Team-BHP - Pre-Offroading checklist

here's my contribution to this off road checklist. I had written this last year for my web site, Dubai Desert club but all of it is valid for ofroad driving here too.

March 3, 2008

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Welcome to Dubai Desert Club.

The following pages are a guide to safe desert driving techniques that would give a safe adventure experience and yet plenty of fun to you and your friends who come to our drives with you.

Please read this whole manual carefully and refer to the checklists on preparing your vehicle and recommendations on what to carry before you leave home.

I would also request you to please carry a garbage bag with you in the vehicle and dispose all your thrash in a responsible manner. The desert is a very fragile eco system and it is our responsibility to keep it clean and safe for our future generations.

Have fun, enjoy yourself and drive safely

With best regards,

Shahid Ahmad
Route Director & Chief Marshal

DRIVING OFF ROAD & IN THE DESERT

Driver’s Responsibilities:

Driving off Road is a very serious and responsible job. The safety of the lead driver, the passengers and vehicle rests on the shoulders of the driver. The organizers are not responsible for this.

As this is a SELF DRIVE EVENT the main decision to drive on the route in a safe manner fully depends upon lead driver of the vehicle.

GPS WAYPOINTS:

The GPS waypoints are included the notes. Set you GPS to datum WGS84.

Preparing Your Vehicles:

The 4wd vehicles are mostly used by their owners for their daily transports. And their off-road excursions are limited to weekend trips or once or twice a month. There is an additional strain on the vehicle when taken off-road. And minor problem that arises from normal use, may result in serious problem if you are out in the middle of nowhere.

Therefore off-road trip should be approached seriously. A few systematic routine check should be done before starting. The items to check are as follows:

Condition of the tyres: Make sure there are not any cuts, bulges or any other signs of damage in the tyres. Your spare wheel should be inflated and serviceable. In case your spare wheel is mounted underneath the vehicle or at the rear door, secure it firmly with the wheel nuts or other fittings.
The water level in the cooling system: Most of the modern vehicles have a water catch tank fitted and it is this that is topped up rather than the radiator itself.
Engine Oil Level: If your vehicle has automatic transmission, check the level of the auto transmission oil box. This is crucial.
Hydraulic clutch and brake reservoir should also be checked. Most modern system use translucent plastic reservoirs that indicate the level through the material – so you do not have to remove caps to check.
Battery Check: In of your adventurous off-roading, there is a chance that you mightplaced your vehicle at steep angles, front, rear or sideways and there is a possibility that some battery acid has spilled on the top of the battery. This needs to be wiped off as acid corrodes surrounding parts including the clamps. These clamps should firm and tight before you start. If the batteries breaks free from the clamp, it can cause lot of damage under the bonnet. The fluid should be topped if required.
Check the equipments: A standard checklist is provided to you. Check it thoroughly before leaving.
Fuel Tanks: The fuel tank should be full before you leave. Half filled tank may cause you worry during your drive thus disturbing your concentration.
Interior Stowage: The tool boxes, camping gears, personal item and any other equipment should be firmly secured at the back of the vehicle. If left loose it may start flying around when going over rough ground or up or down steep slopes.

CLOTHING:

In the desert, your dressing should be practical rather than fashionable. Loose and casual clothes allow cool air to circulate next to your skin. It would be preferable to wear shorts rather than trousers or skirts. Except if you suffer from sunburn, then it would be better to keep covered up all the time. Hat can be used, when the sun is directly overhead.

It not recommended wearing open footwears as the sand becomes very hot and unbearable to walk on.

Use of light colored sunglasses are recommended, which protects your eyes from glares and at the same time does not reduce your ability to see surface of sand and detect bumps and undulations on the ground.

Off-Road Driving:

Tyre pressure play the main role in differentiating the drive in the sand tracks of this desert.

Tyres should be deflated enough to give your vehicle an enlarged pressure footprint.

Learn how to deflate your tyres. Carry a good quality tyre pressure gauge and a sharp instrument say a ball point pen or a small thin brush handle to let out the air from your tyre valves.

For a safe and comfortable ride, it is recommended to deflate the tyres to 18 psi.

Minimum tyre pressure should be not higher than 20 psi.

While driving look For What’s Next:

THE UNKNOWN on the other side of the crest of the dune should always be treated with respect. In many cases, the reality is far less worrying than the thought of what might be there. Here, you need to learn to anticipate what lies ahead. The chances of there being a long steep slope on the other side of the next dune is highly unlikely, if the dunes which have been crossing are low as compared to the surrounding countryside.

Look ahead to the slope after the one you are tackling: is it near or far? If it is near then, the next one will be shallow. If it is far, then the next slope might steep with deeper valley.

If in doubt then stop the car at a suitable place and take a look on foot.

Vegetation:

Vegetation provides better reaction than pure sand and helps to maintain forward motion. Though it maybe a little bumpier to drive over. Therefore, if the going is soft and there is vegetation growing in the area, then drive in that area.

Cut At New Path:

The continuous passing of several vehicles churns up the sand and makes the going a little difficult. If you are at the beginning or at the end of your convoy, then instead of following the tracks of the previous vehicles, make new tracks.

Virgin sand usually offers better traction than churned-up sand. But limit your meander to within 30 meters left or right of the track.

Going Up:

MOMENTUM is the basic requirement, when ascending the steep slopes of a dune or ridge. There is no substitute for MOMENTUM. Your vehicle may falter and dig in if you start to loose your forward momentum. Climbing steep sand slopes is a different process to climbing earth or stony slopes. When the ground is hard and firm, make slow and steady progress picking you way carefully up the slope and using the path that offers the best grip you can find.

The degree of traction offered by the sand surfaces is not the same as by the hard surface. Therefore, you need to build up head of steam on the approach to the slope to allow the momentum of the vehicles to assist the driving force of the wheels once you are on the slope. An example of momentum at work is seen when driving on the highway at, say 100 kph and putting the vehicle into neutral. the momentum of the vehicle will make it continue for several hundred meters before it eventually comes to halt. The same principle is used for climbing dunes but in a controlled manner.

It is for you to judge how much momentum is required and what speed do you need to build up on the approach run to a slope. Excessive speed will be dangerous and you might loose control of the vehicle in case it hits an unseen bump in the ground.

It is also important to select proper gear for your approach run. You should select a gear that will enable you to build up momentum and will also be useful in the ascent from the slope without requiring changing once you are on the slope.

Understanding the capabilities of your vehicle takes time. The approach of certain drivers who drive at maximum speed is usually unnecessary and leads to wearing of the vehicle. This depicts lack of finesse in the driver.

You should avoid changing down to a lower gear once you are on the steepest part of the slope. Loss of drive to the wheels while changing gear will mean a loss of traction and the vehicle may not be able to make the top.

Look out for the obstructions such as bumps and hollow that might hinder the smooth progress up the slope, by making a visual check. Decide in advance the route you want to take and stick to it. Select the correct gear, start your run, be in the climbing gear before you reach the steepest part of the slope and follow your chosen path.

Most 4WD engines have excellent torque at low r.p.m. This allows you to remain in a low gear at slow speeds with minimum revs. This characteristic comes into play as you run out of steam near the top of a slope and although you think the vehicle is about to stall it will keep moving and get you to the top. If you default on the climb from loss of power or stalling you will have to reverse down to the bottom. This can be very tricky exercise and requires great caution. While reversing the same rule of not braking on a down-hill slope while going forward is applicable here. The technique is to select Low Range immediately and reverse gear and move gently backwards. Do not use the footbrakes let the engine braking do work of slowing you down if necessary. Hold the steering wheel in your left hand and turn in your seat to see out of the rear window during the reverse decent.

Going Down:

It can be worrisome for a first timer to DRIVE DOWN a steep dune several hundred feet. The Knowledge of what to do and what not to do is required along with courage to do so. Gravity is a powerful force and a 2 ton vehicle on a 35 degree slope need to be controlled by the driver.

Make a visual check of the slope to decide which way to take. And follow the few basic rules for descending sand dunes:

A. Do not drive down at an angle but take a straight path down the slope.

B. Breaking on a steep slope should be AVOIDED. As breaking transfers the weight of the vehicle to the front wheels, which will dig into the sand. The tendency to slide sideways increases as the rear of the vehicle becomes lighter and the vehicle is at the risk if overturning.

C. Do not press the clutch pedal or come down the slope in neutral gear. The risk of rolling over becomes great as the soft sand will not allow the vehicle to roll forward and it will start to slide sideways ands roll over.

D. Always be in a gear when driving down the slope. The power of the engine will pull the vehicle down. Here the choice of the gear is very important. Using high range is not recommended as it will increase your speed, which will tempt you to apply breaks, this will be disastrous. Therefore, it is recommended to be in Low 2nd or 3rd gear for descent. If your speed is too fast, all you need to do is lift off the accelerator pedal and let the engine breaking take effect.

Retardation from engine braking is applied equally to all four wheels and will not unbalance the vehicle due to weight transfer as wheel braking would do.

Getting Unstuck:

EVERYONE gets stuck sometime or the other. We are providing a few ideas and tips that will reduce your agony of recovery.

RECOVERY TECHNIQUES

If you are stuck, the first thing you should do is reversing along the wheel tracks of your vehicles. The sand would have become hard enough with the weight of your vehicle, to give to a proper reverse motion, even if you are not able to go forward.

Selection of gear and ratios play a very important role in self recovery. You should avoid using Low 1st gear in all situations. When stuck, people automatically select Low range, and are surprised when the vehicle digs deeper into the sand. The Low 1st and reverse gear are low ratio gears, which provide hardly any traction in the soft sand, which leads the wheels to spin as the vehicle goes down the sand, not forward or back.

Forward & Back: First, with help of a shovel clear the sand from front and behind all the four wheels. If the wheels are well dug in create a ramp for the vehicle to drive up. Now use Forward and back technique. This technique involves the alternative uses of first and reverse gears in quick succession. This flattens the channel of sand by moving the vehicle a few inches forward and then a few inches backwards. The flattened sand becomes long enough for the vehicle to gain momentum and drive out of soft sand. This process might take fifteen to twenty minutes, and has to be carried out patiently, to achieve recovery. The pressure on the pedal should be light as too much pressure will spin the wheel leading the vehicle down instead of forward or back.

Constant running in heat and hot sand sometimes increases the tyre pressure. Therefore, check your tyre pressure.

You can place vegetations, mats, sacks even clothing in desperate situation, under the wheels to assist traction. The sand in front and back of the wheels can be damped too, if you are carrying surplus water.

The attitude of the vehicle in relation to the lie of the ground also plays an important role. Reversing out may be a good choice if the vehicle is facing uphill. but if the vehicle is on the side-slope attention has to be paid to the down-slope wheel as they will be more dug in.

It would be better to go straight rather than on left or right lock. So, make sure that the wheels are in a dead-ahead alignment and not on left or right lock. But once, you have started to get a grip, swinging the wheel from left to right often helps in recovery.

If you are well dug in use light foot on the pedal to get out. Using too much pressure leads to spinning of the wheels and they dig in deeper.

Rocking Sideways: If you have 4 or 6 colleagues with you this technique is quite helpful. The purpose is to fill the sand in the hole that the wheels have made and make the vehicle rise out of the sand. This is done by rocking the stationary vehicle sideways on its suspension. If it moves enough from side to side, the wheels will lift marginally and the sand will fill in. when the vehicle is high enough it can be driven away.

Lift And Fill: The basis of this technique is same as the previous one. Except that, a high - lift jack, an air bag or a conventional jack is used instead of using friends.

Towing Out:

This is usually the most quickest and appropriate method of recovery. You can ask a colleague to help you by towing you out. There are basically two way of towing out. Namely- The Steady Pull and the Snatch.

A. Steady Pull: Make sure that the towing vehicle is on firm ground and not at the risk of getting stuck itself. Attach the rope securely with the shackles in the towing brackets on each vehicle. If you do not have shackles then tie a knot in such a manner that it will not be jammed due to the forces at work. A bowline is recommended. DO NOT attach the rope to the bumper blades or suspension and steering mechanisms as this may cause damage.
There should be an agreement between the drivers on a signaling procedure so each knows how to send messages to the other. Ideally the towing vehicle will also be standing on level ground or facing downhill for maximum traction.
The vehicle that is being towed should be in a suitable gear (low 2nd is recommended) and should be ready to assists the towing vehicle by trying to drive out when the towing starts.
Make sure that there are no onlookers any where near the rope. If the rope breaks then it will whip viciously backwards and make cause serious damage to the people.

B. The Snatch: Here, we follow many of the previous guidelines, but the basic difference between these is the nature of the tow. In order to apply more force to the tow rope, the towing vehicle is moving when the rope becomes taut. A violent pull is applied to get the stuck vehicle pop out of its hole. For this purpose a very strong rope of at least 3,000 kg breaking strain which will withstand the forced that come into play will be required.
After making all the proper preparations for the snatch, the towing vehicle will start with a slack tow rope. This is required to generate speed before the rope snaps taut and applies a pull on the stuck vehicle. At this time the driver of the stuck vehicle should try to drive out when the snatch pull is applied. The tow rope after being stretched by the violent tug contracts, thus generating power enough to pull out the stuck vehicle.

GOOD DRIVING HABITS:

Seat Belts: It is very important to wear seat belt when driving off-road. Make sure that you and your crew wear seat belt all the time.

Keep Our Distance: When you are travelling in a convoy DO not get too close to the vehicle in front of you. If the leading vehicle runs into any problem or has to stop suddenly or if it needs to reverse back on its tracks, the follower will have little time or space to take evading action and he may himself get stuck. This can be a serious problem. Being too close to the following vehicle can cause distraction and annoyance to the leading vehicle.

A distance of about ten vehicle length is reasonable enough when driving over dunes and rough grounds. This gives the follower enough reaction time in case a problem occurs and also a clear view ahead.

About 100 meters is minimum distance that should be kept when driving in a convoy on tracks. When driving on gravels it will lessen the risk of having your windscreen damaged from by flying stones and will also provide a better visibility by avoiding dust raised by the vehicle in front.

Don't Stop Where You Can't Start: This is usually applicable when ascending from a slope. Stopping at such places results in drivers getting stuck, especially in the cases of inexperienced drivers.

Never stop at the top of a dune. You should go over the top and always stop on the downwards slope, this enables you to start off again. Stopping astride the ridge on the top of a dune is also not correct. If needed you should stop on a downhill slope.

Checklists:

Make a check of these equipments and recommendations before starting the drive. Taking precaution will always be helpful.

I. Regarding Vehicle:
1. Check the conditions of your tyres including the spare wheel.
2. Fluid levels of Engine Oil, Battery Acid, Cooling System, Windscreen washer bottle, Hydraulic brake fluid, Hydraulic Clutch fluid, auto transmission (If fitted).
3. Battery is mounted securely.
4. All the lights are working - including the Hazard Warning Lights.
5. The battery charging system is working properly.
6. Fuel level.
7. Radiator Hoses.
8. Do a visual checking under the Bonnet to see if there are any Water leakage, Oil leakage, Clutch/brake fluid leaks.
9. SEAT BELTS. Cross check if the driver and the other passengers are all wearing their seat belts.
10. Ensure your vehicle has front and rear towing points.
11. The tool kit and wheel wench, jack are there in the car.

II. Equipments You Should Be Carrying:

1. Tyre Pressure gauge.
2. Shovel.
3. A towing belt. Rated with Shackles. Best a 10 m Viking rope
4. A means to deflate your vehicle. A sharp tool or ball point pen.
5. A 10 inch x 10 inch wooden board

III. Personal Items:
1. Water.
2. Bin Liners.

Important Notes:

1. The way to send signal to the rescue and recovery team, if you are stuck or need any other assistance, is to "RAISE THE BONNET OF YOUR VEHICLE". The rescue team on seeing this will know that you are in need of assistance.
2. Burning of clutch in manual transmission cars is one of the most common causes of mechanical breakdowns. This happens mainly because of the driver's abuse from "slipping" the clutch. Therefore, slipping of clutch should be avoided when trying to get going on soft sand. If you get the unmistakable odour of a burnt clutch, you switch off and let everything cool down.
3. Most importantly ensure that all the occupants of the vehicles are wearing SEAT BELTS AT ALL THE TIME.

Looking forward to welcome you to more events in the near future.

Have a great drive!

Shahid Ahmad

Hi Sahid,

Thanks for the very useful information.

I don’t know whether any of us ever experienced this during off roading.
It actually happened with me on the way to my Farm House. During rainy season the main route was flooded so we took the alternate route. The route was slushy with lots of bushes around. My friend’s car got stuck and to take it out we were trying to push it form back then suddenly I realized some movement at my foot. It was a 4 feet long black snake (may be a Cobra) ready to bite me as I stepped on it. My quick reflexes saved me that day

Is there any Snake Bite Kits easily available in India. Whether we should carry them during OTR as we some times unknowingly enters in these reptiles terrain.
I think if we regularly go to same area for OTR, then we should know the nearest hospital which can provide the treatment for such kind of bites. What types of sankes are found in that area and anti-venom for those are easily available?

In relation to bites I found the below article very useful for Offroading & Camping Guys.

Source- Wilderness Survival: Basic Survival Medicine - Bites and Strings

BITES AND STINGS

Insects and related pests are hazards in a survival situation. They not only cause irritations, but they are often carriers of diseases that cause severe allergic reactions in some individuals. In many parts of the world you will be exposed to serious, even fatal, diseases not encountered in the United States.
Ticks can carry and transmit diseases, such as Rocky Mountain spotted fever common in many parts of the United States. Ticks also transmit the Lyme disease.
Mosquitoes may carry malaria, dengue, and many other diseases.
Flies can spread disease from contact with infectious sources. They are causes of sleeping sickness, typhoid, cholera, and dysentery.
Fleas can transmit plague.
Lice can transmit typhus and relapsing fever.
The best way to avoid the complications of insect bites and stings is to keep immunizations (including booster shots) up-to-date, avoid insect-infested areas, use netting and insect repellent, and wear all clothing properly.
If you get bitten or stung, do not scratch the bite or sting, it might become infected. Inspect your body at least once a day to ensure there are no insects attached to you. If you find ticks attached to your body, cover them with a substance, such as Vaseline, heavy oil, or tree sap, that will cut off their air supply. Without air, the tick releases its hold, and you can remove it. Take care to remove the whole tick. Use tweezers if you have them. Grasp the tick where the mouth parts are attached to the skin. Do not squeeze the tick's body. Wash your hands after touching the tick. Clean the tick wound daily until healed.
Treatment

It is impossible to list the treatment of all the different types of bites and stings. Treat bites and stings as follows:

If antibiotics are available for your use, become familiar with them before deployment and use them.
Predeployment immunizations can prevent most of the common diseases carried by mosquitoes and some carried by flies.
The common fly-borne diseases are usually treatable with penicillins or erythromycin.
Most tick-, flea-, louse-, and mite-borne diseases are treatable with tetracycline.
Most antibiotics come in 250 milligram (mg) or 500 mg tablets. If you cannot remember the exact dose rate to treat a disease, 2 tablets, 4 times a day for 10 to 14 days will usually kill any bacteria.

Bee and Wasp Stings

If stung by a bee, immediately remove the stinger and venom sac, if attached, by scraping with a fingernail or a knife blade. Do not squeeze or grasp the stinger or venom sac, as squeezing will force more venom into the wound. Wash the sting site thoroughly with soap and water to lessen the chance of a secondary infection.
If you know or suspect that you are allergic to insect stings, always carry an insect sting kit with you.
Relieve the itching and discomfort caused by insect bites by applying--

Cold compresses.
A cooling paste of mud and ashes.
Sap from dandelions.
Coconut meat.
Crushed cloves of garlic.
Onion.

Spider Bites and Scorpion Stings

The black widow spider is identified by a red hourglass on its abdomen. Only the female bites, and it has a neurotoxic venom. The initial pain is not severe, but severe local pain rapidly develops. The pain gradually spreads over the entire body and settles in the abdomen and legs. Abdominal cramps and progressive nausea, vomiting, and a rash may occur. Weakness, tremors, sweating, and salivation may occur. Anaphylactic reactions can occur. Symptoms begin to regress after several hours and are usually gone in a few days. Threat for shock. Be ready to perform CPR. Clean and dress the bite area to reduce the risk of infection. An antivenin is available.
The funnelweb spider is a large brown or gray spider found in Australia. The symptoms and the treatment for its bite are as for the black widow spider.
The brown house spider or brown recluse spider is a small, light brown spider identified by a dark brown violin on its back. There is no pain, or so little pain, that usually a victim is not aware of the bite. Within a few hours a painful red area with a mottled cyanotic center appears. Necrosis does not occur in all bites, but usually in 3 to 4 days, a star-shaped, firm area of deep purple discoloration appears at the bite site. The area turns dark and mummified in a week or two. The margins separate and the scab falls off, leaving an open ulcer. Secondary infection and regional swollen lymph glands usually become visible at this stage. The outstanding characteristic of the brown recluse bite is an ulcer that does not heal but persists for weeks or months. In addition to the ulcer, there is often a systemic reaction that is serious and may lead to death. Reactions (fever, chills, joint pain, vomiting, and a generalized rash) occur chiefly in children or debilitated persons.
Tarantulas are large, hairy spiders found mainly in the tropics. Most do not inject venom, but some South American species do. They have large fangs. If bitten, pain and bleeding are certain, and infection is likely. Treat a tarantula bite as for any open wound, and try to prevent infection. If symptoms of poisoning appear, treat as for the bite of the black widow spider.
Scorpions are all poisonous to a greater or lesser degree. There are two different reactions, depending on the species:

Severe local reaction only, with pain and swelling around the area of the sting. Possible prickly sensation around the mouth and a thick-feeling tongue.
Severe systemic reaction, with little or no visible local reaction. Local pain may be present. Systemic reaction includes respiratory difficulties, thick-feeling tongue, body spasms, drooling, gastric distention, double vision, blindness, involuntary rapid movement of the eyeballs, involuntary urination and defecation, and heart failure. Death is rare, occurring mainly in children and adults with high blood pressure or illnesses.

Treat scorpion stings as you would a black widow bite.
Snakebites

The chance of a snakebite in a survival situation is rather small, if you are familiar with the various types of snakes and their habitats. However, it could happen and you should know how to treat a snakebite. Deaths from snakebites are rare. More than one-half of the snakebite victims have little or no poisoning, and only about one-quarter develop serious systemic poisoning. However, the chance of a snakebite in a survival situation can affect morale, and failure to take preventive measures or failure to treat a snakebite properly can result in needless tragedy.
The primary concern in the treatment of snakebite is to limit the amount of eventual tissue destruction around the bite area.
A bite wound, regardless of the type of animal that inflicted it, can become infected from bacteria in the animal's mouth. With nonpoisonous as well as poisonous snakebites, this local infection is responsible for a large part of the residual damage that results.
Snake venoms not only contain poisons that attack the victim's central nervous system (neurotoxins) and blood circulation (hemotoxins), but also digestive enzymes (cytotoxins) to aid in digesting their prey. These poisons can cause a very large area of tissue death, leaving a large open wound. This condition could lead to the need for eventual amputation if not treated.
Shock and panic in a person bitten by a snake can also affect the person's recovery. Excitement, hysteria, and panic can speed up the circulation, causing the body to absorb the toxin quickly. Signs of shock occur within the first 30 minutes after the bite.
Before you start treating a snakebite, determine whether the snake was poisonous or nonpoisonous. Bites from a nonpoisonous snake will show rows of teeth. Bites from a poisonous snake may have rows of teeth showing, but will have one or more distinctive puncture marks caused by fang penetration. Symptoms of a poisonous bite may be spontaneous bleeding from the nose and anus, blood in the urine, pain at the site of the bite, and swelling at the site of the bite within a few minutes or up to 2 hours later.
Breathing difficulty, paralysis, weakness, twitching, and numbness are also signs of neurotoxic venoms. These signs usually appear 1.5 to 2 hours after the bite.
If you determine that a poisonous snake bit an individual, take the following steps:

Reassure the victim and keep him still.
Set up for shock and force fluids or give an intravenous (IV).
Remove watches, rings, bracelets, or other constricting items.
Clean the bite area.
Maintain an airway (especially if bitten near the face or neck) and be prepared to administer mouth-to-mouth resuscitation or CPR.
Use a constricting band between the wound and the heart.
Immobilize the site.
Remove the poison as soon as possible by using a mechanical suction device or by squeezing.

Do not--

Give the victim alcoholic beverages or tobacco products.
Give morphine or other central nervous system (CNS) depressors.
Make any deep cuts at the bite site. Cutting opens capillaries that in turn open a direct route into the blood stream for venom and infection.

Note: If medical treatment is over one hour away, make an incision (no longer than 6 millimeters and no deeper than 3 millimeter) over each puncture, cutting just deep enough to enlarge the fang opening, but only through the first or second layer of skin. Place a suction cup over the bite so that you have a good vacuum seal. Suction the bite site 3 to 4 times. Use mouth suction only as a last resort and only if you do not have open sores in your mouth. Spit the envenomed blood out and rinse your mouth with water. This method will draw out 25 to 30 percent of the venom.

Put your hands on your face or rub your eyes, as venom may be on your hands. Venom may cause blindness.
Break open the large blisters that form around the bite site.

After caring for the victim as described above, take the following actions to minimize local effects:

If infection appears, keep the wound open and clean.
Use heat after 24 to 48 hours to help prevent the spread of local infection. Heat also helps to draw out an infection.
Keep the wound covered with a dry, sterile dressing.
Have the victim drink large amounts of fluids until the infection is gone