By Urieto Dorothy
Bida
A medical practitioner with the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Bida, Niger state, Dr Chukwu Emmanuel, has advocated the use of Polyvalent Antisnake Venom as a viable medicine in the treatment of snakebite.
“At this period of the year when weather conditions are hot, cases of snake bites are usually recorded in Bida and its environs,’ he said.
Emmanuel, at a lecture in Bida, said quite a large number of deaths being recorded as a result of snake bites were unnecessary and unfortunate, “given the fact that the menace can be easily treated when the right medication is applied at the appropriate time.”
He said though not all snakes were venomous, “most of the ones available in Nigeria are, and should be avoided at all cost.”
He faulted the local idea of sucking snake venom with mouth as usually practised in some society, saying the best option in a snake bite situation “is to get medical help for the victim as soon as possible.”
“Polyvalent has the biggest potential in curing any type of snake venom. It is very active in neutralising the venom as the snake venom by preventing it from forming haemotoxic which affects the blood and neurotoxic which affects the nervous system.”
Emmanuel said the drug had become the last resort for snake bite cure as local snake bite treatment usually done with local herb called garigaja had been proved inefficient.
He said from experience, more than 80% of patients who patronise local herbalists for treatment of snake bites, these days, now end up returning to the hospital where polyvalent is applied as the active ingredient in treating the bites.
According to him, “polyvalent comes in different brands, the one that are very potent can go for as much as N35, 000, but are quite effective when applied.
Speaking on the characteristics and behaviour of snakes, Emmanuel said “snake doesn’t just bite without provocation as it usually does so as a defensive mechanism.”
He urged parents to caution their children against playing in rocky areas or lift stones anyhow, noting that “snakes are cold blooded animal that like hiding under the shade of any sort because of heat.”
