People sometimes ask why our snake bite kit doesn't include a venom extractor. Short answer: because they don't work.
If you google snake bite treatment you might stumble upon venom extractors, promising to remove venom. We don't supply these. We never have, and we never will. Here's the evidence, so you can judge it yourself.
What the research found
The key study, published by Alberts and colleagues in Annals of Emergency Medicine in 2004, tested extraction on a human model. The result: the device removed almost nothing. The fluid that came out was mostly blood and tissue fluid; analysis associated with this research found it contained a tiny fraction of the venom, and the study concluded suction removed bodily fluids while leaving the venom where it was.
Two organisations dedicated to snakebite medicine have turned that evidence into blunt public positions.
The Asclepius Snakebite Foundation, a group of snakebite physicians and researchers, calls venom extractors useless and potentially harmful, noting the fluid extracted in testing contained roughly one ten-thousandth of the venom concentration, effectively nothing.
National Snakebite Support, run by medical toxicologists including Dr Spencer Greene, puts it even more directly: "Not only are they a waste of money, they are HARMFUL." Their published position notes extractors remove almost no venom, no more than 2% in one study, while causing suction injuries to the tissue around the bite.
Why suction can't work
It's not a manufacturing problem, it's anatomy. Venom isn't sitting in a pocket under the skin waiting to be pulled back out. Fangs are curved, so there's no straight channel to suck along, and venom disperses into the tissue and lymphatic system within moments of the bite. A cup on the skin can't reach it. What suction can do is damage the tissue around the bite and waste the minutes that matter.
That last part is the real cost. Every minute spent fiddling with a pump is a minute the person is not still, not on the phone to 000 and not bandaged.
What works instead
For Australian snake bite, ANZCOR's guidelines are clear: call 000, keep the person completely still, apply a firm elasticised pressure bandage from the fingers or toes up the limb covering the bite site and up the entire limb, splint it, and wait for help. Pressure and immobilisation slow the venom's movement through the lymphatic system. We've written up the evidence on pressure bandages too. It's also the entire design brief of our Snake Bite KIT: two long SMART Bandages with printed indicators that show optimal pressure (stretch until the rectangles become squares), a splint, and instructions anyone can follow. Everything in the kit is there because the guidelines and the people who treat snake bites say it belongs. Here's what's actually in a proper snake bite kit.
The same logic is why you won't find other folklore in our kits either: no tourniquets for snake bite, nothing for cutting or washing the wound. ANZCOR sets the rules, we follow them.
Evidence-led is the whole brand
SURVIVAL has been making first aid simple since 1988, and our kits are developed in conjunction with medical and snake experts. When the evidence is this one-sided, being evidence-led is easy: leave the pump out, put a better bandage in. If you own an old kit with an extractor in it, our honest advice is to bin the extractor and check your bandages are elasticised and long enough to cover a limb. If they're not, that's the upgrade worth making before snake season peaks.
Frequently asked questions
Do venom extractors work on snake bites? No. Research found they remove almost no venom, and snakebite medicine organisations including the Asclepius Snakebite Foundation and National Snakebite Support describe them as useless and harmful.
What should I do instead of suction for a snake bite? Follow ANZCOR guidance: call 000, keep the person still, apply a firm pressure bandage up the whole limb, splint it, and wait for help.
Sources
Alberts MB et al, "Suction for venomous snakebite: a study of 'mock venom' extraction in a human model", Annals of Emergency Medicine, 2004. Asclepius Snakebite Foundation, "Snakebite Kits and Venom Extractors Do Not Work" (Jordan Benjamin). National Snakebite Support education pages (Dr Spencer Greene). ANZCOR Guidelines 9.4.1 and 9.4.8.