a slight pain could be felt in the armpit. Since swelling and pain were almost nonexistent by 2:00 p.m., I was permitted to leave. After walking to a nearby building, I again felt a burning sensation as the hand warmed. I made another ice bath and again immersed the hand in it until 4:10 p.m., at which time it was removed from the water. The pain and swelling began anew, and the hand was placed back in an ice bath from 5:30 p.m. until about 7:30 p.m. At this time cryotherapy was discontinued. From 10:00 p.m. to 12:00 midnight my legs twitched periodically, and pain could be felt in both armpits. A slight difficulty in breathing also was experienced for a short time. The acute pain and burning sensation remained in the finger until the following morning, but swelling progressed only as far as the wrist. The only discomfort that day was in the finger. The tip was darkened, the entire first digit red and feverish, and the lymphatics still painful when touched. By the third day the swelling had regressed. The incision itself was the main cause of discomfort, and the soreness at the site of the bite persisted for at least four days. Although the L-C method of snakebite treatment has been vigorously attacked by many, there is still need of much more data before it can be unequivocally condemned or praised. It was preferred in the treatment of this bite because: I knew that envenomation was minimal and that there would be no need for antivenin; only one fang of a snake less than one foot long had entered the tip of the finger; the snake had bitten three frogs in the previous two days and had possibly used up a considerable amount of its venom; the venom was deposited at such a shallow depth that at least a portion of it could be removed by suction; and the wound bled freely even before suction was applied. The ice water was uncomfortably cold but was not cold enough to cause frostbite, a major objection to the L-C method. Ideally, fresh ice should be added little by little to replace that which is melting, and the immersed area should be protected from the water by a plastic bag. Pain and swelling can be minimized by cryotherapy, but I would recommend its use only in cases of mild poisoning such as the one described herein. Snakebite in the United States Many estimates have been made of the number of bites of poisonous snakes that occur annually in the United States. The occurrence of poisonous snakebite has been nearly as badly underestimated as fatal results of their envenomations have been overrated. For important data on number of persons bitten by poisonous snakes in the United States, see the following: Allen and Swindell (1948:15); Githens (1935:172); Klauber (1956:811); Parrish (1963); Sowder and Gehres (1963:973); Stimson and Engelhardt (1960:153); Swaroop and Grab (1956:441); Swartzwelder (1950:579); Willson (1908:530); and Wood (1954b:937).