TIMES NEWS (Kingsport, Tennessee) 09 June 07 Dry weather has snakes on the slither (Kevin Castle)
Snake sightings in the area are on the rise, in part because of recent dry weather, according to a Bays Mountain Park naturalist.
Ken Childress, Bays Mountain Park's nature programmer, said summertime is usually the time when snake sightings in the area increase, but he says the recent dry spell has brought snakes out from cracks and crevices looking more for food than anything else.
"Some will tell you that copperheads and other snakes common around here are looking for water. I don't particularly subscribe to that theory," Childress said.
"There's really not a big reason for them to search for water because they usually don't consume that much. They are probably moving around to search for food, and I think the sightings vary from year to year based on different factors.
"Usually, if you see one, it is a chance thing, depending on how far back you live in a community. The more mountainous terrain you live close to, the chance to see a copperhead or a blacksnake or some other species rises."
Copperheads - the more prevalent - and timber rattlesnakes are the deadliest snakes that exist in the Tennessee-Virginia region, said Childress.
"The rattlers are the largest of those two, and they are probably the most deadly because of their size. Some of them are huge," he said.
"Theoretically, the larger the snake, the more venom that he can inject in you when he bites. One thing about snakes, big or little, they have some control over the amount of venom they produce. It is very rare for a person to die from a copperhead bite."
Altana Inc., the producer of the CroFab antivenin used in medical centers for snakebite victims, says the information it has received early this summer suggests an increase in reported snake activity.
The areas the company reported as seeing an increase include the already populated snake territories of Arizona and California, including 411 snake-related calls fielded by Scottsdale emergency officials since April.
According to the Food and Drug Administration, 47 states in the United States are home to at least one of 20 domestic snakes that are poisonous.
An average of 8,000 people are bitten by a venomous snake each year.
Officials with Mountain States Health Alliance and Wellmont Health System told the Times-News that the number of victims brought in with snakebites is low compared to other summertime injuries.
"From what our folks have seen, they may average one per month at the max," said MSHA Public Relations Manager James Watson.
Dr. William Hudson, emergency room physician with Holston Valley Medical Center, agrees that snakebites are a rarity at HVMC, and antivenin is rarely used, especially with copperhead bites.
"Most copperhead bites get better without it. There is a fairly high-risk profile by giving antivenin because it has horse serum in it," Hudson said.
"Unless it is a large copperhead that strikes in the face or a vascular area with a good dose of venom, the antivenin is usually not necessary. In those cases, we see a lot of pain, swelling, numbing, nausea and vomiting, and later, some bleeding problems.
"Most of the bites we see are mild to moderate envenomations. Rattlesnake bites are very rare, and when we've seen them it was a snake handler who was bitten. We have antivenin, but usually we have to use something for pain control with a patient like that."
The FDA reports that medical professionals vary on treatments for a snakebite victim.
Some turn to an antidote for more serious snakebites, but some physicians use a procedure called a fasciotomy where the doctor treats the tissue around the bite.
If bitten by a snake, the American Red Cross recommends seeking medical help and taking these steps:
•Wash the bite with soap and water.
•Immobilize the bitten area and keep it lower than the heart.
•The venom can be slowed by wrapping a bandage two to four inches above the bite. The bandage should not cut off blood flow from a vein or artery.
•A suction device may be placed over the bite to help draw venom out of the wound.
With camping and other outdoor activities on the rise, Childress recommends that folks just keep a close eye on children and their feet when walking into forested areas.
Areas of tall grass, hiking paths, creek banks and shady trees are a favorite habitat in the summer for snakes, he says.
"Snakes are all around us, but if you keep your distance, the snake will stay away," said Childress.
Dry weather has snakes on the slither