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register with hospital?
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by Scootertrash on July 20, 2004
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I read that you should register with the hospital that carries your particular type of Antivenom and let them know what kind of hots you keep. I live in So Cal. (near Palm Springs) I don't know the closest hospital to me that deals with snake bites but i do know that Loma Linda does (Venom ER Dr. Shawn Bush). The Palm Springs area hospitals are closer than Loma Linda but this is the only one that I know of for sure.Two questions, one, how do i go about registering myself as a venomous keeper? And second, will this do any good if I am accidentally bitten? I have kept venomous reptiles for a while but never registered at any hospitals. Does this actually make the hospital more prepared for a bite?
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RE: register with hospital?
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by Phobos on July 20, 2004
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Hi:
I don't think it will make a bit of difference if you only keep domestic snakes. I think almost all hospital in areas that have venomous snakes will keep a few vials of antivenom in stock. I know the area you live, I go to Joshua Tree area quite often. If bitten; I would ask them take me to Loma Linda. Having a specialist like Dr. Bush nearby is a significant advantage.
If you keep exotics (non-domestics) you need to team up with your physician and order(purchase) a suitable suppy of antivenom for the species you plan to keep.
Regardless of what you keep you need to make a emergency snakebite protocol for someone to use if you are bitten. It makes more sense to me to visit the local paramedics and dicussed your emergency proceedures.
I just scratched the surface on this topic. Hopefully some of the Nationally Certified Paramedics on this site will give you additional information.
Best,
Al
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RE: register with hospital?
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by pygmybait on July 22, 2004
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As a paramedic and a hot keeper, the best advise that I would give would be to keep bite protocols for each individual species that you keep and a list of what their respective anti-venoms are. If all you are kepping is crotalids or native hots, you should be good to go pretty much anywhere you go since you'll probably be getting CroFab anyway. If you do keep exotics like gaboons or cobras or whatever, you'd do yourself a great service by finding out where the AV is for that species and having contact numbers. We have a great AV bank in south Florida but I'm not sure if they can get to you out there in Cali or not. It may be worth a call. You can find their number elsewhere on this site.
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RE: register with hospital?
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by Scootertrash on July 23, 2004
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Thanks guys, As for the exotics, I don't keep them. I keep Crotalids. Thank you for your advice and if i do keep exotics in the future, I will certainly make some phone calls on exotic AV. I am interested in tree vipers as exotics so there is a good chance that I will be keeping something like that one of these days.
Clayton
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by pygmybait on July 24, 2004
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In that case, you're set. CroFab is the new standard for crotalid bites and it's all over the place. Some hospitals still carry the old Wyeth equine origin AV but I'd advise you to stick with the CroFab if there is a choice. I had a very nasty reaction to the Wyeth AV earlier this year and I'd hate to see anyone else have to go through that.
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by Phobos on July 24, 2004
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pygmybait:
Was your reaction from "personal experience" of from your activities as a Paramedic? In 1974 I received 6 units of the Wyeth AV to counteract act the bite of a C.h.horridus. No problem with the infusion of the AV but a few days later I did have a bad case of serum sickness. As expected when the body eliminates that much foriegn protein. However, it was very effective neutralizing the Crotalid bite. I went from severe Thrombocytepenia to circulating platelets by the time the infusion was complete.
Best,
Al
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RE: register with hospital?
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by pygmybait on July 25, 2004
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Actually, I was administered the Wyeth due to a series of mistakes at the local hospital. I was bitten by a juvenile canebrake on my left ring finger (totally my fault - I wasn't paying attention). I signed a consent form that plainly stated that I would be recieving CroFab. Had I known that I was going to get the Wyeth, I wouldn't have signed (my father had a serious reaction to Wyeth AV). So long story short, they gave me the wrong stuff and I had a nasty reaction and was transferred to Shands hospital in Jacksonville after being loaded up with benadryl and Solu-medrol and other little odds and ends. I walked out the next morning with only moderate swelling to the finger. The best part of it was that the arthritis that I had in that hand was completely relieved after the bite. I actually have gretly improved dexterity in my left hand now! I did have pretty severe serum sickness about 5 days after the AV was administered. That was worse than any of the bites that I've had. Aweful few days for sure.
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by Phobos on July 25, 2004
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Pygmybait:
Interesting story. Do you think it was the venom that improved your arthritis?
I am more afraid of the hospital and the "care-givers" than the bite itself. When I was first admitted to the local hospital I was first seen by a surgeon from Venezuela who was the ER doc on duty. Bad news for me. At 17 I did not have sufficient moxy to tell him to take a flying leap. I had a complete bite protocol (reviewed by my physician and approved) with me that he discarded because he was the doctor and I was the patient. My family contacted my doctor who was out of town. He rushed back and verbally "kicked the Venezuelan's ass" for mis-managing my case.
My bite was my fault too, no surprize there. Slipped the "pin" as I was reaching for it's head. Bad technique on my part; made my hand an easy target. One remarkable thing I did notice, she was rattling like hell till she landed the bite. Then she stopped and sat there on the floor motionless. If I could read her mind it would have been like,"take that jackass"
I will write the whole story and submit it to the articles section of this website. It's very important for all "hot keepers" to learn from our mistakes but equally important for them to know how hospital personal can also make mistakes. DO NOT EVER SUBMIT TO A TREATMENT YOU FEEL IS NOT RIGHT. Make sure you family also knows how to contact real experts for consultation in case you are not able to help direct the treatment.
Best,
Al
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by pygmybait on July 26, 2004
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I'm not sure if it was the actual venom or the after effect of the severe swelling that "cured" my arthritis. All I know is that there is no pain in the joints anymore and that I have greatly improved dexterity in that hand only.
I'll get into more detail later -
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by Buzztail1 on July 26, 2004
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Al,
please write up your story and send it to me at Buzztail1@hotmail.com
Maybe I can work it into a newsletter.
Karl
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