Experienced something new today... Raina was with me in the garden this morning and got bit on her ear by a copperhead snake (venomous). She's all good now but wanted to share the story, as a helpful reference to keep in your back pocket!
Raina has always been great at keeping her distance and barking for us when she comes across a rattlesnake. Due to this previous experience, I was never worried that she'd get bit by a venomous snake.
Right after it happened, I was in disbelief, shock and mentally begun to spiral... I frantically started looking up articles “what to do about copperhead/venomous snake bites” while sitting with her and trying to calm her down. Every article and website I found talked about how fatal it would be if I did not act fast and rush her to a vet.
I was skimming a few articles of this nature while watching the fang puncture area grow fatter and fatter, spreading wider and further every passing minute. I paused and remembered a few years back a woman had told me that “you can cure any venomous bite with vitamin C”. Back then, we bought some liquid vitamin C to have on hand just in case, though I never took the time to research that theory further. I just thought, "ah what the hell, this stuff is so cheap and doesn't hurt to have on hand...". As soon as that memory rose to the surface (about 20-25 minutes after the incident), we gave her a 1 tablespoon oral dose. In doing so, I had the attitude of “might as well try”, and wasn't all that confident or committed to the belief that Vitamin C would be the end all be all "cure for venomous bites". So I continued to research thereafter. Not a single article of the dozens I read had the slightest mention of Vitamin C, even when I specifically went looking for it.
Skeptical, and highly aware of every minute passing by, I decided to call our nearest vet (which is an hour from us). They gave me the advice to give her a Benadryl and ice it for the drive over to them... we gave her the Benadryl and opted out of going to the vet. We iced it for a few minutes and Raina tried her best to make it known that it was doing more harm than good for her, so we stopped. Upon further investigation, her reaction was on point.... you are not suppose to apply ice to fresh snake bites. ugh...why would they encourage that, if thats the case?
Lo and behold, just 15 minutes after that dose of Vitamin C, she stopped wincing and whining. She quit trying to shake her head (which she had previously been aggressively doing) and the swelling area ceased to expand - within 30 minutes of giving her the oral dose of vitamin C, her beaver tail paddle of an ear began to reduce in swelling. She was beginning to relax and when the benadryl kicked in, she was able to sleep it off. 7 hours later, the swelling was about 70% down. We were utterly amazed how quick that soothed and aided her. Just Vitamin C and a single benadryl post venomous bite, and she was good. Pheeeww!!
I was able to reconnect and thank the woman who originally suggested the Vitamin C to us and she said that she learned about it through Pat Coleby's books. She said Vitamin C injections work even faster + stronger if it had been more severe. Good for all animals and humans, too. Good to know!!
I understand that there are many factors at play (response time, location of bite etc.) as to why this may have worked in her case, but the simple fact that it DID work, remains. I am not saying it WILL work for you, but that it CAN. That’s why I believe this story is worth sharing. Share it with others and go get yourself some liquid Vitamin C to keep in your cupboards incase you or a loved creature gets poked by the wrong fangs.
Although I am SO GRATEFUL for this outcome, I cant help but be disturbed by the fact that there is such a simple, cheap and widely accessible solution that "vet experts" and others fail to mention anywhere. We must collectively learn how to become resourceful, practice self reliance, and lean on our own intuition... I can't tell you how many times my own personal commitment to self-reliance has been tested since weve moved out into the rural countryside, but I am so grateful for each experience and lesson that has come out of it. When life dishes you challenging circumstances, there is almost always a moment where you want to seek external/conventional help, a deeply engrained default mechanism. But in my own learned experience, outsourcing said "help", especially from those who are not actually invested in your well being, is a massive disservice to yourself.
We must share with one another our own experiences of both success and failure if we want true information these days. May our ears listen to the humble stories of our peers.
Feel free to write me if you have a story you'd like to share. My ears are ready to listen