[at-l] Snake Anti-venom Availability

[Ozzie]

You are exactly right. It was reported that this guy was either trying to 
kill or catch the snake and from his appearance it could very well have been 
alcohol related. I have personally walked right by snakes a number of times 
and the snakes never even moved. The only snake bite in my family was my 
grandmother in Tennessee who reached in a corn crib for corn and disturbed a 
copperhead which bit her. She too went to a small nearby town for treatment 
and was sent on to Nashville about forty miles away where she was treated. 
She recovered without incident. The closest I have ever come to possibly 
getting bit was when I was gathering firewood just as it was getting pretty 
dark.  I bent down at least twice to pick up a branch and hesitated and 
straightened up each time not really knowing why. Eventually, I recognized 
it as a snake and it turned out to be a copperhead. Evidently, my 
subconscious somehow was speaking to me in recognition of what it was. 
Although, I was standing easily in striking distance since I didn't bother 
the snake, it didn't bother me.   Ozzie


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mara Factor" <m_factor at hotmail.com>
To: <hikingvagabond at cox.net>; <at-l at backcountry.net>
Sent: Monday, July 31, 2006 10:41 PM
Subject: RE: [at-l] Snake Anti-venom Availability


> Ozzie,
>
> Do a little research about rattlesnakes.  They are not a big threat.  If 
> you leave them alone, they will happily leave you alone.
>
> Timber rattlesnakes do not want to bite you. They prefer you to avoid 
> them.  You are not a food source and they would much prefer to strike a 
> mouse or other food source than you.
>
> Many (most according to documentation I've seen) bites are alcohol 
> related - meaning the people who got bit were drunk.  I've also heard most 
> people who get bit are bit on the hand.  In other words, don't reach for 
> the snake and it won't bite you.  Most bites also do not transmit venom - 
> but you can't tell when they do or don't so if bit, always get to help 
> ASAP.
>
> In the east, I consider myself lucky to see rattlesnakes.  I saw one good 
> sized one along the AT in '99.  I also saw one copperhead in '99.  I saw 
> more black snakes than I could count though.  But, they aren't poisonous.
>
> Using google, I  found this site with a couple of interesting pages:
>
> http://dnr.wi.gov/org/land/er/factsheets/herps/timber.htm
>
> http://dnr.wi.gov/org/land/er/publications/snakebite.htm
>
> On the PCT, I saw more rattlesnakes than I could count.  They were never a 
> problem.  When we saw them, we just gave them wide berth.  I'm willing to 
> bet though that there were plenty that we never saw and passed much too 
> close.  But, they weren't a problem, either.  :-)
>
> Mara
> Stitches, AT99
>
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> Visit my Travels and Trails web site at:
>
> http://friends.backcountry.net/m_factor
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
>
>
>
>>From: "Ozzie" <hikingvagabond at cox.net>
>>To: "Post to AT-L" <at-l at backcountry.net>
>>Subject: [at-l] Snake Anti-venom Availability
>>Date: Mon, 31 Jul 2006 13:04:54 -0500
>>
>>The local TV news carried a report of the death of a man as a result of a 
>>bite from a Timber Rattler. He was taken to a hospital in a small town 
>>arriving within twenty minutes of the bite. However, they had no 
>>anti-venom and he was directed to a hospital in a larger town about thirty 
>>minutes away where he died a couple hours later. The information that was 
>>news to me was that many hospitals do not keep anti-venom on hand because 
>>it costs about $2500 a dose and does not keep very long. This man was in 
>>an area where rattlers are abundant and I would have thought that medical 
>>help would have been readily available with anti-venom on hand. I don't 
>>carry a snake bite kit when on the AT.  The latest advice on snake bite 
>>seems to be to do nothing and try to get medical help as soon as possible. 
>>For us hikers that could be some length of time as most of us hike in 
>>areas that is only accessible by foot and many times hike alone.
>>
>>I have always thought if I could make it to a hospital after a snakebite 
>>all would be well. Now I am not so sure. Ozzie
>>
>>
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>