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WSU Tri-Cities Safety
RATTLE SNAKE BITES
From PHMC Lessons Learned Coordinator
This is an important to read for everyone in this area. It happened near here.
Ours and two other families were at Crow Butte having a great weekend water skiing trip until the un-thinkable happened. On Friday one of the Dads in our group had killed a rattlesnake in the campsite directly across from us. We told the kids to watch out for rattlesnakes but failed to show them the dead snake so they would know what to look for. We also missed the opportunity to tell them what to do if they see one.
On Saturday at 8:30 PM My 5 year old Cole was riding his scooter around the campground on the pavement with some other children. I watched him go by and thought about how it’s both uncomfortable for the parent but good for the child to let them go out by themselves. One of the other kids told him she saw a rattlesnake beside the road. He said he picked it up near its head and it squirmed around and bit him on the hand. I asked him why he tried to pick it up and he said he thought it was a “Fake remote control snake”. There was just a little blood at first and we could see one bite mark. Luckily, there were 3 Paramedics in the campground that appeared in a matter of seconds to administer 1st aid. They calmed him and lowered the finger below his heart. I called 911 and they dispatched an ambulance from Patterson. It took around 20 minutes for them to arrive which seemed like more than an hour. The best you can do is to wash the bite and try and squeeze the venom out which the paramedics did. According to modern treatment you should never cut open the bite and try to suck out the poison. Early treatment with anti-venin (not anti-venom) is the most important thing. The paramedics marked the time and progression of the swelling and bruising with an ink pen which helps the hospital know how to treat the victim.
The ambulance arrived and took him and Shawna to Prosser Emergency room at around 80 MPH while my daughter and I followed in my pickup truck with our emergency flashers on. We arrived by around 9:30 PM. It took another ½ hour to get the Anti-Venin IV drip going. Luckily again, Prosser had the new kind of Anti-venin which is made using goats instead of horses. The horse kind evidently makes people real sick.
After Prosser finished administering 4 viles of Anti-Venin they sent him to Kadlec where he received 2 more viles. The next morning they thought he was doing fine so they sent him home.
After spending the night at home we went in for follow-up care at our PCP. They sent him back to the hospital due to infection and that’s where he’ll stay until at least Wednesday afternoon. He’s been stuck by dozens of needles and hasn’t cried very much except when he’s getting or contemplating getting stuck.
Most of the physicians and nurses we’ve talked to have either not seen or have seen very few Rattlesnake bites. They’re all coming in and learning as much as they can from their medical books and being very helpful.
In extreme cases the infected area leads to tissue damage and swelling that requires cutting open the tissue and removing dead areas. In Coles case however, it looks as though he’ll recover without any significant tissue loss. Since this was a baby snake and doesn’t yet have the ability to control its release of venom it can be more serious. Another thing I learned is that if the snake penetrates a vein it can lead to immediate death. In our case only one fang penetrated and with the Paramedics on site so quickly we were very lucky. At this point Cole isn’t very fond of snakes except his uncle Gregg’s snake which he says is a nice snake.
The Benton County Mosquito Control District has identified two mosquito-samples that were positive for West Nile virus in the past week, both in Yakima County. The magpie was collected and submitted by the Yakima Health District as part of the state Department of Health monitoring program.
There have been two rattlesnake bites in the last month in the
Prosser and Paterson area.
Most snake strikes are 2 feet or less above the ground. A snake will strike ½ of its body length, so if the snake is 3 feet long, it will strike at approximately 18 inches.Be aware of your surroundings, especially when in known snake inhabited areas. Be careful when reaching over objects or around rocks. Check around equipment that has been sitting for any period of time to be sure a snake has not found a shady spot in which to rest.
- WHAT TO DO FOR VENOMOUS SNAKE BITES
Call 911 or, in the Prosser area, 786-1500.Immobilize the affected area, ice the area, and keep it below the heart.Keep patient as calm as possible.Notify the hospital to which you will be transporting the patient so they can have the antivenom ready. Most snake strikes are 2 feet or less above the ground. A snake will strike ½ of its body length, so if the snake is 3 feet long, it will strike at approximately 18 inches.
Be aware of your surroundings, especially when in known snake inhabited areas. Be careful when reaching over objects or around rocks. Check around equipment that has been sitting for any period of time to be sure a snake has not found a shady spot in which to rest.
- Watch where you walk! Slips, trips and falls were our #1 accident at the Tri-Cities last year. As the spring weather brings wind, rain and dust, be especially careful leaving the buildings. When shielding eyes or hurrying to get to your car in adverse weather conditions it is easy to misstep and fall.
WAY TO GO!
TriCitites received two Individual Safety Awards as well as a Gold designation for their Safety Committee at the Environmental Health and Safety Conference In Pullman in October. Individual Awards went to Doria Monter Rogers for her work with food safety, recycling, and the emergency response team and Jerry Massey who was recognized for his work in emergency response and on the Safety Committee and his efforts to facility handicapped persons on the TC campus. WAY TO GO Doria and Jerry! WAY TO GO Tri-Cities Safety Committee!
- GOLD STAR BUSINESS DEPARTMENT ! The Business Dept, led by Wanda Walters and Dave Lemak were the first unit at WSU-TC to be completely safety compliant. They completed a Hazard Assessment form, an Accident Prevention Plan, and everyone in their department has completed all required safety training, including the new ergonomic training.Way to GO!
For Spill Clean Up
- Clean up minor chemical spills with equipment in the spill
kits in each lab. Seal all waste in plastic bags and label.
Report to Meg Mercer 2-7327
and Lezlie Couch.
In case of a larger spill, evacuate the area and contact Lezlie
Couch, or if the spill is dangerous, call 911.
For Accident ReportingFor Hazardous Waste Disposal
- Put hazardous waste in an appropriate container, and label
it with a hazardous waste label found in the lab. Store in an
appropriate satellite waste area. Make sure Meg
Mercer (2-7327) has it on her waste inventory.
For Biohazardous Waste Disposal For Pest ControlFor Food SafetyFor Water Safety
URL: http://www.ehs.wsu.edu/SWTCSafety.asp
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Revised
4/4/05
Reviewed
10/19/06 |
