KidsHealthWatch
Sponsored by Magnolia Springs Pediatrics
Is That Stick Moving?
A few years ago, my family and I were
camping at the Gulf State Park. My oldest son
Adler was on a hike with his buddies near the
camp site and was crossing a log over a small
creek. He, of course, fell in and lost his shoes
to the suction effect in the mud in the bottom
of the creek. After climbing out, he wasn’t
worried about the mud on his legs or the mud
on his clothes, but was upset about losing
his shoes. As a daddy, my job was to climb
in the stagnant, wonderfully fragrant creek
to dig out his shoes. The whole time I was
reaching my hand in the water and moving
sticks, debris and other unknown objects, I
kept thinking back to my medical training in
Birmingham and wondering how quick I could
get to the ER if I got a snake bite. Luckily,
snake bites are not very common; however,
they potentially are a medical emergency.
Today, we will address the common snakes in
Alabama, how to tell if they are poisonous or
not, and what to do (and what not to do) if
you or your child gets bitten!
First, let’s discuss the snakes we have
here in the southern half of the state. In
terms of the ones you need to really know,
the poisonous ones are coral snakes,
copperheads, cottonmouths, and of course
the various species of rattlesnakes. So,
how do you know what the snake is, and
if you were bitten, should you freak out?
Eastern Shore Parents I May 2020
First, the coral snake—it is black with red
and yellow stripes and has the most toxic
venom in North America. Luckily, they are
fairly rare and non-aggressive. But, there is
a non-venomous snake with a similar color
pattern. Just remember “Red on yellow will
kill a fellow, but red on black won’t hurt Jack.”
However, I would just stay away. Next,
we group the cottonmouths, copperheads,
and rattlesnakes together because of their
characteristic triangular or arrow shaped
head, the cat-like pupil or eye slit, and a small
opening between the eyes and nostrils called
the pit. Now, if you are close enough to see
these findings, you might as well be headed
to the hospital. But, what happens if you get
bitten and don’t see the culprit? Look at the
bite itself. A poisonous bite typically has two
single fang marks, while a non-poisonous
bite has a semi-circle pattern that looks like a
large smile.
So, you were bitten. What next?
As opposed to old Western movies and
“what you heard from that dude,” it is not
recommended to cut the bite and suck out
the poison or take off your belt and apply
a tourniquet around the limb. These things
don’t remove or delay spread of poison.
They only do one thing, and that is waste
time while you should have been getting
to the ER. So, stay calm, take a picture or
14
remember what the snake looks like and go!
There, the ER can give supportive care, fluids,
medication and anti-venom if need be to help
treat symptoms like low blood pressure and
shock.
Another issue is snake bites and pets.
My nurse recently found their 3 year old
healthy boxer dead outside. The only thing
they found was a red swollen area near his
upper lip. With all of the recent flooding and
water everywhere, snakes have moved closer
to your house. So keep an eye open for your
kids and your pets.
Did you know that most snake bites in
kids occur when they try to handle a snake
or pick one up that they think is dead! So,
lesson one, don’t touch a snake. Lesson
two, remember what poisonous snakes look
like. Step three, stay calm and get to the
nearest ER of you are bitten. Be sure to check
resources at aap.org and jama.org; and
in case you were wondering, I found both
shoes!
Robert L. Rux, M.D. is a Board Certified Pediatrician at
Magnolia Springs Pediatrics. Originally from Mobile, he
attended medical school at The University of Alabama School
of Medicine (UAB) and completed residency at The Children’s
Hospital of Alabama (UAB). He is married to Jaime and has
three children, Adler, Walker and Mary McAtee.
www.easternshoreparents.com