DOUGLAS DAILY NEWS (Georgia) 01 July 05 Snakes alive! (Robert Preston, Jr.)
Douglas: Summer has arrived. Children are out of school, and people of all ages are enjoying the outdoors. But people aren't the only creatures who have come out to play.
Snakes are also crawling. And when people and snakes meet, bad things can happen.
The fear of snakes is one of the most prevalent phobias in the United States. Most people could think of few things worse than suffering a snakebite, particularly one from a venomous species.
South Georgia is home to a wide variety of snake species, most of which are harmless. However, several venomous species are found in the area, and their bites can pack quite a punch.
Fortunately, snakebites in Coffee County are rare. According to Dr. Charles Cowart, Coffee Regional Medical Center's interim emergency room director, the hospital sees very few bites. "We do see a few each year. Most are minor," said Dr. Cowart.
Venomous snakes have control over how much venom they inject into a victim. Their venom is a precious commodity, and is primarily used as a means to kill prey. Therefore, snakes do not want to waste their venom on a defensive bite. That means that many bites result in no or very little venom being injected into the victim.
"Many of the bites I've seen are limited to local reactions," said Dr. Cowart.
If a person comes to the ER with a snakebite, a general examination is performed first. "We look at the symptoms and signs of tissue damage -- swelling, bruising, any necrosis. Sometimes we just have two fang marks and nothing else," he said.
According to the website emedhome.com, about 25 percent of venomous snake bites are believed to be dry bites -- bites in which no venom is injected.
CRMC is equipped to treat a snakebite that does result in an envenomation. All but one of the venomous snakes found locally are pit vipers. Those snakes are the various rattlesnakes, water moccasins and copperheads. The other species is of course the eastern coral snake, a member of the cobra family with a highly dangerous neurotoxic venom.
The pit vipers possess a venom that is largely hemotoxic, which attacks tissues and the circulatory system. Tissue damage and swelling may be severe, especially around the area of the bite. According to emedhome.com, a serious bite can result in death from heart and kidney failure.
The coral snake's venom reacts very differently. The tissue damage seen in pit viper envenomations usually isn't witnessed in coral snake bites. Symptoms include slurred speech, salivation and dizziness. Emedhome.com reports that death can result from respiratory failure.
Though these symptoms are very serious, a venomous snakebite is far from an automatic death sentence.
According to Dr. Cowart, even in the case of a severe envenomation, the chances of death are only .5 percent.
The only treatment for a snakebite is through anti-venin. One anti-venin, Crofab, works for all the pit vipers, regardless of whether the bite comes from an eastern diamondback rattlesnake, water moccasin, copperhead or even a South American bushmaster. It is a very effective treatment, and CRMC keeps several vials on hand.
Coral snake anti-venin is simply called "coral snake anti-venin." According to Dr. Cowart, it is also very effective in treating bites. Not a single coral snake fatality has been reported since the anti-venin became available.
If a person is bitten, Dr. Cowart said one of the keys is to stay calm -- at least as calm as possible. "Someone needs to bring the victim to the hospital," he said. He also said not to use tourniquets, or to cut, suck or apply electric shock to the bite area. "Just get to the hospital as quickly as possible."
Therein lies the key. Those few moments right after the bite are crucial. The quicker the victim can get to the hospital, the better the prognosis.
"Try not to run or walk fast if at all possible. If someone can come and get you, have them do that as opposed to walking, even short distances," said Dr. Cowart.
Since Crofab is applicable to all pit vipers, identifying the offending snake isn't as important as it used to be, though it doesn't hurt. "Sometimes people bring the snake with them, and they're not always dead," he said.
Even if the snake is identified, the medical staff will monitor the clinical symptoms as treatment progresses.
Dr. Cowart stated that a severe envenomation could keep a victim in the hospital for up to a week. But going home doesn't necessarily mean that treatment is over. Severe bites often result in follow up procedures, including skin grafts and other surgeries.
Dr. Cowart says that most of the snakebite victims he has treated were bitten on the legs, though he has seen one bite on a person's hand. "Bites on hands and fingers can be very serious. There's not much tissue on hands and fingers to handle a lot of swelling," said the doctor.
The easiest way to avoid all this is, of course, to not get bitten. Living in South Georgia means you will eventually encounter a snake of some persuasion. When that encounter happens, the best thing to do is leave the snake alone. Snakes do not want to attack people, and if left unmolested, they will often slither off and mind their own business. If you are in "snakey" areas, keep your eyes on the ground and watch where you step. A little common sense can keep you out of the ER and help you enjoy the outdoors through the summer months.
{Wes the Paperboy Comment: The title "Snakes Alive!" is probably the most common press item title that I retrieve from all english-language papers, domestic and overseas.}
Snakes alive!
