Antivenin, Brown Snake (Systemic)

Before Receiving This Medicine

In deciding to use a medicine, the risks of receiving the medicine must be weighed against the good it will do. This is a decision you and your doctor will make. For brown snake antivenin, the following should be considered:

Allergies - Tell your doctor if you have ever had any unusual or allergic reaction to brown snake antivenin, to horses, or to any products of horse origin, such as horse serum. Also tell your health care professional if you are allergic to any other substances, such as preservatives.

Pregnancy - Studies on effects in pregnancy have not been done in either humans or animals. However, snake venoms may cause a miscarriage.

Breast-feeding - Brown snake antivenin has not been reported to cause problems in nursing babies.

Children - Children may require larger doses of brown snake antivenin because of the greater amount of venom per kilogram of body weight. However, brown snake antivenin is not expected to cause different side effects or problems in children than it does in adults.

Older adults - Many medicines have not been studied specifically in older people. Therefore, it may not be known whether they work exactly the same way they do in younger adults or if they cause different side effects or problems in older people. There is no specific information comparing use of brown snake antivenin in the elderly with use in other age groups.