Copperhead Bite Me !!!

[MB NZ]

Since we are so off topic now. I see on YouTube a lot of herpers (sorry if that isn't the correct term!) allow non-venomous snakes to bite them. My phobia aside, this doesn't seem like a super idea. 1) Reptiles carry all sorts of nasty bacteria and 2) The snake that you have just allowed to bite you may have rotting mouse flesh (or whatever) on it's teeth. Comments?

 

[The Chairman]

I had the opportunity to educate one my fellow ER physicians

Yah, ER physicians usually don't know much about snake bites. My Nephew was bitten by a pygmy rattlesnake taken to one hospital, then sent to another. In any event, he was in the PICU in Florida Hospital (Orlando) when I went to see him. His mother was quite tired, and asked if I would visit with him while she and her husband went to get something to eat. NotAProblem! Crazy Jazy and I were good friends, and I heard his side of how his younger brother collected the snake. Then a nurse came in, with another nurse she was orienting, followed by a doctor reading some instructions. As he passed by to the other side I read at the top of the paper in bright red letters: May cause allergic reaction! The doctor explained that it was anti-venom, and he was about to inject it into the drip IV. Cool. The nurse measured out the dose and then injected it into the IV. They checked the flow, and all three of them filed out of his room to attend to other matters.

Within a few nanoseconds of them leaving, my nephew started to sneeze. And sneeze. And sneeze. Phlegm was flying everywhere. His pulse raced to over 160, though no alarm went off. Oh my, I was out of my depth and stuck my head out the door and saw the doctor still reading those instructions. He came into the room, and quickly pulled the IV out. Then he grabbed an oxy mask, ripped it open, but it would fit the tube coming out of the wall. He tried another, and another, with no better result. Being a mechanic and having worked in a lab in college, I saw the problem. I grabbed the hose and the mask from him, pulled out the short, hard tube in the hose, slapped the mask tube together and gave it back to the doctor. He told me what to set the 0₂ at (my side of the bed) and he put the canula onto my nephew. About this time, his pulse started to drop, he stopped sneezing, and of course, the head nurse walks in with her orientee. She sees the look on the doctor, sees the elevated pulse, sees the nasal canula, looks at me and orders me out. ??? Before I could protest, the doctor told her that that no, I can stay. We both allow the nurses to do their thing and step out to the hallway.

My sister told me that they had brought the snake with them in the collection jar, so I asked the doc if I could see it. "Funny thing about that..." he started, and then he told me about what happened. The security officer in the ICU decided that he was going to dispatch the snake with his service revolver. After all, he believed in the myth that the snake would strike at the hot bullet, killing itself in the process. Sigh. What he didn't realize was that he was standing in a fire-ant bed. So about the time he had unscrewed the collection jar, the ants started to bite. They use a pheromone to bite in unison, which startled him that he dropped the open container, his service revolver, and jumped away. Apparently, allergic to their bites, he started to go into an anaphylactic shock and was currently being treated in the ER. Wow. The snake escaped. That scenario was not on my bingo card.

Sorry for the length, but it's kind of funny.

 

[The Chairman]

Comments?

Clean with hibicleans or similar. No biggie.

 

[Eastwest]

Can anyone figure out what 28 32 18 and the imaginary line it represents in regards to the Florida Peninsula . This will least give us some parameters . Links are for the lazy ! Rumdumb

 

[The Chairman]

and the imaginary line it represents

I know that the copper head I saw in Oleno is said to be too far south. That's North of Gainesville for those keeping score.

 

[MB NZ]

Clean with hibicleans or similar. No biggie.

OK, I'll take your word for it. Not an issue for me because I would literally die on the spot if that ever happened!

 

[The Chairman]

because I would literally die on the spot if that ever happened!

You might need to treat a friend though. A good scrub with soap and water would also be good. Apply Neosporin or any topical antibiotic. Any bite to the buttocks would require you to immediately suck out the poison. Please send pics.

 

[RIHappyDiver]

Can anyone figure out what 28 32 18 and the imaginary line it represents in regards to the Florida Peninsula . This will least give us some parameters . Links are for the lazy ! Rumdumb

It’s Orlando, but still no references to copperheads being that far south.

 

[greeniguana]

Since we are so off topic now. I see on YouTube a lot of herpers (sorry if that isn't the correct term!) allow non-venomous snakes to bite them. My phobia aside, this doesn't seem like a super idea. 1) Reptiles carry all sorts of nasty bacteria and 2) The snake that you have just allowed to bite you may have rotting mouse flesh (or whatever) on it's teeth. Comments?

A buddy and I used to take snakes and lizards to cub scout groups for presentations. He let a garter snake bite on his hand for the duration of one session, because it was easier than trying to wrangle it while all the kids touched it. He got a weird inflamed sore that didn't go away for days. So I don't want them biting me.

 

[elmo]

It’s Orlando, but still no references to copperheads being that far south.

Copperheads are found a lot further south than the OP’s snake. Just for fun

Copperhead Snake

All species of Copperhead Snakes are fairly similar in general form and colouration. They are moderately robust and muscular in build.

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