Poisonous snakes can certainly cause fear and some of the most negative feelings towards some this crawling part of the animal world. The venom of poisonous snakes is so deadly that it can kill one in less than thirty minutes, not to mention the chances of losing eye sight if venom gets into your eyes. In spite of the risk of getting bitten in close encounters, poisonous snakes prove in fact harmless as they rely on their venom to survive: no snake will bite unless in defense or to hunt its meal . The rest of the negative feelings towards snakes results from a faulty perception nurtured by ancient myths.
The venom structure difficulty is amazing: the paralysis and eventual death of the prey are caused by a smart incorporation of proteins and toxins. The toxin attacks the heart, the lungs and the muscles first, and depending on this way of action scientists have classified poisonous snakes into kind that destroy the walls of the blood vessels and start an unstoppable hemorrhage, venomous species that have a paralyzing effect on the heart and, last but not least, others that inflict terrible muscle pain. Corals and cobras would thus occupy the first positions in a top of the most poisonous snakes.
The intricacies of snake venom still make the subject of comprehensive scientific studies. The only treatment for poisonous snakes bites consists of the immediate administration of antivenins. Certain elements do influence the victim's chances of staying alive: thus, knowing the type of snake that caused the bite and its exact location prove crucial. If too much time lapses between the moment of the bite and the antidote injection, the victim will suffer extensive health damage or even die. Furthermore, Sometimes patients showed allergic reactions to both the venom and the antidote, increasing the lethal exposure even more.
Rattlesnakes cause most of the bites in the United States, yet death from such accidents is a rarity in our times since medical help is not a problem anymore. The water moccasin, the copperhead and the cottonmouth belong to the same poisonous family as the rattlesnake; they are highly poisonous snakes too that would surely mark the days of anyone who gets bitten. Snake phobia could thus be developed because of a dangerous encounter with some poisonous snakes or this excessive fear can be the result of sociological ancestral traditions that are manifest even with people who have never felt threatened by a snake.
The snake is also a mythical representation not just an animal people feel afraid of. The graphical stylizations of snakes in our arts and cultures draw their roots from the ancient mythical cults. On the one hand, serpents are part of ecosystems, with a major function in the existence of certain species, and secondly they remain symbols of deep meanings. Their hunting mice and rats keeps pest under control and prevents the over-breeding of these rodents. Yet, in the ancient traditions, types of snake worshiping did exist, with the serpent representing deities, or the eternal cycle of life and death or wisdom.
All types of snake-related traditions have been discovered around the globe: for the ancient Greeks the snake represented the a sign of sexual potency; Mesopotamians and Semites considered this animal immortal because it moulted and it rejuvenated its look on a regular basis; Indians, Siamese and Burmese believe the snake to be a demon figure that is not entirely bad.
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