Dry bite of Snake venom

 

Dry bite Snake venom	Comment	Country	References
Definition	Failure to inject venom while biting	Denmark and Brazil.	1
Cause	[1] viral infections, [2] physical agents, [3] traumas during defense,  [4] excessive pressure on the venom glands (i.e., during manual extraction in captivity) [5] any other inflammatory response. [6] venom gland tissue damage will result in empty venom glands and, consequently, in dry bites.  [7]. Calcification of fangs and obstruction of the secondary venom ducts. [8]. Aged snakes often present these alterations	Denmark and Brazil.	1
Rate	18%	India	2
	Viperids (14.7%)    Elapids (14.5%)	Denmark and Brazil.	1
	19%	Turkey	3
	Rattlesnake 42.9%	Brazil.	4
	25—50%	Denmark and Brazil.	1
Diagnosis	The diagnosis of a dry bite is generally made retrospectively, once it has been confirmed that the bite was sustained from a venomous snake and that no envenoming occurred.	Denmark and Brazil.	1
Observe	Some toxins may exert their effects within minutes, while others may require several hours to take effect. Therefore, it is crucial to observe the patient long enough to enable differentiation between delayed onset of toxicity and a dry bite. Usually, clinical manifestations present within 12–24 h (or less) of the bite incident	Costa Rica; Spain, UK, Papua New Guinea, and Australia.	5

 

1.      https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33105644/

2.      https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33311806/

3.      https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17978913/

4.      https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8592769/

5.      https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28905944/

 Edited by Yu-Jang Su   Feb, 7, 2023