I work in a hospital and it does'nt take long before word spreads that I am a snake fanatic. A person I work with received a phone call from her husband who said he was bitten by a snake and has called 911 and will be in the ER shortly. He said the snake was around 18" and brown. From the vague description of the snake and symptoms it looked like a copperhead bite. She asked me if I would go see him in the ER. They valued my opinion and advice more than the docs. The bite was two clear fang marks. Swelling with the slight tinge of bruising was seen radiating about 2" from the bite. Symptoms were intense pain like being hit with a hammer which was from the bite site up and down the arm, diarrhea, chest pain, and double vision. I said I did'nt think antivenom was needed unless swelling spread up the arm. Just antibiotics. I told them to carefully watch the bite site for signs of infection for the next month. It seems like the doctor had the same plan but still its neat when people look to us and we have an opportunity to help others all the while not painting the picture of the snake being the bad guy.
Dan
