Poisonous Snake Bite!

[F6Dave]

I have a friend in East Texas who was bitten by multiple snakes while walking across a pasture. She didn't see them, but they were probably young copperheads as apparently this is their birthing season. She spent 3 days in the hospital, but they didn't treat her with antivenom since they weren't initially sure what had bitten her. By the time lab results were available antivenom would have had a lesser effect, and carried additional risks.

She's home now, but still has major pain and swelling. The docs told her this could last for 2 to 3 months! They said to keep it elevated as much as possible, but offered no other treatment. Has anyone ever had this experience, or known someone who has? Antivenom was first developed in the 1890s. It's hard to believe snake bit treatment has changed little in over a century!

[DIGGER]

I have heard that getting antivenom is extremely expensive….but then again how much is your life or limb worth.    Had a friend get bit by a rattlesnake at his deer lease and was rushed to the hospital and got antivenom that cost $20,000 a vile.   Think he had a couple viles

[da prez]

  Get a different doctor.

                                 da prez

[Jess from VA]

Wear snake boots.

How do you walk through a field and not know snakes are biting you?

Copperheads are not knows for real serious venom, but they are known to gang up and bite you repeatedly (making it serious).

My mom tells a story about a friend in childhood who fell off her bicycle, rolled down a hill into a nest of them, and didn't survive.  Creepy.

I just got a new infestation of yellow jackets at the foot of one of my old split rail fence posts.

Murder, death, kill.

I thought one of the 30 dog walkers who piss all over the place might enjoy it, but I also thought about children and strollers.  

[Rams]

Well, not myself but, while in the Army playing soldier at Ft. Hood, we were all getting ready for a pre-flight briefing to fly back to Ft. Sill.   We all gathered around our commander, he told us to take a seat while he discussed our re-deployment.   Several of us sat down on the ground or on logs that were laying around the encampment.   I sat on one of those logs.   When the briefing ended, we all got up to go to our aircraft and as I stood up, the other pilots started shouting and pointing.

It seems that a Rattler had struck at my NBC mask and had a fang or two stuck in the rubber/canvas bag.   Was told it was a Copperhead but, truthfully, it didn't matter to me, I'm not all that fond of snakes.

It couldn't let go and I wasn't about to take it with me.   Yeah, got a new mask after that. 

Not going to lie, that scared the pudd'n out of me.   While I did survive the encounter, the snake did not.  It was by no means a baby snake but as time has gone by, it seems to have grown some.   As I remember it now, it was at least 10 feet long and it's mouth was the size of a football.   I may be exaggerating a bit but, that's how I remember it.  You would not believe how fast one can take off equipment when your really want to.   

Rams

[Jersey mike]

Wow, you mention copperhead….I had read this article just a few minutes before reading your post.

https://www.nj.com/mercer/2021/08/rare-venomous-snake-bite-on-nj-hike-put-college-student-in-icu-hes-now-recovering-at-home.html

[F6Dave]

Wow, you mention copperhead….I had read this article just a few minutes before reading your post.

https://www.nj.com/mercer/2021/08/rare-venomous-snake-bite-on-nj-hike-put-college-student-in-icu-hes-now-recovering-at-home.html

I grew up in Jersey, and our family used to go on picnics in the area where that guy was bitten. Wow!

[crow]

Lone Ranger,. What did the doctor say Tonto?

Tonto,.  You gonna die kemosabi

[Jersey mike]

I have heard that getting antivenom is extremely expensive….but then again how much is your life or limb worth.    Had a friend get bit by a rattlesnake at his deer lease and was rushed to the hospital and got antivenom that cost $20,000 a vile.   Think he had a couple viles

My son (24) was recently (about 1 month ago)  bit on the hand by a stray cat. At the time Barb and I had the flu. As luck would have it symptoms of rabies in humans presents as flu like symptoms. Once those symptoms kick in they say it’s not a good thing. So we played it safe and told him go get the shots. Said it was gonna suck but get them.

Hospital bill was $10k. Now here’s the fun part. He originally went to an urgent care center, but the urgent care center said they don’t do the initial shots, they sent him to the hospital. Urgent care didn’t do a thing and billed $600.00. Yes, we’re fighting that. Guy at insurance company was more than interested in knowing those details.

[Jersey mike]

Wow, you mention copperhead….I had read this article just a few minutes before reading your post.

https://www.nj.com/mercer/2021/08/rare-venomous-snake-bite-on-nj-hike-put-college-student-in-icu-hes-now-recovering-at-home.html

I grew up in Jersey, and our family used to go on picnics in the area where that guy was bitten. Wow!

Small world…crazy stuff though isn’t it?

[Oldfishguy]

Well, not myself but, while in the Army playing soldier at Ft. Hood, we were all getting ready for a pre-flight briefing to fly back to Ft. Sill.   We all gathered around our commander, he told us to take a seat while he discussed our re-deployment.   Several of us sat down on the ground or on logs that were laying around the encampment.   I sat on one of those logs.   When the briefing ended, we all got up to go to our aircraft and as I stood up, the other pilots started shouting and pointing.

It seems that a Rattler had struck at my NBC mask and had a fang or two stuck in the rubber/canvas bag.   Was told it was a Copperhead but, truthfully, it didn't matter to me, I'm not all that fond of snakes.

It couldn't let go and I wasn't about to take it with me.   Yeah, got a new mask after that. 

Not going to lie, that scared the pudd'n out of me.   While I did survive the encounter, the snake did not.  It was by no means a baby snake but as time has gone by, it seems to have grown some.   As I remember it now, it was at least 10 feet long and it's mouth was the size of a football.   I may be exaggerating a bit but, that's how I remember it.  You would not believe how fast one can take off equipment when your really want to.   

Rams

Was at Ft. Hood too, 1980-81.  We were out playing in the woods too, sleeping in two man tents for a few weeks when a neighboring “camper” a few miles away got a surprise one evening.  The tents were cool compared to the lovely outside briar patch and a nice sized copperhead crawled in to his sleeping bag.  Well, the young soldier crawled in there with him and got bit quite a few times before he could get out.   Never made it to the hospital. 

Needless to say, a whole new bedtime procedure was enacted.

[0leman]

Where I grew up in Northeastern OK, you never wanted to be the 3rd person in line when walking in the woods.  The first person would wake up the copperhead, the second would piss him off, the third person would get bit.

The sleeping bag snake story above reminded me of when on a fire back in the 80's, we were sleeping on the ground in paper sleeping bags.   One of the guys dreamed that a rattlesnake had crawled into his bag during the night.   We couldn't talk he out of the idea.  So we cut him out of the bad.  Nope, no snake.  Yeah we never let him forget about it.   

[Jess from VA]

In my very first boy scout camp out, some older guy smashed the head of a big garter sake and put it in my sleeping bag.  We had the use of Navy half shelters for pup tents.  I got down in there in my skivvies (it was warm), and about the third time I felt the cold zipper on my leg, I reached down there and grabbed the snake.  I stood straight up yelling, yanking out all the tent stakes.

Laughter IDed the perp.  Payback was had.

I suppose hazing has been around since the caveman.