|
1-10 of 14 messages
|
Page 1 of 2
Next
|
|
North Carolina Researchs Coral Snake Snakebite Fir
|
Reply
|
|
by sceniccityreptiles on March 7, 2005
|
Mail this to a friend!
|
ECU researchers study snakebite first aid options
By Jeannine Manning Hutson, Special The Daily Reflector
Sunday, March 06, 2005
In the movies, a poisonous snake in the woods bites a teen, and his
friends
tie a tourniquet around his leg and drive him to a hospital.
There, the victim is given antivenin and a lecture about wandering in
the
woods without an adult. He is discharged a few hours later.
If it were only so simple, said Dr. William J. Meggs, professor of
emergency
medicine and a toxicologist at the Brody School of Medicine at East
Carolina
University.
Meggs and his colleagues recently studied the effectiveness of
tourniquets
and elastic bandages used with splints in treating bites from the
Eastern
coral snake. Eastern coral snakes are found from southern North
Carolina to
Key Largo, Fla., and west through the Gulf states to eastern Louisiana.
“The project worked out great because the issue is, how do you treat
snakebites in the field? People have debated whether or not to use a
tourniquet,” Meggs said. “The Australians recommend wrapping the limb
with
the bite in an Ace bandage and putting on a splint. The venom travels
up the
lymphatic system, but the Ace bandage is enough to slow down or stop
the
flow without compromising blood flow.”
He explained the flow of lymph is controlled by the flexing and
stretching
of muscles, such as when walking. Thus, the splint helps immobilize the
limb
and slow down that process.
Other researchers have traced the flow of lymph using radioactive dye,
Meggs
said, but no one has looked at the effectiveness during an actual venom
incident.
Dr. Benjamin German developed the idea to test the Australian theory as
part
of his senior residency research project at the medical school. After
completing his residency last July, he moved to Prescott, Ariz., where
he
works as an emergency physician and is continuing his study of
snakebites
and treatments.
Along with German and Meggs, Dr. Jason Hack, assistant professor of
emergency medicine and a toxicologist, and Dr. Kori Brewer, research
director for the Department of Emergency Medicine, worked on the
project.
The group's findings were presented in October at the American College
of
Emergency Physicians in San Francisco and have been accepted for
publication
to the Annals of Emergency Medicine.
In their research, Meggs and his colleagues tested pressure
immobilization
in delaying the onset of systemic toxicity in animals injected with
coral
snake venom. All of the animals receiving no bandaging and splinting
died
within three to four hours; 80 percent of the treated animals survived
for
the eight-hour length of the experiment.
The group used venom from a biological supply company.
“Snakes had been milked for venom, and that's good because then we
could
know exactly how much venom we were injecting,” Meggs said. “The
definitive
treatment for snakebite is antivenin. So, the question is, what happens
if
you're out in the woods with no antivenin or the antivenin is hours
away?
What can you do to keep the poison from traveling through a person's
body
quickly? For this coral snake experiment, the use of Ace bandages and
splints proved to be a rousing success.”
U.S. poison control centers have received an average of 63 reports of
bites
from coral snakes annually for the past five years, the researchers
said in
their article. The incidence of reported bites has been increasing, and
in
2002, 88 were reported, the most ever.
The mortality rate of untreated envenomations, the introduction of
poison
venom into the body by bite or sting, is reported to be near 10
percent,
although no deaths have occurred in the United States since antivenin
was
introduced in 1967, the researchers said.
No coral snake bites have been recorded in North Carolina, according to
the
N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences.
Eastern coral snakes are in the same family as cobras and reach 22-47
inches. They also are rare. Eastern coral snakes and eastern
diamondback
rattlesnakes are on the state's endangered species list, according to
the
N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences.
Unlike vipers, coral snakes lack fangs. They bite and hold their
victims,
injecting venom through their teeth.
According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
the
bite causes little pain, but victims begin to lose control of all
reflexes.
Drooping eyelids probably will be the first outward sign of
envenomation.
Meggs said coral snakes' venom works slowly and thus gives medical
personnel
time to administer the antivenin.
“The way coral snakes kill people is that they paralyze you. People die
from
losing the ability to breathe,” Meggs said. “The antivenin neutralizes
the
poison. There are virtually no deaths because we have antivenin in our
country.
“However, the problem is getting the person to the antivenin,” Meggs
added.
Next, Meggs, Hack, German and Brewer will turn their attention to
rattlesnakes. Emergency medicine residents Christine Courtney and
Rebecca
Calhoun will join the study.
“Rattlesnakes are tricky because the rattlesnake venom does a lot of
damage
to the arm or leg,” Meggs said. “If you put the pressure immobilization
device on the lower extremity, you might have tissue damage.
Rattlesnake
venom interferes with blood clotting, so it has local toxicity and
systemic
toxicity.”
North Carolina is widely reported to lead the country in the number of
snakebites, though no hard statistics are available.
“We have a steady dribble of snakebite victims through the summer here
at
the emergency department at Pitt County Memorial Hospital,” Meggs said.
“But
luckily, our state doesn't lead the country in serious snakebites and
deaths. We have a lot of copperhead bites, which are poisonous. But
copperheads are the least toxic of all the American snakes. That's what
saves us.”
SNAKE FACTS
North Carolina has six venomous snake species and 31 nonvenomous
species.
7,000 venomous snakebites are reported annually in the United States.
15 fatalities result, placing the chance of survival at roughly 499 out
of
500.
Two people have died from snakebites in North Carolina since 1970.
Approximately 3,000 snakebites are “illegitimate,” meaning these bites
occurred while the victim was handling or bothering the snake.
85 percent of natural bites are below the knee; 50 percent are dry, or
no
venom is injected.
Sources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, N.C. Museum of
Natural
Sciences, University of Georgia
|
| |
|
RE: North Carolina Researchs Coral Snake Snakebite
|
Reply
|
|
by elapidking81 on March 7, 2005
|
Mail this to a friend!
|
very neat the one thing that jumps out at me was the statment that coral snakes lack fangs? it is my understanding that they do have fangs fixed to the front of the mouth.
shane kissinger
|
| |
|
RE: North Carolina Researchs Coral Snake Snakebite
|
Reply
|
|
by Phobos on March 8, 2005
|
Mail this to a friend!
|
Geeee Shane...I thought they were "rear-fanged"...LOL
All kidding aside, I see there's still some misunderstanding regarding snakebite when it comes to the Coral snake. I did find the statistic interesting that 50% of natural occuring bites are "dry".
Al
|
| |
|
RE: North Carolina Researchs Coral Snake Snakebite
|
Reply
|
|
by GREGLONGHURST on March 8, 2005
|
Mail this to a friend!
|
Two things jumped out at me. First, the statement (false) that no snakebite deaths have occured in the U.S since 1967. Patently bogus. The other was failing to mention that coral snakes do indeed have fangs..just like cobras & mambas & all the other elapids in the world.
I do agree that pressure immobilization & splinting is effective first aid for elapid bite, but not for viper or pit viper bite.
~~Greg~~
|
| |
|
RE: North Carolina Researchs Coral Snake Snakebite
|
Reply
|
|
by agkistrodude on March 8, 2005
|
Mail this to a friend!
|
|
I could be wrong but I believe the statement of no rported deaths since 1967 was refering to coral snakes only.
|
| |
|
RE: North Carolina Researchs Coral Snake Snakebite
|
Reply
|
|
by crotalus_17 on March 8, 2005
|
Mail this to a friend!
|
|
It also says that the copperhead is the least toxic. Wouldnt that be the hognose snake?
|
| |
|
RE: North Carolina Researchs Coral Snake Snakebite
|
Reply
|
|
by wcoley on March 8, 2005
|
Mail this to a friend!
|
Yeah, but this article says that they only have 6 venomous species which wouldn't include the hognose.
Will
|
| |
|
RE: North Carolina Researchs Coral Snake Snakebite
|
Reply
|
|
by guttersnacks on March 8, 2005
|
Mail this to a friend!
|
|
6 species? Canebrake, pygmy rattler, copperhead, uhhhhhh water moccassin,.......uhhhhh coral snake.......and........ Im tapped. Is the hognose really #6?
|
| |
|
RE: North Carolina Researchs Coral Snake Snakebite
|
Reply
|
|
by elapidking81 on March 8, 2005
|
Mail this to a friend!
|
It does seem like there is a misunderstanding about coral snakes I know that they are front fanged and that they do have fangs, but there are many books and biologist that have them down as being rear fanged what I wonder is why all the confusion in the scientific world to me it seems simple?
shane
|
| |
|
Email Subscription
You are not subscribed to this topic.
Subscribe!
My Subscriptions
Subscriptions Help
Check our help page for help using
, or send questions, comments, or suggestions to the
Manager.
|
