Coghlan's Snake Bite Kit Review

''There's a snake on the trail!'' ''What kind?''  ''He's big and mean!''  Those are the words I heard on a recent hike. We had seen all the signs warning about snakes, but I didn't give it much thought until we actually encountered one. Although the snake we saw was a non-poisonous bull snake, it startled me, and got me thinking about what I would do if I were bitten by a venomous snake.

Although bites from venomous snakes are relatively rare, and death from snakebites is extremely rare, who wants to be one of the few unlucky ones to succumb to a snake bite?  With that in mind I decided to pick-up Coghlan's Snake Bite Kit, which is a basic first aid kit for poisonous snake bites. For just $5 it seemed like a good insurance policy.

Coghlan's Snake Bite Kit is contained in a lightweight 3" long rubber cylinder that opens in the middle. Each interior end of the cylinders can be used as a suction cup (more on that later). The kit also contains a constrictor to slow blood flow through a limb, a scalpel, antiseptic, and directions that tell about symptoms of a venomous snake bite and how to use the kit.

The kit makes note that someone bitten by a poisonous snake needs professional medical care as soon as possible. Also, antivenin should be the first treatment choice. But if such medicinal remedies are not readily available, that's when you should use this kit.

Coghlan's Snake Bite Kit explains that the victim of a snake bite should remain calm and immobilized, with the bitten area kept below the level of the heart. If they have to walk, movement should be very slow with frequent stops. You don't want their heartbeat accelerated, which would help spread of the venom through their system.

The first aid kit direction explain how to apply antiseptic to the wounds, clean the scalpel, gently apply the constrictor, and extract some of the venom. Your goal is to remove as much of the venom as possible while medical care is being sought. This should only be done if medical care is not readily available.

I think the Coghlan's Snake Bite Kit is a decent product, but it provides only temporary and minimal treatment for a venomous snake bite. The directions are good, but they are written in very small type on a flimsy piece of paper. I could see the directions easily getting lost when opening up the kit in a panic. Overall I would recommend having a Coghlan Snake Bite Kit, since it's better than no treatment at all if Mr. Rattlesnake decides to lay his fangs into someone.