title: Topical ophthalmic exposure to rattlesnake venom.
abstract: An 18-year-old woman was struck in the eye from a distance of about 1 m by a stream of venom projected by a western diamond-back rattlesnake. She experienced an immediate burning sensation in the eye. The eye was irrigated first with tap water and later with a commercial eye wash solution. The patient's symptoms abated and no further eye injury was noted. Topical ophthalmic exposures to North American snake venom usually produce only transient symptoms, but the venom from tropical snakes has produced significant eye injury.
authors.affiliation: New Mexico Poison and Drug Information Center, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque 87131.
authors.forename: W G
authors.initials: WG
authors.lastname: Troutman
authors.forename: L E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Wilson
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002057:Burns, Chemical / Q000209:etiology* / Q000628:therapy; D003435:Crotalid Venoms; D005126:Eye Burns / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007507:Therapeutic Irrigation
chemical_list: D003435:Crotalid Venoms