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For nearly 30 years, London-based reptile enthusiast and musician Steve Ludwin has been injecting snake venom—a practice that has almost killed him.
It may now help save thousands of lives, as researchers search for a new antidote based on his body's response to the toxic fluids.
"It sounds very crazy what I am doing but it turns out that it potentially has lots of health benefits," Ludwin, the tattooed 51-year-old told AFP in the living room of his home in the British capital.
Ludwin demonstrated his decades-old habit by firmly holding the head of a green Pope's tree viper—Trimeresurus popeiorum—and extracting a few drops of its venom.
Minutes later, he has injected the fluid into his arm using a syringe.
The scientists hope to produce cheaper anti-venom from the antibodies in his blood.
[Please note that this is very dangerous and Mr. Ludwin has almost died a number of times. Don't try this at home! - Ed]
(Score: 2, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 12 2017, @10:39AM (1 child)
> If your wound seeps puss and/or forms a reddened area around the wound, you owe it to yourself to have it seen by a medical professional... promptly!
Unless you don't have health insurance, in which case walk it off like a champ and feel the warm glow of satisfaction that you're saving a rich person money.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 13 2017, @02:06PM
Maybe you didn't read the above story - but you really can't NOT see a doctor for that type of wound. Figure out payment later - you are IN DANGER OF LOSING YOUR ARM AND LIFE.