Antivenin is the name given to an immune system-boosting agent used for acute help against snakebites. The preparation is enriched with antibodies. In this way, the harmful ingredients of the venom in the organism can be neutralized or even eliminated.
What is antivenin?
Antivenin is the name given to an immune system-boosting agent used for acute help against snakebites. Contact with wild animals may not be too common in this country. However, for zoologists or biologists, contact with snakes and scorpions is possible. Likewise, even in the local latitudes, a few species of reptiles living in nature can inject a harmful to health to – in very high doses – deadly poison through the bite into the body of humans. Antivenin is supposed to help against the symptoms that occur as a result. Its components are obtained directly from the venom of snakes and scorpions. The antibodies contained in the serum can bind the harmful venoms in the bloodstream – administration is usually intravenous. However, depending on the form of the preparation, the enzymes contained in it will also access the nerve cells, organs and blood cells. Thus, the application possibilities reach a wide spectrum.
Pharmacological action
The antivenin helps by the high number of antibodies bound in liquid. These are obtained from the venom of reptiles and then used therapeutically. The desired effect usually occurs after only a few minutes. The entire process of binding the toxins by the antibodies and removing them from the organism can take several hours. The treatment itself may therefore be comparatively simple. However, it is more complex to establish an individual diagnosis. It is not uncommon, for example, to find some 300 to 400 different types of toxins in occupational risk groups. A suitable preparation therefore had to be developed against each of them. It follows that antivenin is available on the market in multiple compositions and dosages. Therefore, it must be administered by a physician. Even misuse can cause further health problems for the affected person or increase the effect of the venom injected by the snake. Any bite by reptiles must be examined and treated by a specialist.
Medical application and use
For use, antivenin is mainly used against snake bites and scorpion stings. Basically, two types of the serum have developed in this regard. The monovalent antivenin is administered when the species of the reptile is specifically known and only this one species has been biting or stinging. On the other hand, it may also happen that at the moment of wound infliction it was not exactly known which snake species was involved – and whether it is venomous. In these cases, on the other hand, a polyvalent antivenin is injected. It combines the antibodies of several snake and scorpion venoms. Consequently, it should be possible to bind a wider range of possible toxins. However, the effect of the latter polyvalent agent may start with time delays compared to monovalent antivenin and thus take significantly longer to eliminate the toxins. In further application, a preventive use against certain reptile bites is also conceivable and is made especially before traveling to distant countries.
Risks and side effects
In administration, however, antivenin proves to be not entirely harmless. Basically, it can be rejected by the body and in this respect itself trigger an allergic reaction in the organism. This is generally recorded as serum sickness and characterizes the condition in which the affected person reacts negatively to an agent injected into him. In a few cases, it also results in a state of shock. It can cause death if left untreated. More often, however, the patient complains of high blood pressure, circulatory collapse or a spontaneously occurring fever. Antivenin is therefore used relatively rarely. Only in the presence of a clearly definable snake venom, where other remedies are excluded, can it be administered. In addition to the medical indication, however, the overall health of the patient must always be taken into account in order to avoid the aforementioned side effects.
