We’ve heard some penis horror stories before, many of which seem a bit more like fiction than fact.  In the past, we have tried to report what the scientific facts of these stories, and how and why injury may have occurred due to the trauma.  The lesson being, if a man can avoid injury to his penis, he should.  The best way to do that is by getting the right information, and not perpetuating myths.  Due to a recent case report in the New England Journal of Medicine, we were prompted to ask, “What happens when a snake bites your penis?”

For a 46-year-old farmer living in the Himalayas, which the case report is based on, was urinating in an open field when he was bitten on the penis by a snake.  Three hours after the bite, the pain became unbearable and he was rushed to an emergency department nearby. This was the Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, in Srinagar, India.  The site of the bite was grossly swollen, there were blood blisters at the puncture sites and there was likely internal bleeding in the penis which put the man in some serious danger.  Because the fang marks were clearly visible on the penis, the doctors at the emergency center were keen on identifying the creature which caused the bite.  The type of creature that caused the bite will dictate the type of treatment needed, and the potential danger to the victim.

The snake was identified by the patient as “gunas,” which was discovered to be the local name of the Levantine viper, a venomous and deadly snake. This, coupled with the fact that the man’s blood was clotting at a much higher rate than normal, led clinicians to search for an antidote in order to save the victims life. The more rapid clotting occurred as a result of the viper venom making its way throughout the man’s body.  The patient received polyvalent anti–snake venom, an antidote serum that treats or neutralizes the venom of multiple different types of snakes like the cobra, common krait, and the viper. About 2.5 days, or 36 hours starting treatment, the patient’s clotting was back to normal and he was discharged from the medical center and permitted back home.

Fortunately for the man, the swelling in the penis from the bits subsided after about 4 days after he left the hospital.  Unfortunately however, the sites where the viper had actually punctured through the skin of the penis with its fangs, became black and formed necrotic tissue.  Necrosis causes tissue to wither and die, hence why it turned black.  Upon follow up, the medics said that the patient recovered completely after 2 weeks.

So what do we need to know?  In general, snakes bite around five million people around the world.  And even though being bitten on the penis is most unfortunate, any bite from the right snake can be deadly.  Each year snake bites cause around 100,000 deaths, and a few hundred thousand amputations because of the effects of venom.  If you live or travel to places with venomous snake populations, you should always take proper care to be safe and avoid bites.  If you are bitten, see a clinician right away for possible necessary treatment.