Ive been seeing and killing lots of snakes lately at the lake. Im just wonderin what you are supposed to do for a snake bite? Is the cut and suck method still the best short term solution, or should you just tie it off and get to the ER? Anybody here ever get bitten?

The most recent thing I recall is to remain calm and get medical attention as soon as possible.

Don't cut-that just potentially spreads the venom -not to mention the potential problems with the cutting itself.

I don't think they recommend putting ice on the wound any more because of problems with freezing the skin.

They do not recommend tourniquets(sp?)mainly because most of us don't know how to do it correctly and not risk greater damage by misuse.

Experts suggest keeping the bitten area below the level of the heart.

Again, main thing is to remain calm and get medical attention-either go to the hospital or call 911.

what if you are in the woods and cant get to the car quickly? Ive got snake boots, but when bowfishing(when I see the most snakes) I wear waders, maybe Ill get some strap on snake guards to put over my waders. I would think that tying a loose tourniquet would help to restrict the venom spread, then again maybe that would cause more damage to that particular area.

There are instructions for how to use a tourniquet as far as how long to tighten and then loosen. The idea of a "loose" tourniquet as you suggest is also something that I have read about.

I think the main concern is that people won't do it properly and might wind up needing to amputate an arm or leg because they didn't know how to do it or just panicked and tightened it down and never loosened it,

Because of that, I think the medical profession (to protect themselves and us) basically says NO tourniquets.

The only snakebite I dealt with was a buddy who was bitten on the foot by a 12 inch long copperhead while out in the front yard. He spent a night in the hospital and his foot swelled up to twice its normal size.

I asked my Doctor about this one time. He advises to just get to the hospital a soon as you can. Most important, is don't kill yourself trying to get there. He says a snake will not always inject venom. Sometimes, they are striking at you trying to get you away from them.

There are only 4 venomous snakes in Texas if you disregard those who import the exotics. Rattlesnake, copperhead, cottonmouth and coral. Using a light resticting band or tourniquit (sp?) is the method of choice. Remove rings, watches, etc. in advance of the swelling so they do not cut off circulation to the affected area. Obviously go to the ER and either get a good description of the snake or bring it with you, dead. Venom travels in the lymphatic system and progresses relatively slow. The old cut and suck method is useless.

Non-venomous snake bites are just scary and bleed a little. Non venomous snakes will have a V pattern bite using lots of little teeth. It just breaks the skin not puncture like fangs. The anti-venom is usually worse than the bite itself. Most people will have an allergic reaction from the anti venom because they use horses to inject and with draw. I'm not a herpatologist but have spent my whole life chasing and catching snakes.

Horses? That's good to know if I ever get bit. I'm deathly allergic to horses, so the anti-venom would probably kill me.

If you're allergic to horses like I am to cats, it's the dander that you're allergic to. So I don't know if you'd be allergic to a horse's immune system. It might be worth asking about though.

So far DCS and Ralph are the only ones to give the proper advice.

Folks, I spent 24+ years working around folks that handled all sorts of "Hot Snakes" on a daily basis.

There advice, and even their safety drills revolved around keeping the person calm and getting them to the hospital.

As for bite patterns, Coral snakes do not have fangs like a Pit Viper and there fore there bite is going to appear similar to most of the non-venomous species.

Snakes do make dry bites many times, just defending themselves trying to get away.

Over the years, tounaquets/cutting and bleeding etc. have caused much more damage than the actual bite did.

Stay calm if you are bit, or keep the person bit calm, use your cell phone to contact 9-11, give them your location and they will direct you to the closest emergency room, or will direct you to a location where EMT's can meet up with you and take charge of the situation.

The biggest thing is to get familiar with what the venomous snakes in your area look like, so that you won't have a heart attack when a Diamond Back Water snake or a Bull snake hits you on the leg a time or two, and always pay attention to where you are putting your foot and hand. JMO.

My vet told me that if my dog gets bitten by a snake I should not use a tourniquet. Snakes such as rattlesnakes have venom that causes necrosis (localized death of living flesh). He said that you don't want to contain the venom in one area because the effects are much worse (more concentrated) than if the venom were diluted and spread out more. I would think this would be true for humans as well.

When the paramedics arrive, they will apply the light consticting band if its an extremity. This is the standard of care throughout texas EMS. Coral snakes have rear seated fangs and the bite will appear as Crazyhorse stated, similar to the non venomous species. Coral snakes have a small mouth and would most likely need a finger or toe to make the bite worth while. It's venom is a neruo toxic vs. the pit vipers whose venom is hemo toxic. Basically like all have said, know your poisonous snakes, the rest are harmless, so to speak.

What about water moccasins, Are they venomous?

Yes, but most people I have been around can't tell the difference between a moccasin and a water snake. There color pattern can be real close to each other. Don't go by the shape of the head either, or by the eyes like some people say. If you don't know really know snakes don't mess with them. I have seen many people kill water snakes thinking they were moccasins, and the I showed them it was a harmless snake.

i've been around them my whole life also,and i was always told to never lance the bite and try to suck it out as this was just somthing they did in the movies and it was for show. i was told to get the person to remain calm and put a loose tourniquet above and below the bite if it is on a extremity. then proceed to the nearest hospital or medical attention. the one's we were usually around were rattlers and i was always told the bigger rattlers were the least deadly and would usually not even give release any venom in their bite or if they did it would be very little. it was the little one's you had to worry about since they did not know how to control their venom. another thing with rattlers is don't always count on hearing them rattling,they only rattle when they feel threatend and if their rattling usually they will slither off if you don't keep advancing on them(also this give's you enough time to drop the hammer on em' if you have the means to)also they myth that they can only strike half the length of their coil to strike you,if their head is looking up at you they can strike alot higher than you think.but as far as i there are only two people i know of personally that have died from rattle snake bite's and that was 2 little girls and it was because of their parents or parent not educating them about them and for lack of knowledge on their own part. mocassins and copperheads are a lot more aggressive in my opinion and the bite doesn't seem to be to bad on dogs though,i've seen a bunch with copperhead bite's and they just swell up and then go away,we used to lance the bite's on the dogs,but a vet told me years later to just keep an eye on them and it would usually reside on it's own with hardly any need for doctoring. and as far as miss identifying snakes,i did it once and only once with a kingsnake that i thought was a rattler when i was about 8 or 9 and my grandfather and a switch helped me remember the difference from their on.

Just because you have been around them does not mean you know what you are talking about. You never apply a tourniquet. If the extremity starts to swell you will cause damage plus if you constrict the blood flow you will have a more concentrated amount of venom in that one spot which will cause much more significant damage then if it were to "dilute" through the body. I was a Corpsman (medic) in the Navy and was stationed in the swamps of NC with the Marines so we had to know what to do in case of a snake bite (they were everywhere). This is directly from my training material:

First Aid

1. Keep the person calm, reassuring them that bites can be effectively treated in an emergency room. Restrict movement, and keep the affected area below heart level to reduce the flow of venom.

2. Remove any rings or constricting items because the affected area may swell. Create a loose splint to help restrict movement of the area.

3. If the area of the bite begins to swell and change color, the snake was probably poisonous.

4. Monitor the person's vital signs -- temperature, pulse, rate of breathing, and blood pressure -- if possible. If there are signs of shock (such as paleness), lay the person flat, raise the feet about a foot, and cover the person with a blanket.

5. Get medical help right away.

6. Bring in the dead snake only if this can be done safely. Do not waste time hunting for the snake, and do not risk another bite if it is not easy to kill the snake. Be careful of the head when transporting it -- a snake can actually bite for up to an hour after it's dead (from a reflex).

DO NOT

DO NOT allow the person to become over-exerted. If necessary, carry the person to safety.
DO NOT apply a tourniquet.
DO NOT apply cold compresses to a snake bite.
DO NOT cut into a snake bite with a knife or razor.
DO NOT try to suck out the venom by mouth.
DO NOT give the person stimulants or pain medications unless a doctor tells you to do so.
DO NOT give the person anything by mouth.
DO NOT raise the site of the bite above the level of the person's heart.

explain to me then since you seem to be the resident expert and that not using somthing to slow the spread of the venom and toxins, what you do in a situation were you are no were near any medical attention and that poison just keeps spreading and eating flesh. you will need to isolate,and i would rather loose a limb than my life. i understand that not applying one correctly can have sever side effects,and also this site is here to teach and for people like me and you to learn.i was just stating from my experience with them and from people i grew up around that have handled and been bitten by piosonus snakes over the years. the knowledge on how to handle snake bite's has greatly advanced over the years and their are dr's in certain area's that all they do is handle snake bite victims,or they are experts in that field of medicine. and i will agree with you if you can get a victim to a hospital or some kind of medical attention with in a few hours to a day depending on what kind of snake they have been bitten by,but some time's isolating the area that was bitten can save their life sometimes depending on the situation.

IF you are going to be that far from medical help then you need to be prepared for snake bites and carry a suction device such as this one http://www.sawyerproducts.com/B6B.htm
AND you would still need to haul butt to the nearest medical help. You should always have a plan for that anyways.

"The toxicologist at Vanderbilt said the tourniquet just kept all of the venom in one place, and it swelled, which made it harder for the antivenin to get to it,"

"When you trap the venom, it causes tissue damage and necrosis (tissue death),"

we allways pack those snake bite kits and always had one in any of are trucks down at the ranch(allthough i will say they are probably dated) and luckly now a days medical attention can usually be attained with in a day in the worse of situations. i've just seen those picture's of what a snake bite does to the skin,and mostly from rattlers. it blows up and starts turning black(like a burnt hot dog). i guess the use of any kind of tourniquet or anything to restrict the flow or isolate it is just a dated practice. i just have that engrained in me.but as far as everything else you and the others have said have stayed the same.

but a question that i do have is,is the venom actually able to get into the blood stream or just travel through the tissue.

Im gonna get one of those kits.

Read this from the TPWD annals....

SNAKE BIT

Have you ever seen what it looks like when those kits are used and NO VENOM was injected by the snake???????

If the snake does not inject any venom, your efforts can do more permanent damage than the bite.

That is the problem with the snake bite kits, you are under the ASSUMPTION, that venom was injected.

In our litiganous society, your good intentions of saving someone from a snake bite could result in a lawsuit, if it can be proven that it was a dry bite.

I am not trying to get anyone to agree with me, I am trying to get everyone to realize that not ALL snake bites result in venom injected, and that a persons actions on a dry bite can be more disasterous than an actual bite where venom is injected.

I know three people personally bitten and they all were fine eventually after getting the antivenom. Two by rattlers and one by a copperhead. Just get medical attention like everyone says. I remember all that stuff in scouts we learned is pretty much out the door these days.

I have heard that the bite will burn & swell much more when venom is injected. Since I have not had either type of bite I cannot say. When dealing with what you think are dead snakes it is best to cut the head off. I have had them come to life on the driveway after 4 hours in a ice chest. Water moccasins inject a large dose of venom and their venom is the worst about destroying tissue. I had a friend with a 2" wide scar from knee to ankle after a bite.