Snake Venom Detection Test Kit 3 Pack

About Snake Venom Detection Kits (VDKs)

• Apositive VDKresult isnot an indication for antivenom.
  Venom detected at the bite site may be present in insufficient quantity in the circulation to cause significant illness.
• Anegative VDKresultdoes not mean that envenomation has not occurred.
  The venom may have been washed off or diluted at the bite site, or may not have reached the urine, but still be present in the circulation.
• Bite site swabs are considered to be the most reliable sample for use in venom detection kits.
  Venom may also be obtained from clothing, or even from the fangs of dead snakes.
  Notethat very high concentrations of venom in the sample may cause inaccuracies in the venom detection kit result.If this occurs, the sample should be diluted and the test repeated.
• Blood and urine samples may also be used in the venom detection kit, but are generally thought to be less reliable than bite site swabs.Urine in particular may be used if there has been some delay in presentation, or if no bite site can be identified.
• Venom Detection Kits should be used in conjunction with other information (such as clinical presentation, knowledge of snakes in the geographic area, identification of snakes brought to hospital with the patient) to determine which antivenom to use if the patient is significantly envenomed.If a reliable identification cannot be made,then polyvalent snake antivenom (or the appropriate combination of monovalent antivenoms in Victoria and Tasmania) should be used.