North Carolina Woman Dies From Rattlesnake Bite
After being treated for a rattlesnake bite a week ago Pamela Summers died at her home in Marion North Carolina from complications of the bite.
On Monday afternoon, Gregory found Summers dead in her home, apparently from complications due to a rattlesnake bite. Gregory said the snakebite occurred early last week while she and her husband, Jimmy Gregory, were away. Pamela had been trimming weeds.
“She was wearing jeans,” Barbara said. “When we got back, she called me and said she didn’t feel good. She said she’d either been bitten by a dog or a snake. I went and looked; it was on her right leg. It had two holes and it didn’t look good.
“She said she wanted to go to sleep,” she added, “and I said ‘Pam, don’t you go to sleep on me.’ Then I called 911.
“The responders said it didn’t look like a snakebite,” she stated. “They thought maybe she’d gotten into a bees’ nest. But the guy from EMS said it was a rattlesnake, so they took her to the hospital.”
Gregory added that Summers had suffered from high blood pressure and several other ailments.
Summers spent the night in the intensive care unit and returned home the next day with orders, said Gregory, “to keep her leg elevated for a month.” She had respiratory problems for several days after the incident, but she would not rest and keep her leg elevated as the doctor had directed, she added.
“She didn’t like to be sitting in the house,” said Jimmy Gregory. “She had to get out and do something.”
On Memorial Day, Barbara received a call from Summers’ sister, she said, asking her to go and check on Pam. When knocking and calling out got no response, Barbara used a spare key and entered the home.
“She was laying on the couch with her leg elevated and she was blue around the mouth and she was cold,” she remembered tearfully. “I’m afraid to go down to the mailbox now.”
McDowellnews.com
With the advances in medical care fatalities from snake bites are rare. North Carolina leads the nation in snake bites with only 3 fatalities since 2000.
Snakebites frequently go unreported. Approximately 4000-7000 bites are reported to national centers each year. North Carolina has the highest frequency, with 19 bites per 100,000 persons. The national average is approximately 4 bites per 100,000 persons.
There is no doubt that with the warm weather snakes are out and about across the state. Rattlesnakes can be found across most of the state as well as a number of other venomous snakes. A neighbor earlier this week killed a copperhead in our subdivision. Be careful and if you get bit seek medical attention immediately.
First Aid for Snakebites
(This first aid for snakebites information was provided by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) and the American Red Cross)According to the American Red Cross, these steps should be taken:
Wash the bite with clean water and soap.
Immobilize the bitten area and keep it lower than the heart.
If the bite is on the hand or arm remove any rings, watches or tight clothing.
Get medical help immediately.
Most bites don’t occur in isolated situations where the victim may be a long distance from medical help. Some medical professionals, along with the American Red Cross, cautiously recommend two other measures:If a victim is unable to reach medical care within 30 minutes, a bandage, wrapped two to four inches above the bite, may help slow venom. The bandage should not cut off blood flow from a vein or artery. A good rule of thumb is to make the band loose enough that a finger can slip under it.
A suction device may be placed over the bite to help draw venom out of the wound without making cuts. Suction instruments often are included in commercial snakebite kits.
How NOT to Treat a Snakebite
Snakebite first aid methods are not always agreed upon by U.S. medical professionals, but they are nearly unanimous in their views of what NOT to do.NO ice or any other type of cooling on the bite. Research has shown this to be potentially harmful.
NO tourniquets. This cuts blood flow completely and may result in loss of the affected limb.
NO electric shock. This method is under study and has yet to be proven effective. It could harm the victim.
NO incisions in the wound. Such measures have not been proven useful and may cause further injury.
See, there’s a reason I don’t like snakes.
How sad, particularly if following the doctor’s orders could have kept her alive.
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Thanks for posting the “what to do in case of a bite” portion. Hopefully I never have to use it, but I’ve always wondered because I’d been clueless about it.
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