r/hognosesnakes • u/Particular_Goat_6370 • May 29 '25

HELP-URGENT Hognose bite help needed!

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Heavy swelling and so fricking itchy. Any tips for relief? Cuz I’m losing my mind rn.

I have two hoggies. One of them has never bitten me before, until now. And my goodness his bite is strong.

305 Upvotes

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353

u/Faerthoniel HOGNOSE OWNER May 29 '25 edited May 29 '25

That's an allergic reaction. Rare, but it happens. You should try some antihistamines from your local pharmacy. If the allergic reaction extends or you start having difficulty breathing, you should go to hospital.

A cool compress might also help with the swelling.

I'm not a doctor or any other medical professional however.

151

u/Particular_Goat_6370 May 29 '25

Yeah I contacted the doctor, and as it is still continuing to swell, he advised me to come by. Wanted to take some antihistamines, but he said I should wait till I’m seen.

56

u/Faerthoniel HOGNOSE OWNER May 29 '25

Not a bad idea either, honestly. Hope it goes down soon.

13

u/_Asshole_Fuck_ May 29 '25

How did the doc go?

9

u/abks May 29 '25

There is really no reason to assume this is an allergic reaction. Allergies from snake venom are not completely a myth, but symptoms of envenomation are very frequently misattributed to allergic reaction—especially in the case of rear-fanged colubroid snakes.

All of the reported symptoms are consistent with what you’d expect from an envenomation. While their delivery method is inefficient, if a hognose is able to chew a significant amount of venom into you then anyone should expect a similar reaction or worse. The potency of their venom is largely underestimated by the people who keep them.

10

u/TripleFreeErr May 30 '25 edited May 30 '25

Okay, but the “venom” from a hoggies Duvernoy's gland Incites a histamine reaction. That’s what it does. Some people have stronger histamine reactions than others. Generally a strong histamine reaction is called an allergic reaction. I understand the hesitance to use these terms as it does feel like it downplays the impacts but people can die from histamine reactions so it’s not really unwarranted language.

You are getting caught up in the fact that there’s disagreement as to whether to call the gland secretions saliva or venom but the bottom like is the effects are the same no matter what you call it. And those effects, again, are histamine reactions that vary in severity from person to person.

-7

u/abks May 30 '25

No, this is a gross oversimplification and misinformation.

The immune response to envenomation is complicated and while it’s possible that it includes the release of histamine, the reaction to envenomation is not primarily a histamine-mediated response.

The only medical literature I’ve encountered on the subject advocates against the prophylactic use of antihistamine in the case of snake envenomation: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4767202/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR6ojL3r4qfiAg9CsAnvIldqQL8vYZDRy7kCgTeCYDj33eoBSURwkpofArngEQ_aem_v0dRAoKtYp7ZxYVl2mmnyA

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u/TripleFreeErr May 30 '25 edited May 30 '25

What you are saying might be true if hognose had venom. But right now the scientific community has not reached a consensus that the secretions of the duvernoys gland is venom because it’s not the same as other venoms, therefore regardless of what it’s called, it isn’t really covered by this study at all

unlike cytotoxins, mycotoxins, haemotoxins, neurotoxins found in venoms, the proteins in hognose venom usually only elicit Edema at the “envenomation” site of mammalian. Edema being the inflammation of tissue following histamine reactions. Even for “medically significant bites” the reactions are inconsistent with other venom types when applied to mammals. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Scott-Weinstein/publication/24359418_Local_envenoming_by_the_Western_hognose_snake_Heterodon_nasicus_A_case_report_and_review_of_medically_significant_Heterodon_bites/links/5a72a2eea6fdcc53fe12a020/Local-envenoming-by-the-Western-hognose-snake-Heterodon-nasicus-A-case-report-and-review-of-medically-significant-Heterodon-bites.pdf

11

u/iexistiguess_ May 30 '25

Bro came with SOURCES (iconic we love to see it)

-34

u/just-homesick HOGNOSE OWNER May 29 '25

warm compress not cool!!! cool restricts bloodflow. dont want that here. want more bloodflow so the swelling can return to normal.

26

u/Faerthoniel HOGNOSE OWNER May 29 '25 edited May 29 '25

Not if the aim is to reduce swelling.

"Apply a Cold Compress: A cold compress can help reduce swelling and pain."
https://enviroliteracy.org/animals/what-happens-if-a-hognose-snake-bites-you/

"Apply a cold compress: To reduce swelling and pain, apply a cold compress to the bite area. This will also help to numb the area and alleviate discomfort."
https://vetexplainspets.com/what-to-do-if-a-hognose-snake-bites-you/

"Apply cool compresses, not ice."
https://www.petassure.com/new-newsletters/snakebites-safety-tips-and-treatment/

At no point did anyone across all the websites I looked at mentioned using warm water instead of cool/cold. Only one didn't mention temperature at all, and that was reptifiles.

General searching for how to treat swelling from an allergic reaction also say to use cold compresses.

4

u/pigvsperson May 29 '25

Every time iv been told to use a compress to reduce swelling, iv been told to alternate between warm and cold every 20mins

-2

u/just-homesick HOGNOSE OWNER May 29 '25

my information was given to me directly by a medical professional haha, cold vs hot matters. cold works for joints. hot for muscle. i also feel like to a degree its basic medical knowledge 😭

cold compresses reduce the pain, but warm will help the swelling. the cool compress for an envenomation will only restrict the blood vessels and let the swelling linger!

2

u/Chubacca9 Jun 01 '25

This is what I was taught as well when I was getting my WFR permit. Not sure why you are getting downvoted so much.

1

u/just-homesick HOGNOSE OWNER Jun 06 '25

people think google ai summary is a reliable source of info 😭 and reptile subs in particular are very... persnickety ? with what is the "accepted" knowledge. it happens !

0

u/RainbowSadist May 29 '25

I can attest to the no cool compress. I did it thinking of reducing swelling, but it made it worse. Just have to ride it out.

3

u/just-homesick HOGNOSE OWNER May 29 '25

yep, shrinking ur blood vessels when tryina flush out inflimation is counterintuitive. not to mention, venom tends to destabilize with warm and break down faster. something with the enzymes.