LEWISTON MORNING TRIBUNE (Wenatchee, Washington) 04 July 08 No need to be rattled by the news, but ... (Joel Mills)
Pullamn: There may be more rattlesnakes this year but treatment for a bite remains the same: Victims should be concerned with only one thing — the ticking clock.
"The major problem with trying to treat it in the field is you're wasting time," Washington State University evolutionary biologist Ken Kardong says.
And he should know. Kardong has twice been on the receiving end of severe bites, once in the lab and once in the field. Both times he received prompt medical attention and doses of antivenin, and recovered fully.
Such run-ins between people and snakes could be on the rise this year, Kardong cautions, if anecdotal reports from the field can be believed. His network of snake watchers have reported sighting more rattlers this year, and in places they aren't normally seen, like the outskirts of Pullman and the Spokane area.
Kardong says antiquated methods of dealing with snakebites — like slashing the wound to bleed out venom or applying a tourniquet to keep venom from spreading — generally do no more than burn precious minutes. The best thing to do is remain calm and seek medical attention.
"Any bite should be treated as a severe medical emergency," says WSU's "snake guy," seated in his campus lab with a roomful of specimens buzzing next door.
Only one in five bites gets a large dose of venom, he says, and a similar proportion are "dry" bites. The rest are usually somewhere in between.
There is good news, Kardong says, because there usually is plenty of time to seek help. If a bite victim can get treatment in less than a day, there's a good chance no lasting damage will occur.
An even better strategy is, of course, to not get bitten in the first place, Kardong says. That involves nothing more complicated than a little common sense, he adds.
"Just be careful, and watch where you put your foot."
Good, high-top boots are an essential when hiking in snake country, he says. Another good tip is to not reach blindly for hand holds into areas that can't be seen.
Rattlers and other snakes are most active during the cooler parts of the day. In the spring and fall, that's usually midday, and mornings and evenings in the summer, Kardong says.
If a hiker does encounter a rattlesnake, the best thing to do is "jump eight feet, straight up," he jokes.
In most cases, a hiker should remain still or move calmly away from the snake. But even that scenario can be a problem, especially in the fall when snakes tend to congregate near winter hibernation dens.
"The risk is that if you lift your leg up, you may put it down on one of his friends," he says. And that will almost guarantee a bite. He advises staying put at first, then looking around for a safe place to retreat.
Antivenin is now available for pets, Kardong says. Like people, they should be assisted — carried, if possible — to slow the spread of venom and quickly taken to a veterinarian for treatment.
He says many snake bites come when people just aren't using their heads. "Most people that get bitten are people that are after a snake."
The typical person in that situation is a young male looking for a hat band, or to impress friends, he says. People should always steer clear of rattlers unless there is a compelling reason to do otherwise, he says.
Last month, a Bridgeport teen was bitten by a small rattlesnake that he and some friends were playing with, according to authorities.
And just last week, a man in his early 20s accidentally shot himself in the face when he tried to shoot a rattlesnake with a .22-caliber shot shell. Frank Jeffreys survived, but had to be airlifted to a Seattle hospital for treatment. He may lose almost all of his sight.
Kardong only has theories as to why there may be more human-snake encounters. One possibility is the late-coming spring season made it just seem like there were suddenly more rattlers around.
Some old agricultural lands are being returned to their native state, he says, making them more hospitable to snakes.
People are also developing more gardens, which feed a larger rodent population. And more rodents usually means more snakes, he says. Or it could just be that human and snake habitats are bumping into each other more than they have in the past.
"I don't know if we're getting more numbers," he says, "but they seem to be dispersing more."
No need to be rattled by the news, but ...

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