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ARIZONA DAILY STAR (Tucson) 15 September 04 Rattlers send 7 people to hospitals Peak bite season; good news is that antivenin plentiful (Carla McClain)
Rattlesnake bites have hospitalized seven Tucson-area patients in the past week - the most likely time of the year for human conflicts with the venomous reptiles.
However, this is the first year in nearly a decade that Arizona is not struggling with a shortage of the lifesaving antivenin used to treat snakebites. The patients, all adults, have received sufficient doses and reportedly are recovering.
"This is the peak snake season of the entire year - right around Labor Day. It sounds like a lot of cases, but we almost always see a flurry of bites right about now, in early September. This is pretty typical," said Dr. Leslie Boyer, medical director of the Arizona Poison and Drug Information Center at the University of Arizona.
One of the severe bites happened to a man delivering a pizza to a northeast Foothills home Saturday night. That patient, Jeffrey Myrmo, 31, got "a maximal toxic dose" of venom, according to his nurse, when he was bitten without warning.
"I walked up to the house, and it was near the door. I either kicked or stepped on the snake. I looked down, saw it on my leg and felt it biting. I never heard any rattling until after the bite," said Myrmo, in intensive care at St. Joseph's Hospital.
The bite, on the inside of his right ankle, initially felt no more painful than "being stuck with a thumbtack," he said.
As luck would have it, Myrmo was delivering the pizza to a Tucson physician, who immediately sat him down, elevated the stricken leg, and called 911. Within minutes, Myrmo was on his way to St. Joseph's.
By then, he was feeling a pain he described as "like a searing hot knife" as the venom began to spread. He received an initial six vials of antivenin, then a dose every two hours until he stabilized, by Monday morning. He required a total of 16 vials, said his nurse, Richard Condon.
"At this point, we're optimistic for a complete and total recovery," Condon said. "What we don't want to see is any lost tissue or toes. We don't think that's going to happen."
Describing his right leg as "swollen like a blimp," Myrmo said he feels lucky, considering the hit of venom he received.
"But this is not how I wanted to achieve my 15 minutes of fame," he said with a laugh.
Although "rattlesnake season" starts in March and ends in late October, when the reptiles go back underground, bites peak around Memorial Day and again at Labor Day, Boyer said.
"This is when the people come out," she said. "The snakes are always there. But it's so beautiful now, with cooler nights, so we go out and start stomping on snakes."
Bites can occur throughout Tucson, but most are around the outskirts of the city, where housing developments abut natural desert, she said.
Although deaths from rattlesnake bites are rare - averaging 10 to 12 a year in the United States - treating bites is extremely expensive, with a single vial of antivenin costing $2,500 to $3,000. The average patient uses about 20 vials.
"The good news is, we finally have plenty of it," Boyer said. "This is the first time in at least eight years I have not had to call hospitals all over the West trying to get enough."
Few drug companies are willing to manufacture antivenin, given the very small market and difficulty producing it. That keeps supplies low and drives up the cost.
"So, of course, we suggest people don't get bitten," Boyer said.
Rattlers send 7 people to hospitals

Have you ever noticed it's always the people who don't want to see a snake that get chomped! I lived in Tucson for 6 years at my desert home out in the real desert. I only saw 3 rattlers on or around my property. If you want to find rattlers go to a housing development or golf course where they are plentiful. Developers don't care if they build on a den site.

Al Coritz

>>ARIZONA DAILY STAR (Tucson) 15 September 04 Rattlers send 7 people to hospitals Peak bite season; good news is that antivenin plentiful (Carla McClain)
>>Rattlesnake bites have hospitalized seven Tucson-area patients in the past week - the most likely time of the year for human conflicts with the venomous reptiles.
>>However, this is the first year in nearly a decade that Arizona is not struggling with a shortage of the lifesaving antivenin used to treat snakebites. The patients, all adults, have received sufficient doses and reportedly are recovering.
>>"This is the peak snake season of the entire year - right around Labor Day. It sounds like a lot of cases, but we almost always see a flurry of bites right about now, in early September. This is pretty typical," said Dr. Leslie Boyer, medical director of the Arizona Poison and Drug Information Center at the University of Arizona.
>>One of the severe bites happened to a man delivering a pizza to a northeast Foothills home Saturday night. That patient, Jeffrey Myrmo, 31, got "a maximal toxic dose" of venom, according to his nurse, when he was bitten without warning.
>>"I walked up to the house, and it was near the door. I either kicked or stepped on the snake. I looked down, saw it on my leg and felt it biting. I never heard any rattling until after the bite," said Myrmo, in intensive care at St. Joseph's Hospital.
>>The bite, on the inside of his right ankle, initially felt no more painful than "being stuck with a thumbtack," he said.
>>As luck would have it, Myrmo was delivering the pizza to a Tucson physician, who immediately sat him down, elevated the stricken leg, and called 911. Within minutes, Myrmo was on his way to St. Joseph's.
>>By then, he was feeling a pain he described as "like a searing hot knife" as the venom began to spread. He received an initial six vials of antivenin, then a dose every two hours until he stabilized, by Monday morning. He required a total of 16 vials, said his nurse, Richard Condon.
>>"At this point, we're optimistic for a complete and total recovery," Condon said. "What we don't want to see is any lost tissue or toes. We don't think that's going to happen."
>>Describing his right leg as "swollen like a blimp," Myrmo said he feels lucky, considering the hit of venom he received.
>>"But this is not how I wanted to achieve my 15 minutes of fame," he said with a laugh.
>>Although "rattlesnake season" starts in March and ends in late October, when the reptiles go back underground, bites peak around Memorial Day and again at Labor Day, Boyer said.
>>"This is when the people come out," she said. "The snakes are always there. But it's so beautiful now, with cooler nights, so we go out and start stomping on snakes."
>>Bites can occur throughout Tucson, but most are around the outskirts of the city, where housing developments abut natural desert, she said.
>>Although deaths from rattlesnake bites are rare - averaging 10 to 12 a year in the United States - treating bites is extremely expensive, with a single vial of antivenin costing $2,500 to $3,000. The average patient uses about 20 vials.
>>"The good news is, we finally have plenty of it," Boyer said. "This is the first time in at least eight years I have not had to call hospitals all over the West trying to get enough."
>>Few drug companies are willing to manufacture antivenin, given the very small market and difficulty producing it. That keeps supplies low and drives up the cost.
>>"So, of course, we suggest people don't get bitten," Boyer said.
>>Rattlers send 7 people to hospitals