@popoolaadaniel It will be great if you can share the guideline(s) that advocate having normal saline around while managing hypertensive crisis. The knowledge gap is indeed too wide.
There is absolutely ZERO scientific evidence that activated charcoal works for snakebite. If administered early, it may be useful for poisons that are swallowed like Paracetamol overdose. Snakebite? Naaa.
I always have activated charcoal at home.
Activated charcoal will not only absorb the poison from snake bites, but it will also neutralize the poison (any poison).
For snake bites, it is crucial to apply it topically as a poultice. Ingesting it is secondaryโdo it in addition to the poultice.
To make an activated charcoal poultice:
1. Mix the charcoal with binder like psyllium husk, or slippery elm, or ground flax seeds that will help retain moisture to help form a paste-like consistency when you add water.
2. Add water.
It is smart to already have a poultice ready-made and stored in your fridge. You can research videos to see how people do theirs. Barbara O'Neill did a very nice video on how to do it without creating a mess.
This is first aid. So you should still go to the hospital for checks afterwards. But this is a crucial first-aid that you should do BEFORE making that journey to the hospital.
Every death is a tragedy, but for us in medicine, also a lesson to find out what went wrong and what we could have done better. While these exercises don't bring back the lost one, it can help us not to lose others
Ove the last few days, we have been rocked by the sudden death of a true rising star, Ifunnaya Nwagene, the lady with the angelic voice due to snakebite. At the same time, social media has been inundated with all sorts of opinions, remedies and treatments. I feel compelled to clear the air on quite a few of the issues raised. By the way, as an expert in ID and tropical medicine, I have seen and managed 100s of cases of snakebite, wrote a dissertation on the topic, published and reviewed articles on this subject. (Photo: Moi with a rock python which we kept as a pet in the doctor's quarters at the snakebite treatment centre!)
@tulipgrrl@DrAaronNew I agree with you. Unfortunately, it seems as if we have developed a sin grading system where some sins demand immediate resignation while others can be managed while remaining in service.