DAILY LIGHT (Waxahachie, Texas) 06 September 05 Red Oak resident bitten by copperhead (Mandy Bourgeois)
Red Oak: Linda Stanford found an unpleasant surprise in her flowerbed at her Red Oak home last Thursday.
As she pulled weeds and removed stones from around a fountain with ungloved hands, she didn't realize she was disturbing the home of a usually timid, but poisonous reptile, a copperhead snake.
"I didn't see it before it bit me, but it hurt so bad it felt like someone stuck a branding iron to me," Stanford said. "It happened so fast, but I think I slung it off my finger, then I knew it was a snake."
As Stanford ran to her next-door neighbor's house, she immediately noticed the wound on her finger had begun to bleed and swell. Her neighbor looked around the area where Stanford was working on moving the stones and found the snake. He confirmed that it was a copperhead.
Realizing that she was experiencing the effects of the venom, Stanford called 9-1-1. EMS personnel also confirmed the wound was the work of a copperhead. They put a tourniquet around her arm and put Stanford on an intravenous drip.
She was taken by ambulance to Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas, where she received antivenom. She was hospitalized for two days.
"My whole arm swelled up to my shoulder," Stanford said. "It was probably about two times as big as it was supposed to be."
Stanford said the swelling was almost completely gone by Monday, with only her finger still a little puffy.
She said a hospital staff member told her she was the second person from Ellis County in August to suffer a copperhead bite.
Baylor Medical Center in Waxahachie emergency department physician Dr. David Dominguez encourages immediate first aid therapy at the time of the bite.
"If you have been bitten by a venomous snake or are in the company of someone who has been bitten, taking action right away could be important to the success of the treatment provided by health care professionals," Dominguez said.
Dominguez recommends that victims remain calm and make a note of the time of the bite. Also, remove any jewelry in the area of the body before swelling takes place. Also, do not elevate the limb, but keep it below the heart and get to the hospital as soon as possible. To aid doctors in identifying the snake, he also recommends killing the snake and bringing it to the hospital.
"Do not drink alcohol since it may speed the heart and blood flow, and neither cut the wound nor apply a tourniquet," Dominguez said. "Venom is protein, so sucking and squeezing the wound will have no ill effects. Do not ice the area."
Dominguez urges wearing gloves while gardening and keeping areas well landscaped, therefore snakes will not be tempted to make a home in flowerbeds.
Baylor in Waxahachie does have the initial dose of antivenin needed to treat snakebites of the three most common poisonous snakes in North America, rattlesnake, cottonmouth and copperhead. A typical dose is four to six vials administered through an intravenous drip over one hour.
According to information provided by the Ellis County Extension Office, the broad-banded copperhead variety of snake is found throughout the wooded areas extending from the Red River to the Balcones Escarpment in the south. The snake is stout-bodied, ranging from 22 inches to 30 inches long. An adult copperhead is marked with wide, reddish brown crossbands, alternating with narrower tan to pale brown interspaces. A narrow dark brown "V" lies on each side of the head, the apex near the end of the mouth line, with one arm ending behind the eye and the other tracing the lower lip. Young copperheads are gray with yellow tails.
Copperheads usually only strike if they are provoked and do have warning signals to caution predators or unknowing humans of their presence. Copperheads will vibrate their tail and spray an unpleasant smelling musk from glands at the base of their tails. If the snake remains threatened, it will strike.
Copperheads produce small amounts of venom and have short fangs, but can still cause serious medical issues when they bite humans, especially small children, the elderly and those with weak immune systems. The primary symptoms of a copperhead bite are swelling and pain in the bite location.
Cindi Walters with the Waxahachie Animal Control encourages those who see snakes on their property to call animal control instead of attempting to move the reptile themselves.
"The main thing is don't mess with it if you don't know what it is," Walters said. "These are wild animals or, in this case, reptile."
Walters also suggests those prone to snake sightings around their homes should line the outside and inside of their houses with crystallized sulphur. The product will keep snakes away from the area and will not harm dogs or cats.
"And it keeps fleas and ticks away and smells better than moth balls," Walter said.
Animal control hours in Waxahachie are from 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and fro m 8:30 a.m.-noon Saturday from 8:30 a.m.-12 p.m. Contact animal control at (972) 937-1802.
Red Oak resident bitten by copperhead

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