If the evolution of snake venom was driven by natural selection for defence, we would expect to see the same pattern — almost immediate pain that is severe enough to be a deterrent. But is this what happens? There is often severe pain in snakebites , but little was known about the timescale of pain development. If pain occurs long after the bite, it may simply be a side effect of other venom properties, such as tissue damage.
The ideal organism on which to test this idea is a species that is regularly exposed to venomous snakebites from a wide variety of snakes and can communicate precisely the effects of a bite. That model organism is Homo sapiens. In particular, snake keepers, reptile researchers and ecologists who work with them in the field. To tap into the body of collective snakebite experience accumulated by this demographic, Bangor University researcher Harry Ward-Smith designed and distributed a questionnaire asking them about past venomous snakebites, and in particular, how pain developed after a bite.
Respondents were asked to report their pain level on a scale of after one minute and five minutes, and the maximum pain level at any time after the bite.
The purpose was to focus mostly on the timescale of pain development rather than the actual pain levels themselves. The rationale was that while the intensity of pain experienced will vary greatly between people, the timing of when pain develops should be more consistent. Different people may consider a bee sting to be a minor nuisance or unbearable, but everyone agrees that it hurts immediately.
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Snake venom is a term that covers a wide array of different venoms. Some kill quickly while others take time. Most snakes deliver their poison through fangs that operate in a similar method to a syringe.
The exceptions to this are snakes who spit their venom, like the Mozambique spitting cobra Naja mossambica. Since there is such a variety in the venoms, the potential medical applications differ from snake to snake.
Coronary medical conditions are a field where solutions involving toxins taken from snakes are currently employed. The venom gland of a Komodo dragon works differently to that of a snake. This is why their prey continues to bleed out after the attack.
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