Historical information

This kit contains a knife, used to cut open a snake bite wound, and potassium permanganate crystals, known as Condy's Crystals, that were rubbed into the wound to absorb the infected blood. It was once believed that cutting open the wound, removing the venom by suction and then applying a tourniquet would be the most effective treatment but it has since been proven that this method has little effect, and can cause more damage and harmful infection than the snake venom.
This type of treatment was popular in the early 20th century and kits like these would be common in travel bags and household first aid. It wasn’t until the 1970s that the current method of pressure/immobilisation was introduced.

Physical description

Small tubular wooden container with removal ends, end with flat end encloses a metal lancet, end with rounded end contains a black powder. The items name and instructions are printed in black ink on a white lable on the cover