Myth #3: Tase the Bite Victim
Wait… huh? Some you may think this sounds insane, and we don’t blame you. Some other readers, however, enjoy learning about alternative or contrarian health remedies that lie squarely outside of the mainstream…
The background of this myth stems from a missionary doctor in South America named Dr Ronald Guderian. While working in Ecuador, he witnessed locals administering this form of “treatment” with jumper cables and stun guns. He sent the findings of the 34 experimental cases to a medical journal, it got picked up by the NYT and others.
Basically, the rumor mill cranked up to full speed, and despite getting debunked by numerous studies, this “theory” is still hanging around. Several companies that sell taser-type devices are happy to perpetuate this idea, of course.
The fact is that there is no scientific evidence to support using stun guns to treat snake bites. In addition, shocking people like this can be very dangerous, particularly the elderly, children, and people with pre-existing conditions (including venomous SNAKE BITES).
So, now that you have the real dirt on some of the controversial snake bite remedies, let’s look at the more pragmatic approach.