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I’ve Been Bitten
By Susan Eberman
A first-hand account of a venomous snakebite … a cautionary tale for anyone who spends time outdoors … in the woods or even the backyard
About 7,000 people are bitten by venomous snakes in the United States every year, and I am one of them.
My “up close and personal” encounter with a copperhead snake happened at dusk on a beautiful August night. My husband has an archery shop less than 100 feet from our home in rural southern Indiana. After visiting a friend, at the shop, I headed back to the house.
A few steps later, I felt a quick stinging sensation similar to a prick from a rose thorn in my calf, a couple of inches above my ankle. I yelled for my friend, and he angled his car so the headlights illuminated my path — and a 3-foot-long copperhead near my leg.
I was not in pain and my leg wasn’t swollen yet, so I was able to walk into the emergency room at the Bedford Regional Medical Center: the beginning of a long and painful night.
Notes from the doctors
“Copperhead bites are rarely lethal but that doesn’t mean they’re harmless,” said an emergency room physician Sally Sperring. “Pit vipers all have toxins that cause tissue poisoning in humans. Immediate hospital care is essential to prevent very serious complications.”
“I saw Susan immediately upon her arrival, and she had the classic signs of a poisonous snake bite,” explained Dr. Carl Matlock, who was then chief of emergency medicine. “Three fang marks were evident in her left calf. Because not all snakebites, including those from the same species, are equally dangerous, we keep the snakebite patient in the emergency room while we evaluate the need for further treatment. Susan was under observation for about three hours when the swelling in her lower left leg advanced rapidly. At that time she was admitted to the critical care unit.”
Back to the patient
In between procedures, most involving needles, it seemed that everyone with a hospital-issued felt tip pen charted the distention on my leg. By the time the swelling (and pain level) dramatically increased, my leg looked like a map of Texas.
I learned snakebite toxins enter the body through the lymphatic system, not the blood stream. When the toxins cause rapid swelling, the use of antivenin is medically necessary. Antivenin comes in small packets that medical personnel dissolve in bags of fluid and administer intravenously. Since these packets have a short shelf life and aren’t used frequently, it can take time to locate doses in other medical facilities and get them to the hospital where the patient needs them.
After three doses of antivenin, the swelling was reduced. During the administration of this potent drug I experienced a lot of pain but no other side effects.
I returned home eight hours after the antivenin treatment, but several days later I noticed extreme tenderness and discoloration at the bite site and returned to BRMC for further evaluation.
Dr. Sperring prescribed an antibiotic drug to help clear the infection, which had reached my bloodstream through broken capillaries. She also told me to wear an anti-embolism stocking to help reduce the swelling.
Notes from a biologist
“Copperheads are the most common of the venomous snakes in southern Indiana,” said Dr. Butch Brodie, professor of biology at the University of Virginia. “Copperheads are usually quite docile. They rely on camouflage for their primary defense and are usually unwilling to identify themselves unless stepped on or grabbed. Even then, it is rare for them to inject venom when they bite in defense. Pit vipers, which include rattlesnakes and cottonmouths as well as copperheads, get their name from pit organs which sense temperature. At night this is the primary cue used in prey recognition and location.” Brodie suspected the snake could have confused Susan’s small, warm foot with a rat or other small rodent, and attacked with a feeding bite.
The aftermath
As the swelling subsided, the skin on my lower leg peeled off in dry layers like a large callous. Within two weeks my leg was completely back to normal with no scarring. I did, however, still have faint black marks from felt tip pens.
Lessons learned: I’ve thrown away my “ratty” black leather flats and always use a flashlight when I’m outside at night. And now I know that snakebites should be taken seriously and acted upon quickly.