return to main index

  mobile - desktop
follow us on facebook follow us on twitter follow us on YouTube link to us on LinkedIn
 
Click here for LLL Reptile & Supply
Mice, Rats, Rabbits, Chicks, Quail
Available Now at RodentPro.com!
Locate a business by name: click to list your business
search the classifieds. buy an account
events by zip code list an event
Search the forums             Search in:
News & Events: Herp Photo of the Day: False Coral Snake . . . . . . . . . .  Herp Photo of the Day: Bearded Dragon . . . . . . . . . .  Greater Cincinnati Herp Society Meeting - Apr 02, 2024 . . . . . . . . . .  Calusa Herp Society Meeting - Apr 04, 2024 . . . . . . . . . .  Southwestern Herp Society Meeting - Apr 06, 2024 . . . . . . . . . .  Hamburg Reptile Show - Apr. 13, 2024 . . . . . . . . . .  St. Louis Herpetological Society - Apr 14, 2024 . . . . . . . . . .  San Diego Herp Society Meeting - Apr 16, 2024 . . . . . . . . . .  Suncoast Herp Society Meeting - Apr 20, 2024 . . . . . . . . . .  DFW Herp Society Meeting - Apr 20, 2024 . . . . . . . . . .  Colorado Herp Society Meeting - Apr 20, 2024 . . . . . . . . . .  Chicago Herpetological Society Meeting - Apr 21, 2024 . . . . . . . . . . 
Join USARK - Fight for your rights!
full banner - advertise here .50¢/1000 views
click here for Rodent Pro
pool banner - $50 year

PA Press: Student could lose arm from snake bite (Copperhead)

[ Login ] [ User Prefs ] [ Search Forums ] [ Back to Main Page ] [ Back to Viperidae ] [ Reply To This Message ]
[ Register to Post ]

Posted by: W von Papineäu at Sun Oct 23 13:01:21 2005  [ Report Abuse ] [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by W von Papineäu ]  
   

THE MERCURY (Pottstown, Pennsylvania) 23 October 05 Student could lose arm from snake bite (Tracy Meadowcroft)
Lower Pottsgrove: A 14-year-old St. Pius X High School student may lose her arm after being bitten by a copperhead snake Friday afternoon at the school, according to police.
The girl, whose name is not being released by police, was flown to Hershey Medical Center, where she was listed in very serious condition after initially receiving treatment at Pottstown Memorial Medical Center for the bite to her finger, according to Lower Pottsgrove Police Chief Ray Bechtel.
The girl was taken to PMMC about 45 minutes after she was bitten, Bechtel said.
"The doctors said if it had been a half-hour longer (until she received treatment) she would likely have been dead," Bechtel said.
"We’re quite concerned for the health and well-being of the little girl," he added.
A 17-year-old male student caught the snake in Valley Forge on Oct. 15, Bechtel said. The snake was identified by a picture on his camera phone, which aided in treating the victim. The boy, who has been cooperative during the investigation, may face charges of neglect concerning the incident, Bechtel said. The boy’s name also is not being released, he said.
The director of the drama club also may face charges for not calling medical personnel to treat the girl after she was bitten, he added.
Friday was an in-service day at the school, but members of the drama club had gathered there, at which time the boy brought out the snake, which had been kept in a shoebox, and was showing it to his fellow students, Bechtel said. The snake bit the girl’s finger and she apparently threw the snake across the room after being bitten, Bechtel said.
The boy thought the snake was dead, but it appeared to have only been stunned and has not been located since the boy threw it outside, according to Bechtel.
Bechtel said officials at St. Pius have been very helpful and cooperative during the investigation.
Although copperhead snake bites are typically not fatal they are extremely painful and have been known to cause extensive scarring and loss of limb use, according to the Web site of the North Carolina Cooperative Extension of North Carolina State University.
According to the site, North Carolina has recorded the most venomous snake bite incidents in the United States.
If bitten by a copperhead snake, the North Carolina Cooperative Extension strongly advises that the victim seek medical treatment immediately, since it injects more or less venom depending on how threatened it feels.
Student could lose arm from snake bite


   

[ Reply To This Message ] [ Subscribe to this Thread ] [ Show Entire Thread ]


>> Next Message:  RE: PA Press: Student could lose arm from snake bite (Copperhead) - phobos, Mon Oct 24 04:51:08 2005