Thursday, December 9, 2010

Ouch!


(Story and picture are provided from a colleague)

So a 44 year old female was outside in the woods and saw a snake. She wanted to see what kind it was, so she got closer. She quickly discovered the snake was huge....about 6 feet long. She figured it out after the snake JUMPED OUT and bit her.

The damn thing would not let go. EMS brought her in with the snake attached as above. The only thing to do was to get a big ass knife from the OR and cut the snake in half to kill it. That was successful, and the woman was admitted for antitoxin.

Her face will never look the same, and hopefully for now on she won't be so curious.

-ER Doc

21 comments:

Holly said...

*blink*

how close did she get???? Jeeze and WHY would you get that close?

*shudder*

cwj said...

Any idea what kind of snake it was?

Mel said...

The photo, I assume, was not from the case in question, since it's a boid and wouldn't require antivenin. Also, presumably, it wouldn't be out in the woods anywhere in the temperate US this time of year.

SerenityNowHospital said...

Who said the case was from this time of the year

And who said Docs are smart enough to know what that kind of snake is and if it requires antivenom or not. If I saw a snake that big on someone i would treat it to be safe

Or it could be a different picture from a different case. Guess you will never know

Crystal said...

Hmmmm.

Anonymous said...

From that picture, it looks like a regular old boa constrictor. Non venomous. Though if it happened in FL, who the hell knows what kind of snake it could have been. People love dumping their exotic pets.

Anyway, she's an idiot. Snakes can strike fairly far. I'd never bend down to look at a wild snake.

SkullCandy-->owned 2 boas, nice pets

tracy said...

Heh, you told the readers the pic was from a collegue....

Wow, bitten on the face....ouch! Poor lady, but still, getting that close to the snake??? Must have BEEN (past tense) a real nature lover.

Silena said...

Uhhhh the snake in the photo is a Burmese python which is not in any way venomous so i'm gonna assume that's not the actual snake. :D

BangBangMedic said...

"
And who said Docs are smart enough to know what that kind of snake is and if it requires antivenom or not. If I saw a snake that big on someone i would treat it to be safe"

I was under the impression that anti-venom treatments were species specific-wouldn't you need to ID the snake before that treatment?

And she went all the way to the hospital with a live snake on her face? They're all spine, it's not as if they are hard to kill...

Unknown said...

Holy CRAP!!!!

Anonymous said...

The people commenting on this picking it apart are a bunch of douche bags.

No the antivenom are not species specific. There is one.

If someone isn't around to know if the snake is poisonous or not, they get the antivenom to be safe. Just like u get all the other unnecessary shit we do

Anonymous said...

The top says photo and case from a colleague. It's funny. Get a life

Anonymous said...

Hope she got antibiotics too. Probably more necessary than antivenin in many cases.

Shash said...

Yikes. I think I'm glad to live in the land of snow and cold. All we have are garter snakes.

arzt4empfaenger said...

Ho' shit!!
As a child, my sister got bitten in the upper lip by a big water turtle when she wanted to take a closer look (we had it in the bathtub as long as we didn' have an aquarium) . There wasn't any lasting injury, fortunately. It was bizarre, because the turtle also wouldn't let go at first.

Crazed Nitwit said...

Now I'v experienced severe psychological trauma from thus post, please send psych doc to help.


Hehe, not really but oh my what a scary stoy!!!

Medical Mojave said...

I spent a couple months in the rain forest while in college. Thank God I didn't know snakes could move that fast back then.

That they could swim creeped me out enough.

Nevermind I almost put my hand right on a sleeping baby pit viper while hiking through Costa Rica.

*shudder*

That poor woman. I would need therapy after french kissing a snake, poisonous or not.

M

Anonymous said...

I don't think I'd let that live snake get in MY ambulance.
-whitecap

ERP said...

Ouch. That's pretty cool.

Anonymous said...

I believe the received wisdom regarding getting snakes to let go - whether they are biting or constricting - is to apply some form of strong alcohol to their face. Can be Purell-type hand cleaner, rubbing alcohol or even, apparently, your best Glennfidich.

Anonymous said...

No need to kill the snake: Just put a little rubbing alcohol on a cotton tipped swab, hold in front of the snake's nostrils. If that doesn't work, rub on upper gums just under nostrils.