My response to the “Watch the Water” documentary came relatively late, and at that time Dr. Ardis conducted several more interviews; all of which didn’t help his argument. In fact, I would argue that many of his additional claims undermined his theory even further.
But I’ll leave that for now. It’s Easter weekend so instead of dwelling on those additional interviews I would like to wish everyone a Happy Easter and to enjoy the time with loved ones. For those who are now experiencing spring please enjoy the outdoors and all it has to offer.
And I will leave this post with something I stumbled upon when fact-checking Dr. Ardis. Snake venom has apparently been abused for its psychoactive properties and it may actually lead to substance abuse.
So I present to you a case report of a man in India who, after divorcing his wife, began to seek treatment for his alcohol addiction using snake venom. Paradoxically, this led him to becoming addicted to snake venom and eventually landing him in an ER.
A 28-year-old male was brought to the emergency department in a state of irritability following the history of ingestion of alcohol with snake venom, as narrated by his relative, one hour back. The patient was a snake charmer by occupation. The patient had a history of alcohol addiction for 15 years and had a history of repeated failed attempts to quit alcohol addiction in the past. On examination, pulse was 88 beats per minute, regular in rhythm and volume, having no special character, blood pressure was 120/70 mm of Hg and there were no signs of any bleeding tendencies. The patient was conscious and irritable, deep tendon reflexes were normal, bilateral plantar were flexor and there was no neuro deficit[…]
The patient then provided a history of snake venom addiction which began four months back, when he got divorced from his wife. It started as an addiction to snake bites which provided him the high sensation that he was using as an alternative to alcohol to reduce his alcohol consumption. Following a single snake bite, the patient used to get a high sensation for a period of 6-7 days, as a result of which his alcohol consumption reduced significantly. For the last one month, the patient was mixing his alcohol drinks with the venom of snakes in order to increase the duration of high effect with less amount alcohol.
Part of me wonders if it was his addiction to alcohol that led to the divorce…
And on that note have a wonderful weekend everyone!
A Few Citations for Yesterday and Supplemental information
Snake Venom Case Report
Talwar, D., Kumar, S., Acharya, S., Jagtap, G. S., & Hepat, S. (2021). A Curious Case of Snake Venom Addiction as an Alcohol De-Addiction Tool: Pain for Gain?. Cureus, 13(11), e19996. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.19996
Remdesivir Cardiotoxicity
Nabati, M., & Parsaee, H. (2022). Potential Cardiotoxic Effects of Remdesivir on Cardiovascular System: A Literature Review.Cardiovascular toxicology, 22(3), 268–272. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12012-021-09703-9
Mustafa, S. J., Morrison, R. R., Teng, B., & Pelleg, A. (2009). Adenosine receptors and the heart: role in regulation of coronary blood flow and cardiac electrophysiology.Handbook of experimental pharmacology, (193), 161–188. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-89615-9_6
Ebola Study
Mulangu, S., Dodd, L. E., Davey, R. T., Jr, Tshiani Mbaya, O., Proschan, M., Mukadi, D., Lusakibanza Manzo, M., Nzolo, D., Tshomba Oloma, A., Ibanda, A., Ali, R., Coulibaly, S., Levine, A. C., Grais, R., Diaz, J., Lane, H. C., Muyembe-Tamfum, J. J., PALM Writing Group, Sivahera, B., Camara, M., … PALM Consortium Study Team (2019). A Randomized, Controlled Trial of Ebola Virus Disease Therapeutics.The New England journal of medicine, 381(24), 2293–2303. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa1910993
Additional Sources
Nelson, P. N., Reynolds, G. M., Waldron, E. E., Ward, E., Giannopoulos, K., & Murray, P. G. (2000). Monoclonal antibodies.Molecular pathology : MP, 53(3), 111–117. https://doi.org/10.1136/mp.53.3.111
Hoffman, W., Lakkis, F. G., & Chalasani, G. (2016). B Cells, Antibodies, and More.Clinical journal of the American Society of Nephrology : CJASN, 11(1), 137–154. https://doi.org/10.2215/CJN.09430915
Isbister, G. K., Halkidis, L., O'Leary, M. A., Whitaker, R., Cullen, P., Mulcahy, R., Bonnin, R., & Brown, S. G. (2010). Human anti-snake venom IgG antibodies in a previously bitten snake-handler, but no protection against local envenoming.Toxicon : official journal of the International Society on Toxinology, 55(2-3), 646–649. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.toxicon.2009.07.034
Apr 16, 2022·edited Apr 16, 2022Liked by Modern Discontent
Wow - A 28 year old with a 15 year history of alcohol abuse - there’s a lot going on there - maybe Dr. Ardis can provide some insight! 🤣 I am glad to see Dr. Kory has posted in agreement that Dr. Ardis’ claims are not based in any sort of sound science. I appreciate your pharmacological approach and his patient evidenced approach which both come to the same conclusions. Enjoy your weekend and I hope you get out & enjoy the beauty of the season. May we all put this silly snake oil episode behind us!
💜💙💚💛🧡❤️ Happy Easter.
Wow - A 28 year old with a 15 year history of alcohol abuse - there’s a lot going on there - maybe Dr. Ardis can provide some insight! 🤣 I am glad to see Dr. Kory has posted in agreement that Dr. Ardis’ claims are not based in any sort of sound science. I appreciate your pharmacological approach and his patient evidenced approach which both come to the same conclusions. Enjoy your weekend and I hope you get out & enjoy the beauty of the season. May we all put this silly snake oil episode behind us!