Foxy asked:
What is the bite treatment in the US? From what I've heard it is very
different to Australia.
---------------------------------------
If the bite is very recent the first phase of treatment is simply to
wait a bit to see if any symptoms appear. First, the snake may have
been non-venomous. In the US, most snakes are non-venomous and I doubt
that 1 person in 100 could properly ID any snake. Second, even if the
snake is venomous there is about a 60 hance that the bite was dry if
it was a copperhead or water moccasin and about 40 0f it was a
rattlesnake.
These are pit vipers and the relese of venom during a bite is under
conscious control of the snake. The venom supply is precious to the
snake as it takes a while to rebuild it once it's used. You may get a
dry bite if the snake feels that a warning is adequate; a wet bite if
the snake considers himself in mortal danger. Archie Carr, a biologist
from the University of Florida, therorized that the greater probablility
of a wet bite from a rattlesnake was that the rattlesnake had probably
already been warning the victim with his rattle. If you got bit it was
because you had been ignoring the rattle.
I don't know the equivalent data for coral snake bites or whether the
coral snake has any control over the release of venom. Coral snakes in
the US are quite docile and so small that it's hard to get bitten in the
first place. They need to hit a place small enough to fit their mouths
and they also need to chew a bit. They do not have long, needlike fangs
like the pit vipers. The only coral snake bite that I am familiar with
was to a young boy who had been playing with the snake for about 1/2
hour. BTW, coral snakes should be described as banded instead of
striped.
For details on suggested first aid and treatments see:
http://www.wf.net/~snake/firsdisc.htm
Chuck Norcutt
Woburn, Massachusetts, USA
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