On Thu, 20 May 2004, Gary Parece wrote:
> Hi, being from the east coast we don't really run into (at least I don't
> ) snacks that are a threat.
If you go southwards a little on the east coast, you'll find lots of water
moccasins. They are evil, EVIL beasties, that will actually run TOWARD
you, and their bite will make you at the very least horribly sick, if not
kill you in a rather gruesome manner over the course of several days as
your flesh literally rots off. Even further south on the east coast you
have coral snakes which will kill you almost instantly.
> them and what to do before hand to be prepared just in case I get bitten
> by a snake ( rattle and other harmful snakes ) while in Moab and the
> southwest.
Our western rattlers, on the other hand, are rarely fatal. First, they're
rather shy guys and keep away from infernal vibrating machinery. Secondly,
their venom is designed to stun their prey, not kill it (the powerful
constricting motion of their gullet is what kills their prey by crushing
it), so a bite from a rattler is rarely fatal. It won't kill you, you'll
just wish you were dead (according to those who have experienced it).
> Is there medicine that can be bought over the counter
No. The recommended treatment is immediate evacuation to an emergency room
where the appropriate antivenim and medications can be applied via IV.
Actually, in many cases they never even bother with the antivenim, they
treat it symptomatically with anti-inflammatories and etc., because the
antivenim has its own issues (can cause you to go into shock especially if
you have a previously undetected allergy to horse serum).
I've done backcountry hiking in the West, and snakes have always been the
least of my worries. I generally encounter one rattler per every five
day-long hikes, but for the ones I can't out-wait, generally tossing a
couple of rocks in their direction will get them moving and out of my way.
According to statistics, up to 40% of rattlesnake bites in the state of
Arizona involved large quantities of alcohol. I.e., drunkards doing
something stupid with a snake. Most of the rest were the result of similar
stupidity, such as getting close to a rattler and trying to catch it or
hold it. I'd much rather deal with rattlers than mocs, mocs are just plain
evil, while Western rattlers are typical Western hombres, they warn you
loudly to leave them alone, they carry an okay-sized stick to enforce it,
but really they'd just prefer that you leave them alone and if you do
that, they're fine with you.
In other words, act sanely, don't mess with the snakes, and you have
nothing to worry about. We have some unforgiving country out here in the
West, but it's only unforgiving of stupidity and carelessness, not of
humanity in general.
-E