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SNAKE BITE PREVENTION AND TREATMENT TIPS FROM THE HSC
>>STEVEN SEIFERT, MD/UNM HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER: We have about 75 to 100 bites a year by rattlesnakes.
And while the total number isn’t as large as some states, on a per capita basis we’re
actually the number two state with regard to rattlesnake bites.
>>STEVEN SEIFERT,MD/ UNM HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER: When you’re outside walking in areas where
there might be snakes, you can do things to protect yourself. One, wear shoes, long pants.
When you’re hiking or walking along trails, snakes blend in pretty well with their environment.
So you want to look around you. They don’t always rattle before they strike. So you also
don’t want to reach into areas where you can’t see.
>>DOUG HOTLE/ALBUQUERQUE BIOPARK HERPETOLOGY CURATOR: Normally, the first thing you feel
is about like a bee sting. And that pain starts to go up the affected limb. If you’re bitten
in the hand it starts to work its way up the arm. Within no time at all, I can liken it
to maybe setting your hand on fire and putting it out with a sledgehammer. It’s a very
excruciating bite. What we always say about venomous snakes is they’re not aggressive
but they will defend themselves aggressively. If they feel threatened, if they feel cornered,
something like this, that is when they’re prone to bite. A large percentage, and we’re
talking 80 percent of the snakebites out there are what we call illegitimate bites. And these
occur by people trying to handle the snakes, trying to harass them, kill them, capture
them, whatever they’re trying to do with them, and that causes the snake to defend
itself. Very rarely is anybody bitten just walking through the woods or anything like
that. So it’s just people who purposely put themselves in that position.
>>STEVEN SEIFERT,MD/ UNM HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER: Let me just say, if you encounter a snake,
what you want to do is back away. Snakes can generally leap, if you will, or project themselves
about half the length of their body. So you want to be at least a couple multiples of
that from them. And backing away quickly is the best thing straight away. If you are bitten,
first, the most important thing is not to panic. Envenomation does not always occur.
Even if you are envenomated, you have time to get to a medical facility, get appropriate
treatment. I would like to just emphasize there’s nothing you can do out in the field
that’s going to decrease the amount of venom in the bitten area or improve outcomes.
DOUG HOTLE/ALBUQUERQUE BIOPARK HERPETOLOGY CURATOR: Don’t do any preliminary treatment.
Don’t do any ice, don’t do any tourniquets, and definitely don’t do any cutting. Get
to the doctors. They’re equipped to administer antivenom and to assess the bite on how bad
it really is. ###