Adder bite in dogs
Nicola Bates
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
The European adder is not aggressive and only bites when provoked. Local effects include localised painful swelling often occurring within minutes of the bite. There may also be systemic effects with mental status changes and sometimes shock, coagulopathy, renal, hepatic or cardiac effects. Adder antivenom if indicated, depending on severity and location of the bite, is the most specific treatment and is expected to reduce morbidity with rapid improvement of swelling and reduce hospitalisation time. Other treatment is supportive with analgesia, intravenous fluids and antihistamines. Adder envenomation causes significant morbidity but low mortality.
Subscribe to get full access to The Veterinary Nurse
Thank you for vising The Veterinary nurse and reading our archive of expert clinical content. If you would like to read more from the leading peer-reviewed journal for veterinary nurses, you can start your subscription today for just £26.
Subscribing will enable you to:
- Stay up-to-date with current thinking and best practice in veterinary medicine
- Enhance your knowledge and understanding of all key clinical topics
- Achieve the mandatory requirement of 45 hours' documented CPD over a three-year period