Gila monster
Toxicity

The venom of a Gila monster is normally not fatal to healthy adult humans. One fatality has been confirmed since 1930, on February 16, 2024, and the rare fatalities recorded before 1930 occurred in adults who were intoxicated by alcohol or had mismanaged the treatment of the bite. The Gila monster can bite quickly and may not release the victim without intervention. If bitten, the victim may attempt to fully submerge the lizard in water, pry the jaws open with a knife or stick, or physically yank the lizard free. While pulling the lizard directly increases risk of severe lacerations from the lizard's sharp teeth, it may also mitigate envenomation. Symptoms of the bite include excruciating pain, edema, and weakness associated with a rapid drop in blood pressure.

YouTuber Coyote Peterson described the bite as "like hot lava coursing through your veins" and claimed it was "the worst pain had ever experienced". It is generally regarded as the most painful venom produced by any vertebrate.

More than a dozen peptides and other substances have been isolated from the Gila monster's venom, including hyaluronidase, serotonin, phospholipase A, and several kallikrein -like glycoproteins responsible for the pain and edema caused by a bite, without producing a compartment syndrome. Four potentially lethal toxins have been isolated from the Gila monster's venom, which cause hemorrhage in internal organs and exophthalmos (bulging of the eyes), and helothermine, which causes lethargy, partial paralysis of the limbs, and hypothermia in rats. Some are similar in action of the vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), which relaxes smooth muscle and regulates water and electrolyte secretion between the small and large intestines. These bioactive peptides are able to bind to VIP receptors in many different human tissues. One of these, helodermin, has been shown to inhibit the growth of lung cancer. In February 2024, a Colorado man sustained a 4 minute long bite from a Gila Monster. Autopsy reports determined cause of death to come from the animal bite/venom.
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