the first time she bit me on the thumb and it was a little numb, the second time she bit me on my finger, both my finger and hand swelled up, would that have been allergic reaction or not? Both times fangs were engaged and chewed for a few minutes. Not really 100% sure how it works, whether it's a reaction to venom or allergic reaction.. :hmm:
> 
> Sorry to interrupt your thread Biggys just thought I'd ask as David's put an interesting post up!


This sounds much more like a direct venom effect than one of allergy. Were there any symptoms other than swelling? People often seem surprised when a bite by a venomous snake results in some kind of reaction and assume that it must be an allergy, in reality this is what venom does! I can't recall hearing a convincing case of allergy to a bite from a rear fang, but I have heard plenty of cases of envenomation.

David.
David.


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## becky89 (Nov 24, 2009)

DavidR said:


> This sounds much more like a direct venom effect than one of allergy. Were there any symptoms other than swelling? People often seem surprised when a bite by a venomous snake results in some kind of reaction and assume that it must be an allergy, in reality this is what venom does! I can't recall hearing a convincing case of allergy to a bite from a rear fang, but I have heard plenty of cases of envenomation.
> 
> David.
> David.


Thanks for the reply David. Had no other symptoms apart from the swelling and my hand being tender to touch. That is interesting though  I've never really been the person to assume allergic reaction with things like this, it just made me wonder because my second bite was much worse than the first, and with what you saying about having to be exposed to it first before something can cause an allergic reaction. 
My fiance has also been bitten by a few hogs, my female included, and apart from a little swelling on his thumb once there wasn't really a reaction, so this also made me wonder!
I'm probably getting a bit mixed up though, the venom/allergic reaction thing does confuse me a bit lol.


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## Biggys (Jun 6, 2010)

becky89 said:


> So when I got bitten by my hognose, the first time she bit me on the thumb and it was a little numb, the second time she bit me on my finger, both my finger and hand swelled up, would that have been allergic reaction or not? Both times fangs were engaged and chewed for a few minutes. Not really 100% sure how it works, whether it's a reaction to venom or allergic reaction.. :hmm:
> 
> *Sorry to interrupt your thread Biggys just thought I'd ask as David's put an interesting post up*!


Don't be sorry, I am quite interested in this myself, as I was in a shop when a worker was bitten, he had a bad reaction, and ended up with his hand swollen to about 2x the size, 

Can a snake control the amount of venom it injects or is it all dumped in at once, my thinking behind this is maybe when you first got bitten it only gave a small dose, but on the second time it gave it full whack


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## becky89 (Nov 24, 2009)

Biggys said:


> Don't be sorry, I am quite interested in this myself, as I was in a shop when a worker was bitten, he had a bad reaction, and ended up with his hand swollen to about 2x the size,
> 
> Can a snake control the amount of venom it injects or is it all dumped in at once, my thinking behind this is maybe when you first got bitten it only gave a small dose, but on the second time it gave it full whack


Wow, it's horrid when your hands and that swell up, I couldn't bend or straighten my finger at all, was gross. 
I think from what I've read on here that they can control how much is injected, so I suppose it's possible that could have happened  Probably depends on how hungry she is at the time lol.


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## Biggys (Jun 6, 2010)

becky89 said:


> Wow, it's horrid when your hands and that swell up, I couldn't bend or straighten my finger at all, was gross.
> I think from what I've read on here that they can control how much is injected, so I suppose it's possible that could have happened  Probably depends on how hungry she is at the time lol.


Ouch :gasp:,

and aww how old is she ?


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## becky89 (Nov 24, 2009)

Biggys said:


> Ouch :gasp:,
> 
> and aww how old is she ?


She's a 2010 baby, not sure when exactly though. Only weighs about 25g, I dread to think what an adult female could do!


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## Biggys (Jun 6, 2010)

becky89 said:


> She's a 2010 baby, not sure when exactly though. Only weighs about 25g, I dread to think what an adult female could do!


Aww :lol2:, and yeah don't get bitten by her lol, it will be sore, even if it is a dry bite, she will still have bigger teeth :lol2:


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## becky89 (Nov 24, 2009)

Biggys said:


> Aww :lol2:, and yeah don't get bitten by her lol, it will be sore, even if it is a dry bite, she will still have bigger teeth :lol2:


:lol2: Yup I'm trying to get her out of the biting before she gets that big lol! That will sting so bad lol.


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## Biggys (Jun 6, 2010)

becky89 said:


> :lol2: Yup I'm trying to get her out of the biting before she gets that big lol! That will sting so bad lol.


I bet it will :lol2:, good luck getting her tamed down though


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## becky89 (Nov 24, 2009)

Biggys said:


> I bet it will :lol2:, good luck getting her tamed down though


Hehe thanks  Don't think she's being mean just wants to eat everything :lol2:


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## Biggys (Jun 6, 2010)

becky89 said:


> Hehe thanks  Don't think she's being mean just wants to eat everything :lol2:


Aww bless her, can't complain if she is wanting to eat all the time :lol2:


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## becky89 (Nov 24, 2009)

Biggys said:


> Aww bless her, can't complain if she is wanting to eat all the time :lol2:


I suppose lol but she can be a bit of a nightmare sometimes! Just bites everything when she gets really excited, she was trying to eat my phone once!


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## Biggys (Jun 6, 2010)

becky89 said:


> I suppose lol but she can be a bit of a nightmare sometimes! Just bites everything when she gets really excited, she was trying to eat my phone once!
> 
> image


N'aww she is epicly cute :flrt:


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## becky89 (Nov 24, 2009)

Biggys said:


> N'aww she is epicly cute :flrt:


Hehe thank you  She is creeping her way towards being my favourite lol. Suppose I've gotta love my only girl the most!


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## Biggys (Jun 6, 2010)

becky89 said:


> Hehe thank you  She is creeping her way towards being my favourite lol. Suppose I've gotta love my only girl the most!


Aww I can see why she would be your favorite, she is stunning


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