Researching Snake Bites

I researched many wounds on the internet to give me ideas, some of the photos which I found inspirational and useful I have uploaded below. These wounds are created with Special Effects Make-Up and I feel they relate well to my chosen wound Snake Bite.

  

I then watched a documentary about snakes on YouTube called Dangerous Snake Bite Video Documentary which gave me a great insight to all the different types of snakes and how deadly they are.

A snake will only bite in defense, only if it feels threatened. They smell with their tongue and hear with their body. Every reptile decended from the same ansester and this ansester led to two groups of animals, turtles and all other reptiles. All through the age of the dinosaurs and during the emergents of lizards, snakes were nowhere to be seen but there were legless lizards and it was from these that snakes evolved.
For 10 million years they have been living side by side with other reptiles and there are more than 2,500 different species of snake. Snakes move very quickly due to their skull, backbone and a lot of ribs. The snakes leave ridges in the ground which helps them to push against to repel themselves forward.

There are  two types of snake bite which are dry bites and venomous bites. Dry bites are where the snake injects no venom where as venomous bites are where the snake injects the venom.

Snake Venom - This is a poison secreted by animals for either defensive or offensive purposes. It came from digestive enzymes that were originally located in the stomach.

Venom types - Snake venom can be divided into two categories, which are hemotoxicity and neurotoxicity.

Hemotoxic venom - This effects the blood and organs causing breakdown or inflammation in the body. The most painful as breathing hurts and tissues start to die.

Neurotoxic venom - This effects the nervous system, leading to everything from seizures to death. So therefore, these are the most deadly.

I also researched some of the worlds deadliest/venomous snakes:

Rattle Snake - These are easily identifiable by the tell tale rattle on the end of its tail. They are a part of the pit viper family and are capable of striking at up to 2/3rd their body length. They are the most venomous species in North America. Their tongue constantly tastes the air scenting for pray. Its body senses ground vibrations even the footsteps of a mouse and they easily sense body heat. Juveniles are more dangerous than adults due to their inability to control the amount of venom injected. Most rattlesnakes have hemotoxic venom.

http://www.theguardian.com/education/2012/sep/10/improbable-research-snakebite-electric-shock

Sea Snake - These can be mistaken for an eel. Most snakes can swim although they need a breath of air at the surface of the sea every now and then. Snakes are silent and efficient killers in the sea or on land.

http://www.divetrip.com/phot0410c.htm

Death Adder - These are found in Australia and New Guinea and they hunt and kill other snakes. They have triangular shaped heads and short, squat bodies. They inject about 40-100mg of venom with an LD of 0.4mg-0.5mg/kg. These snake bites are one of the most dangerous bites if untreated because the venom is a neurotoxin. Symptoms will usually appear within 24-48 hours.

http://www.snakecatchers.com.au/Common_Death_Adder.php

Vipers - These are found throughout most of the world and the most venomous is the saw scaled viper and the chain viper. These snakes are very quick tempered and nocturnal. They also move very fast and have venom that causes symptoms, such as, pain at the site of bite, swelling immediately after, bleeding, blistering and drop in blood pressure and heart rate.

http://dailynewsdig.com/venomous-snakes-adopt-pet/

Philippine Cobra - This snakes venom is the most deadly of all the cobra species as they are capable of spitting it up to 3 metres. The venom is neurotoxin but the bite itself causes only minimal tissue damage. The symptoms include headache, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhoea, dizziness and collapsing.

http://news-fly.com/top-ten-poisonous-snakes-in-the-world/

Tiger Snake - These are found in Australia and have a very potent neurotoxic venom. Death from a bite can occur within 30 minutes but would normally take 6-24 hours. These snakes will normally flee if encountered and they can become aggressive when cornered. The symptoms can be pain in the foot and neck area, tingling, numbness and sweating.

http://australianmuseum.net.au/tiger-snake

Anaphylaxis/Anaphylactic shock - This is a severe allergic reaction which can sometimes occur after being bit by a snake. The reaction will either appear immediately or a few hours after. If anaphylaxis is left untreated then it can be life threatening so it is extremely important for it to be treated as a medical emergency.

The symptoms of anaphylaxis are:

• itchy skin with hives and redness
• swollen face, lips, tongue and throat
• swelling in the throat that can cause breathing difficulties
• wheezing and difficulty breathing
• rapid heartbeat
• nausea, vomiting and diarrhea 

Anaphylaxis can also cause a drop in blood pressure which can lead to shock and cause symptoms such as:

• dizziness or mental confusion
• faintness, loss of consciousness or collapsing
• cold and clammy skin
• blindness

Websites

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kz0Xrc1xygM

http://reptilis.net/serpentes/venom.html

http://listverse.com/2011/03/30/top-10-most-venomous-snakes/

http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/bites-snake/pages/symptoms.aspx

Images

 https://www.pinterest.com/emilypetosa/special-effects-make-up/

https://www.pinterest.com/pmtslombard/halloween-looks/

http://itashleys-makeup.deviantart.com/art/infected-staples-264013294