🚀 go-pugleaf

In response to the long thread on snakebite, I am posting the following
information. It is an excerpt from the much longer Snakebite FAQ that is
periodically posted on rec.backcountry. Hal Lillywhite and I are the
authors. 

EPIDEMIOLOGY: THE RISK OF SNAKEBITE

Your risk of being bitten be a snake is small, and so too is your risk of 
dying if bitten. Findlay E. Russell writes in Ann Rev Med 1980, 
31:247-59., 

"Although there are an estimated 45,000 bites by all snakes in the United 
States each year, only about 6680 persons are treated for snake venom 
poisoning. However, it can be expected that at least 1000 additional 
bites by venomous snakes occur each year and that they are either not 
treated or go unreported. During the past five years, the number of 
deaths from snakebite in the United States has ranged between 9 and 14. 
Most of the deaths occurred in children, in the elderly, in untreated, 
mistreated, or undertreated cases, in cases complicated by other serious 
disease states, or in members of religious sects who handle serpents as 
part of their worship exercises and refuse medical treatment. Almost all 
reported deaths have been attributed to rattlesnakes."

In a second  article (When a snake strikes, Emergency Medicine, 1990, 
22:21-43.), Russell states,

"25% of all pit viper bites do not result in envenomation and another 15% 
are so trivial, they require only local cleansing and tetanus 
prophylaxis."

Kurecki and Brownlee write in The Journal of Family Practice 1987 
25(4):386-392,

"Approximately 75 percent of all snakebites occur in people aged between 
19 and 30 years, 1 percent to 2 percent occur in women, and less than 1 
percent occur in blacks. Approximately 40 percent of all snakebites occur 
in people who are handling or playing with snakes, and 40 percent of all 
people bitten had a blood alcohol level of greater than 0.1 
percent. Sixty-five percent of snakebites occur on the hand or fingers, 
24 percent on the foot or ankle, and 11 percent elsewhere. One case was 
reported of a snakebite on the glans penis."

So it seems that getting drunk and messing about snakes is a big cause of 
getting bitten. It also seems that testosterone poisoning is a precursor 
to snake toxin poisoning. Women are unlikely to get themselves bitten, 
and if they do get bitten, it is unlikely that they got that way by doing 
something stupid. Here is some more interesting data on that point from 
Curry et al. in Annals of Emergency Medicine 1989 18(6):658-63:

"We reviewed medical records of 85 consecutive snakebite victims cared 
for at a single medical center to determine legitimacy of snakebites. A 
bite was considered illegitimate if, before being bitten, the victim 
recognized an encounter with a snake but did not attempt to move away 
from the snake. A legitimate bite was said to have occurred if a person 
was bitten before an encounter with a snake was recognized or was bitten 
while attempting to move away from a snake. The study group was made up 
of 75 male (87.2%) and 11 female (12.8%) victims. Seventy-four percent 
were 18 to 50 years old, and 15% had been bitten previously. Only 43.4% 
of all bites were considered legitimate, and pet (captive) snakes 
accounted for almost one third of all illegitimate bites. The ingestion 
of alcoholic beverages was associated with 56.5% of illegitimate bites 
versus 16.7% of legitimate bites. While 74.4% of bites were to upper 
extremities, only 27% of upper extremity bites were legitimate. All 
bites to the lower extremities were legitimate. Of 14 individuals bitten 
by pet snakes, all were men and 64.3% were under the influence of alcohol 
at the time of the bite. In our patient population, the data suggest that 
a 16% reduction in rattlesnake bites would result if rattlesnakes were 
not kept as pets, and more than one half of all rattlesnake bites would 
be eliminated if persons simply would attempt to move away from a 
rattlesnake after an encounter is recognized".  

It is worth noting that only one woman in Curry et al.'s study group received
an illegitimate bite.


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Richard Penny                                email: rikpenny@cybergate.com
2499 Los Altos Avenue                                     Clovis, CA 93611
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