Is snake venom used for medicine?

Snake MedicineI think you mean "snake oil" medicine. This is a slang term for fraudulent medicine. Modern examples of "snake oil" would be aroma therapy, homeopathy, acupuncture, chiropractic and a thousand other "new age" frauds. In the old days snake oil salesmen traveled from town to town selling miracle medicines that promised to cure everything from headaches to broken bones. AnswerYeah. Search "snake medicine" on the web for more open-minded, and still factual answers.

...ANOTHER ANSWER... I would agree with the premise of answer #1 but not with the examples and would follow the advice of answerer #2...aroma therapy, homeopathy, acupuncture and chiropractic are now seen as viable and effective forms of aternative medicine and most are, in fact, covered by an individuals insurance. A more accurate exampe of "snake oil medicine" would be creams or lotions that promise to "totally reverse the aging process" especially when results are guaranteed by saying "after just one use"! Advertisers often market a product with "snake oil" methods by showing before and after pictures of results that are unrealistic.

Another Answer: I think a lot of legal drugs could be construed a "Snake oil". I took Lipitor and some Arthritis ( Vioox, Bextra, Baycol) medications that were not any better than the snake oils of the old west. Th crooked salesman was a man in a white coat with a diploma on his wall. A Scheister none the less! With the FDA making his brochures.

Another answer, assuming you want an answer to the question you actually asked: Snake medicine varies depending on the culture, and generally refers to symbolic uses of the snake image rather than requiring actual snakes. Native Americans often saw in snake the idea of death/rebirth because it sheds its skin and seems about to die when it does so. Creativity, transformation, and moving forward without looking back are all connected to this view of snake. "Creativity" is also an attribute of kundalini or serpent energy; in this Eastern idea, serpent fire is coiled at the base of the spine, and as its energy is released up the spine, it activates all the chakras (energy centers in the body) and helps develop the body, mind, and spirit. These ideas have also been adopted by many modern students of the metaphysical; snake energy in all these traditions is usually accessed through some form of meditation. Greeks associated the snake with healing and alchemy: the staff of Aesculapius, a rough stick with a snake twined about it, is used as a symbol by doctors trained in Western-style medicine. (A similar symbol with two intertwined snakes, the caduceus, symbolized peace, commerce, and trade; it has often been confused with the staff of Aesculapius.) And the Egyptians depicted a rearing cobra in the uraeus, a headband/crown that symbolized both sovereignty over lower Egypt (and, some believe, over the universe) and divine protection of the royal who wore it.