Few people know that sweet oil, the common olive oil of commerce, the
salad oil used on our tables, is a specific for rattlesnake bites. Use
both internally and externally. Give the patient a teaspoonful of oil
every hour while nausea lasts. Dip pieces of cotton two inches square in
the oil and lay the saturated cloth over the wound. In twenty minutes or
less bubbles and froth will begin to appear on the surface of the cloth.
Remove the square, burn it, and replace it with a fresh square until all
the swelling has subsided. Where rattlesnakes abound every household
should keep a six or eight ounce vial of the best oil ready for
emergencies. Avoid rancid or adulterated oil. No whiskey or other
stimulant is needed, and in a majority of cases the patient is much
better off without any other so-called relief than that afforded by the
oil.
Relief is accelerated if some one with mouth and lips free from sores
and cracks will suck the poison from the bite before applying the
patches of oil-saturated cloth. A few drops of oil taken in the mouth
before beginning will insure exemption from any disagreeable results.