Well here it is early August and we’ve just had four rattlesnake bites in the past week and a half! This is a little unusual for us as we usually see the majority of bites during the early part of the season (late spring) and later part of the season (late summer, even early fall). It may be the result of the strange weather we’ve had lately – being uncommonly mild here in northern California. I can’t remember the last 100 degree day (not that I’m complaining, mind you)! Anyway, the general feeling is that we tend to see more bites when the snakes are first being born, emerging from hibernation and when they are headed back to their dens for hibernation. Regardless, it’s been a bit exciting.
There is nothing quite like the jolt I feel when my CSC (receptionist) comes back to tell me that an emergency is on its way in, and that is especially true with rattlesnake bites being that they are so variable. There are so many factors – known ones such as the size of the dog and location of the bite; possibly known ones such as the type of snake and time elapsed since the bite; and the unknown factors such as the amount of envenomation and the make-up of the venom. (Fortunately we only have one venomous snake in the Folsom area, but sometimes there is confusion with non-venomous bites).
One of the most important things we can do for our patients is educating their owners on the dangers of snake bites and what to do and even more importantly, what NOT to do. First off, the timeliness of treatment is critical so it is crucial for the client to get to a hospital as soon as possible, and preferably one that has antivenin available if it ends up being needed. Other than keeping the patient as quiet and calm as possible and (if applicable) keeping the bite site lower than heart level, they should not provide any first-aid. They should not apply hot or cold compresses and absolutely not make any cuts, try to suck out the venom or place a tourniquet.
Antivenin is the only treatment that will slow, halt or reverse the effects of the venom. Other than that we can provide supportive care to reduce the risk of shock with IV fluids and limit pain and the chance of infection.
In addition to educating clients about what happens AFTER a snake bite, we should be doing what we can to prevent things from getting to that point. As the old adage goes, “An ounce of prevention”… yada yada yada. There are more and more companies offering snake avoidance training. We have hosted a “Rattlesnake Avoidance Training” day the past two years and our clients have greatly appreciated it and we’ve had more than a couple account of how their dogs responded (appropriately) even possibly preventing their “parents” from getting bitten.
Well, I’m not quite sure what to expect for the rest of this season, but I do know that anytime we get a rattlesnake bite victim, I won’t need a Starbucks fix!
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