Quote:
Originally Posted by Focal X
I was talking to someone a couple months ago that kept venomous and I'm not sure how accurate the info is, but they said antivenom can cost up to five digits. Not a small price to pay for your life if you can come up with it.
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Well, it isn't that simple. The (per vial) cost of antivenom depends on the type of snake, and the total cost is that amount x the total number of vials used. Based on some old pricing (2004, from Miami Dade AV $950/vial) for CroFab, and information on the average total dose (10.9 vials - CroFab); that's $10,450 just for the CroFab....assuming, of course, that one could acquire it for that price. Then, one must keep in mind that CroFab has a shelf life of 30 months when stored properly (at 2-8 degrees Celsius).
Interestingly, while digging around for current pricing, I found that CroFab can be purchased from Drugstore.com....for the pittance of $23,063.18 for 10 (it is unclear whether that is 10 vials, 10 packages of however many vials, or ?....but I suspect that is their per vial cost)
Quote:
Originally Posted by lucille
After reading the article, I am curious about whether antivenin can be kept and given at home.
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Not really feasible, for numerous reasons.
I believe that special permits are required to purchase/possess antivenom (that might be workable)
IV administration (that, too, might be workable, depending)
Product must be reconstituted (which, according to recommended procedure for CroFab, takes about 25 minutes) then diluted. (still possible at home)
Even if the above factors were reasonable, there is still the issue of safety, supportive therapy, and managing side effects. CroFab is very safe, compared to the old Crotalid Polyvalent; but coagulopathy is still a concern in 75% of treated patients, and serum sickness is still a possibility.
That is for the treatment of North American crotalid bites; which are "relatively mild" in comparison to many venomous species. Species with more potent venoms bring a variety of other issues to the table. In cases of a more neurotoxic venom, patients may need to be intubated/ventilated until the venom is neutralized. Also, as mentioned, CroFab is relatively safe....there are greater risks associated with other antivenoms (including anaphylaxis), many of which are not even produced in this country.
My former (business) partner used to tell me about some people he knew that did venom acquisition for research and and antivenom production...I can't say whether it is true or not, but he said that their response plan for some of the snakes they worked with was a large meat cleaver - since their best option was to stop the spread of the venom, rather than risk circulation. Looking back, I'm still not sure if he said that to impress on me the dangers of the snakes we were talking about, or if that was how things were back then