Customer Reviews

Sawyer Extractor Professional Snake Bite & Insect Sting Kit

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Up until last fall I'd always felt a little silly about carrying it, and as far as snakes go, it may not be effective for all bites, but...

Soon after we saw a rattlesnake curled between two boulders on the side of a narrow trail I got stung by a bee, which I'm somewhat allergic to. We were able to draw out the venom so I only had a minor rash, no swelling or pain. I figure it's worth it, just for taking the pain/swelling out of insect stings.

This extractor is great for a VARIETY of uses. It's great for it's intended purpose, such as bug bites, bee stings, etc., but it is also great for getting out splinters, glass slivers, blackheads, etc. It has an incredibly strong suction capability. Yet, is not painful, and does not leave a mark.

I think this is a must-have for anyone who enjoys the outdoors. It covers prevention and treatment of snake bites, bee stings, scorpions stings, tick bites, etc, etc, etc in the included manual. And this isn't just a syringe you use for suction -- this is designed for its intended purpose and I can easily use it one-handed.

To use it you just select one of the four "heads" that matches your "bite size", attach it and pull the plunger out, cover your bite, then push the plunger down. It does the work for you after that, slowly extending the plunger out on its own and creating a lot of suction that draws out the cooties. Easy to use on yourself.

The kit weighs 3.6oz and that's including the plastic box, a disposable razor (for shaving hair/creating good suction), two afterbite sting/pain relief wipes, two alcohol wipes, and a comprehensive manual(although mostly common sense). Just the guts (four heads and extractor tool) weigh 1.1oz. Most first aid kits will have alcohol/bite wipes but if not, you will now.

The device is great for draining pimples & other small abscesses but I don't recommend for poisonous bites. I spend a lot of time in the wilderness and am a critical care MD. Received this item as a gift in 2000 and no longer carry it based on poor results from studies. Wilderness Medicine Educators no longer recommend this type of product. Below is a summary-from Wall Street Journal Medical Department-May 13, 2009:

"The suction devices are still under debate. One of the most popular devices, the Sawyer Extractor, sold by Sawyer Products Inc. of Safety Harbor, Fla., consists of a syringe-shaped chamber with a plunger that creates a vacuum. The company suggests leaving it on 10 to 15 minutes to extract the venom.

However, a study in pigs and one using radioactively labeled simulated venom injected into the thighs of eight human volunteers found the Sawyer Extractor ineffective. "It removes just a minute quantity of venom," says pig-study author Sean P. Bush, a professor of emergency medicine at California's Loma Linda University School of Medicine. Some doctors fear the deep suction could even worsen outcomes by killing skin at the wound site. The human study, published in 2004 by researchers at the University of California in Fresno, found that the device removed no more than 1% to 2% of mock venom from the leg.

Sawyer Products owner Kurt Avery says he believes the studies show only that the product doesn't work well in large muscle areas, such as thighs and calves. Based on the results, the company changed its label about two years ago to warn that the pump is "not as effective" at removing venom from large muscle areas. Mr. Avery maintains the product is effective when the bite is under the skin in hands, feet and other nonmuscled areas.

That argument doesn't sound plausible to Stanford University's Paul S. Auerbach. Dr. Auerbach, who had advocated use of the Sawyer pump in his 2003 book "Medicine for the Outdoors" and is listed on Sawyer's Web site as supporting the product, says the new edition of his book, expected out next month from Elsevier Inc., will recommend against its use based on newer research."

I read the reviews. So I ordered this.
I live on 6 acres and we have cottonmouths. Pit vipers.
This IS the only device for snake venom, that works.
The directions are simple to follow, with A LOT of great info.
So we tried the device.

HOLY COW!

This is not a toy.
It works exactly as described.

No wonder people use it for removing blackheads and the sort.

Suction so strong, it might remove teeth! (kidding, but it does work as advertised)

I am ordering several more to have one in all locations. (garage, bathroom, backpack, beack kit, first aid kit)

I would give this 10 stars.

The Center for Disease Control and other medical authorities do NOT recommend
suction for snake bite. And I must say, the reviews here sound....)

It came as promised and as described. However, after I received it, I thought to myself "Holy S! I really would hate to get bitten by a snake, I think I'm gonna start using more common sense when in snake territory" Anyway, the point of this review is to say that this product is, in my opinion, the best snake bite kit on Amazon. If you live in a flood zone you should probably think about one of these. Snakes aren't happy campers when they are being pushed around by a flood waters.

Have not had to use this product yet. (Thank goodness) The instructions are well written and easy to understand. Each of my family members and I went through the instructions and demo-ed the extractor. I feel confident that if a situation arises, any of us will be prepared.

I ordered this kit after my hand therapist used it on me for scar massage. I had wrist surgery and they stress scar massage so that the scar tissue releases and does not interfere with your range of motion. I have used the suction extractor to help me with scar massage since it is hard otherwise to do by myself. It has worked great and my scars are doing well and have released. Much Thanks for your product!

needed something small for our quad and this was it. used a couple times on bites and works great. takes the poison out and the itch away.