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FACT BRIEF

Is Benadryl a helpful first-aid treatment for venomous snakebites?

By Sarah Thompson
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NO

A social media post circulating since July 2019 tells an anecdotal story of a person, bitten by a rattlesnake, who purportedly was treated with Benadryl in the emergency room of an unnamed hospital.

But the anecdote about using Benadryl as part of first-aid care for a snakebite victim is not supported by evidence or current advice from toxicology experts.

The Snakebite Foundation, a nonprofit international group of doctors who provide training and establish clinics in areas where snakebites are a serious public health threat, says on its website that Benadryl is ineffective for treating a venomous bite for several reasons.

Dr. Spencer Greene, author of an article on snakebite management, spelled out one such reason: "Benadryl is an antihistamine. Histamine is not a major component of snake venom, so antagonizing the effects of histamine accomplishes nothing."

See a full discussion of this at Lead Stories
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Asclepius Snakebite Foundation Benadryl does not fix snakebites
Alabama Herpetological Society Snake Bite Management
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Lead Stories
Lead Stories is a fact checking and debunking website at the intersection of big data and journalism that launched in 2015. It scouts for trending stories, images, videos and posts that contain false information in order to fact check them as quickly as possible. It actively monitors the fake-news ecosystem and doesn’t wait for reader tips or reports before getting started on a story.
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About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.