Snake Venom and Brain Damage

QUESTION:

Dear Dr. Heller,

Could the Venom from Snakes reach your brain and in return disrupt you ability to process information in different lobes [Motor, Sensory, Frontal, Perception Hearing].

DR. HELLER'S ANSWER:

Snake venom is usually very toxic to central nervous system cells, that's why snakes use it to disable their prey.

I've never heard of snake venom causing permanent damage to different brain areas, but it makes sense that it could. Being a stressor, it will likely worsen underlying problems. I would recommend you make sure other things aren't also wrong by getting a thorough blood evaluation including thyroid and B12, a brain MRI, a depression evaluation, and evaluate for other diagnoses such as the ones I look for in my screening test.

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