Western hognose bite

Hi there,

My adult western hognose just bit me about 25 minutes ago, and my finger is starting to swell.. He was only on my finger for around 50 seconds or so. I know that their bite isn't life threatening, but I'm getting a little nervous because my whole index finger has turned really fat and hard, an the swelling is starting to spread into my hand. What should I do? Any help is appreciated.

Thanks

I'd go to urgent care. Sounds like an allergic reaction. If the whole hand is swelling It's safest to go get it checked out.

This happens to about half or do who get bit. Swelling and some discomfort. If you have benadryl or the like, I would take some. That's essentially all the urgent care facility will do. The swelling should be gone completely after about 48 hours.

Remove any constrictor bands from the bitten hand (this includes rings on adjacent fingers, bracelets, etc). Monitor it over the course of the next few hours. Take benadryl to kick the swelling down some and reduce the reaction speed. My wife was hit hard by our Western last year and we had to take her wedding band off due to the intense swelling. Treated it like a mild venomation. All in all it was cleared up in 72 hours for her. Stiffness in her hand stuck around through the entire time. Swelling made it all the way to the wrist before it got better. Worst case scenario it will itch / discomfort / nausea. If you feel worse about it, check out an urgent care especially if you have insurance since the cost is cheap with it. If you dont, and will have to pay out of pocket, unless you start getting ptosis (heavy eyelids) or difficulty breathing, it's not life threatening. Usually an allergic reaction will send you into a shock quickly if it was going to be at that point. Would not advise getting bit again since it seems like once bitten, people gain a sensitivity to their mild toxins.