Recent science on treatment of OWT bites

[maroonZB]

This recent toxicology study in mice may prove useful to the crazy members here who like to handle their OWTs:
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0041010117302490

 

[MetalMan2004]

I don’t recognize the names of any of those effective drugs, but my question is are any of those present in OTC drugs?

 

[boina]

I don’t recognize the names of any of those effective drugs, but my question is are any of those present in OTC drugs?

Short answer: No.

Interestingly those drugs that work are anti-epileptic and anti-psychotic drugs, not simple muscle relaxants or the like. I'd be very careful demanding them after a Poecilotheria bite since it has been proven time and again that mice are not men, especially when it comes to pharmacology, and those drugs have some serious side effects.

 

[maroonZB]

Short answer: No.

Interestingly those drugs that work are anti-epileptic and anti-psychotic drugs, not simple muscle relaxants or the like. I'd be very careful demanding them after a Poecilotheria bite since it has been proven time and again that mice are not men, especially when it comes to pharmacology, and those drugs have some serious side effects.

I generally agree with that principle but am inclined to think that for something that's relatively conserved across mammals like sodium channels, the compounds effective in mice are likely to be effective in humans.

It is also notable that the trial medications were chosen based on preexisting knowledge of venom mechanisms:

In order to choose drugs that may significantly mitigate symptoms of P. fasciata envenomation we used several approaches. First, literature search revealed that
benzodiazepines and/or calcium salts are often used in cases of tarantula bites (Fuchs et al., 2014). We therefore included diazepam and CaCl2 in our set. Second, since the mode of P. fasciata venom action is unknown, we draw analogy with venoms of other tarantulas and concluded that peptides acting on voltage-gated sodium and potassium channels are likely responsible for the venom effect on both mice and humans. For this reason four other drugs, namely flupirtine, lamotrigine, tolperisone, and oxcarbazepine, were chosen for the study since they target the above-mentioned ion channels. Third, since motor stereotypy in mice resembled an allergic reaction, two antihistamines, ketotifen and chloropyramine, were included into the study; and atropine was chosen because of its parasympathetic effects. Fourth, haloperidol and chlorpromazine were tested because of the central mode of their action. Fifth, ethanol was chosen because a number of tarantula bites were reported when the patient consumed alcohol, so it was interesting to check if it mitigated or aggravated envenomation symptoms. And finally, a veterinary clonidine analog xylazine was also included into the set because of mammal pets bite cases, its wide use in animals and similarity to clonidine.

 

[Andrea82]

Short answer: No.

Interestingly those drugs that work are anti-epileptic and anti-psychotic drugs, not simple muscle relaxants or the like. I'd be very careful demanding them after a Poecilotheria bite since it has been proven time and again that mice are not men, especially when it comes to pharmacology, and those drugs have some serious side effects.

Additionally, a lot of these drugs also need time to work optimally, if I remember correctly, with the exception of diazepam. Wouldn't do much good if something is needed to stop the effects of the venom right away.
Over sensitivity or allergic response must also be considered with some of these medications. Angio-edema can get very serious, very fast.
Nice find nonetheless, any additional info on venom is always appreciated