The Sawyer Extractor is the best first aid application for poisonous snake bites as well as insect bites and stings. The Extractor is a venom suction system that removes the venom from the victims bloodstream. The Sawyer Extractor system is also reusable and a definite must have for your Bug Out Bag or other survival gear.
While it is prominently known as a first aid measure for a dangerous snake bite, it is equally effective for relief from mosquito bites or bee stings.
Snake bites are a definite threat in a survival situation and a hospital may not be available, you are going to need all of the help you can get.
From Sawyer:
The Extractor Pump ® Vacuum was designed specifically to provide the most powerful suction available for the safe extraction of venoms and poisons.
Because its Double Chamber Pump action is so powerful you will not need to use the dangerous scalpel blades or knives associated with less effective bite kits. Because it’s a Pump and not a Syringe, it’s easy to use with one hand.
Simply select which of the four plastic cups best covers the bitten area, attach it to the pump, then a simple push of the plunger with your thumb and the Extractor Pump® will quickly and effectively remove venoms and poisons from below your skin. By simply cleaning the cups after each use you may safely reuse the pump over and over again.
Obviously trying to suck the venom out of someones leg, or trying to “bleed them out” is a terrible idea and will do nothing but hurt the victim more. With such a great tool available there is no reason not to have several in your gear.
Specs
The kit comes in a small plastic box that is 5×3 and weighs only 4.8 ounces. They usually run anywhere from 15-25 dollars, but since the system is reusable it is a worthwhile investment. Amazon has the kit for $15.
You can read more about snake bites and uses for the Sawyer Extractor in their Bite and Sting Pamplet (PDF).
Do you have an outdated blade snake bite kit that needs replacing?
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My name is Lucas and I run SurvivalCache along with the help of several great contributing authors. You can read more on the
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
I've really enjoyed your website and it's got a lot of great information. However, I would encourage you to research the true effectiveness of this product. I carried one of these in my first aid kit for years, but was told by an MD specializing in wilderness medicine in a wilderness EMT course that it doesn't work.
This prompted me to do a little research and it seems the MD was correct. There was an experiment published in the Annals of Emergency Medicine (Volume 43, Issue 2, Pages 181-186) which reports that only 2% of total injected venom is removed, which they described as "clinically insignificant". The rest of the fluid seen in the "cup" comes from the patients bodily fluids (blood, plasma, etc.). The report went on to further state that it could increase soft tissue damage, as well as waste valuable time that could be spent on more effective proven treatments.
(Continued – Wouldn't let me put it all in one comment)
I only have a print copy of that article (I'm sure you can find it online, but have included below the link to another source, the Journal of Emergency Nursing, that mentions the same thing. Both of these sources are peer-reviewed and therefore trustworthy.
http://www.jenonline.org/article/PII…9909X/full...
True, it is small and light, so there’s not much drawback to carrying it, but medically, you're probably better off minimizing movement, and applying ice (if available) and pressure and trying to find some sort of definitive medical care.
Sorry to be a pain!
Chandler Getz
Chandler,
First, thanks for following the site!
Secondly, thanks for your insightful comment. You are not being a pain, and I want reader to tell us things like this so we are no recommending bad gear. You have to keep me honest.
While I have not read those clinical reports myself I have heard about them.
I am certainly not a doctor so I can't really weigh in, however from experience I do know that whatever the studies say the extractor does wonders for mosquito, bee, and wasp stings. Fortunately I have never had to use it on a snake bite.
Finally, the Sawyer company is aware of these studies and they take issue with some of the conclusions drawn. Is that just to protect their product? Maybe, but they have some valid points.
I will post their response below.
Thanks again,
Lucas
Reponse from the Sawyer Company regarding clinical studies of their product:
from here: http://www.sawyerproducts.com/controversy.htm
"We would like to make you aware of the origins of the controversy regarding the effectiveness of the Extractor Pump® Kit. Several years ago, there was a study conducted which questioned the effectiveness of the Extractor. Unfortunately, the conclusions drawn from the study significantly exceeded the actual data. Let us explain to you what the proper conclusions from the study should have been, what we did learn, and what should not have been over concluded in a subject that is very difficult to study, snake bites.
In the study, a pig was injected with venom in each thigh. On one thigh they applied the pump for several hours. On the other thigh nothing was done. First they concluded that the swelling on both legs was equal, and therefore, the pump must not have removed venom. Secondly, by leaving the pump on so long the pig developed blood blisters. No necropsy (animal autopsy) was conducted to examine difference in internal damage which may have supported benefits of the pump’s usage.
Understanding how a body reacts to an invasion, one should expect to see equal swelling. Given the relative large amounts of venom injected at each site, the body would send fluids whether or not the pump removed venom. The body wouldn't send more to one thigh than the other because it had 10%, 20%, 30% … more venom than the other, both sites had a large amount of venom injected and the body fought them both.
Secondly, leaving the pump on for several hours (we recommend 10 to 15 minutes) should leave a blood blister. Even without an envenomation the pump can give you a heck of a hickey. However at 10 to 15 minutes the pump would remove whatever it is going to get, and any surface damage heals easily compared to structural damage. Ten to 15 minutes is the medical recommendation.
Lastly, few snake bites actually occur in large muscle mass areas such as a thigh or calf muscle. Most are in the extremities (hand, feet, and ankles) where venom is more easily retrieved."
This has suddenly become something of a hobby of mine and I've been doing a lot of reading on snake bite treatment and the pathophysiology of various venoms. The company does indeed make valid points regarding this particular study. I reviewed this and agree that swelling is a poor way to evaluate the effectiveness. However, the article I quoted in the Annals of Emergency Medicine used an inactive, venom-like substance, marked with a radioactive marker so that it could be distinguished from other fluids, and did this on live, human patients. Basically, they used a snake fang-like syringe to inject a known amount of this substance into people's legs, then tried to use the extractor to suck it back out. They then analyzed the fluids obtained, and determined, using the radioactive marker, what percentage of the obtained fluid was the injected "venom." They found only 2% of the volume of the substance injected was actually recovered.
As for bug bites, the studies seem to support that it does work (Better than Benadryl though?)
Verdict: Good for bugs, not for snakes?
Chandler,
You have researched this a lot more than me, and I will take your word about the results of study because I haven't read them.
Personally I will continue to use the system for bug bites and stings because it works and I avoid taking any type of medication whenever possible.
Also, I will keep one in my bag for snake bites because even if it only removes 2% thats 2% more than it would have and anything I can do to slow it down I am going to do.
Also, since this is a survival websites after all, what if the SHTF and there are no doctors?
Since you have read up on this what do you recommend? If there are other systems out there I am definitely open to suggestions.
Thanks for your comments,
Lucas
I can't say anything as to the efficacy of this for bee stings and bug bites but yeah, as far as snake bites go it's a waste of time/money. Snakes that are deadly to humans can inject the venom deep enough that 1) the extractor isn't going to do a good job of sucking it out and 2) it allows the venom to travel through the body very fast meaning that most of it will be dispersed before you can even get the suction device in place and working. Sucking out snake venom (or any venom really) is a complete myth. The only thing you can really do is keep the limb of the bite lowered, calm down as much as possible and get anti-venom as soon as possible.
Frankly in a situation where anti-venom cannot be obtained in a timely manner you're pretty much screwed unless you get lucky and the bite did not inject enough venom to kill you.
The best thing to do is not approach any snakes you see, wear high hiking boots and pay attention to where you're walking. Most people who get bitten are either unaware of their surrounds and do not see the snake or are stupid and approach the snake and try to catch it or touch it. It's also not a bad idea to familiarize yourself with the species in your area, of the 50 US states only three do not have native venomous species(Alaska, Maine and Hawaii).