Inoculation with spitting cobra venom causes severe pain, photophobia, and tearing. Roughly one in two patients develops multiple corneal erosions that could progress to a full corneal ulcer or keratitis, with a risk of perforation or secondary bacterial infection.
Eye Irrigation
If venom is spit into the eyes, immediately and copiously irrigate them with any bland fluid, such as water, saline solution, or milk.
The spat toxungen is generally harmless on intact mammalian skin (although contact can result in delayed blistering of the area), but can cause permanent blindness if introduced to the eye; if left untreated it may cause chemosis and corneal swelling.
The scariest thing about cobras is that some species don't even have to bite you to injure you. They can spit venom a distance of three feet, and they always aim for the eyes. Their venom is a neurotoxin that causes pain and can damage the mucus membrane and cornea. It can even cause blindness.
Like other cobras, spitting cobras will bite attackers in self-defense. Spitting is their signature move, however, and the snakes are crack shots. They can direct a stream of venom into an attacker's face from more than 2 meters away, aiming for the eyes.
Although the king cobra is undoubtedly a very dangerous snake, it prefers to escape unless it is provoked. Despite its aggressive reputation, the king cobra is actually much more cautious than many smaller snakes. The cobra only attacks people when it is cornered, in self-defense or to protect its eggs.
King Cobras Fear the Mongoose
The mongoose preys on the king cobra, and they do so very successfully. Mongooses are very tough customers for cobras because they have a high level of agility.
Inoculation with spitting cobra venom causes severe pain, photophobia, and tearing. Roughly one in two patients develops multiple corneal erosions that could progress to a full corneal ulcer or keratitis, with a risk of perforation or secondary bacterial infection.
Antivenom is the treatment for serious snake envenomation. The sooner antivenom can be started, the sooner irreversible damage from venom can be stopped.
It feels like a lot of sand in the eyes. Horrible feeling. I've unfortunately been spat at a few times in my line of work. I'd like to never experience it again," Evans said.
This is a highly venomous species which should be treated with caution. Typically this snake prefers to avoid confrontation and is not considered 'aggressive', however large adults will stand erect, expand their hood and hiss loudly if feeling threatened.
Myth: Snakes remember you if you hurt them. Fact: Snakes are not vengeful animals and do not have the necessary intelligence to remember people or places for getting revenge.
Sea snake venom is extremely stable. Research has shown that boiling for 30 minutes and dissolving venom in both acidic and basic solutions to a pH range of 1 to 11, respectively, did not significantly change LD50 levels after administration in rats.
The only standardized specific treatment currently available for neutralizing the medically important effects of snake venom toxins is antivenom [8,9,12].
Venoms are generally not toxic if swallowed, and must be injected under the skin (by snakes, spiders, etc.) into the tissues that are normally protected by skin in order to be toxic. However, we do NOT recommend drinking venom!
“Most snakebites, even cobra bites, are not fatal.” Whitaker said. “But any snakebite must be treated as a medical emergency. “The single most important thing to do is to get to a hospital without any delay. Do not resort to any local or home remedy because there is only one cure for a snakebite and that is antivenom.”
The bite of the Common Cobra with envenomation can be rapidly fatal (possibly as early as 60 minutes). Please read the attached Medical Management Protocol and respond appropriately.
If there's a family of snakes you don't want to anger, it would be the vipers. While these snakes don't always have the most deadly bites, they have the most painful ones. Van Wallach of the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology has had several viper bites; the worst one, he said, "came from an African bush viper.
Despite their name, these snakes don't actually spit their venom. They spray the venom by squeezing their muscles on the venom glands, forcing the venom out of front openings in the fangs.
Spotting a snake
Snakes don't really have an odor and don't really make sounds so it would be impossible to smell them or hear them. There is a myth out there that snakes smell like cucumbers but unfortunately they don't smell that good,” Sollenberger said.
Mozambique Spitting Cobra (Naja mossambica) spitting its venom in defense. Spitting cobras spit venom towards the eyes of humans or animals to defend themselves against a perceived threat. Some believe that spitting cobras developed their method of attack specifically to deal with human beings.
A human can collapse within 45 minutes of a Black Mamba bite. Without treatment it can take 7 to 15 hours for a Black Mamba bite to kill you. The sooner a person is treated after the bite, the better his chances of survival. A Black Mamba antidote is administered where necessary, but some people may be allergic.
Despite their powerful venom and ability to kill 11 humans with a single bite, cobras are very shy. They don't wish to bite, and only do so when threatened or endangered in any way.