Arizona hospital sees spike in snake bites

Patrick Hotchkiss spent his second night in the hospital Monday night. He was flown by helicopter to Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center after being bitten by a rattlesnake on Sunday afternoon. “It was like a couple pieces of glass stabbed into you and snapped off. It was very clean and sharp,” said Hotchkiss.

Doctors at the hospital said they’ve seen eight snakebites in the past week. Four happened over the weekend.

“Number wise, Arizona is probably has the most poisonous snakes compared to any other states,” said Dr. Michael Levine.

Bites can be deadly but it’s rare. Symptoms often include significant swelling, immediate pain that intensifies over time, and venom from a bite can lead to other complications.

“It affects your blood and makes you bleed a lot more and really makes your blood a little too think and effects the ability to form blood clots,” said Levine. Levine said a lot of snakebites happen when someone teases or tries to pickup a snake.

More: http://www.abc15.com/content/living/yourhealth/story/Valley-hospital-sees-spike-in-snake-bites/VWCTL_b5RE6iws7zQiua_Q.cspx

Eight snakebites a week! WTF

and he shall cast those motherfucking snakes out of our motherfucking city.

Rattlesnakes, especially. No sense of humor, your rattlesnake. None. They just lash out.

in adolescent and young adult males. Frequently alcohol is involved.

... never try to take a JD bottle from a pissed rattlesnake ...
:yoiks:

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Snake collector Matt Wilkinson of Portland grabbed a 20-inch rattler from the highway near Maupin, and three weeks later, to impress his ex-girlfriend, he stuck the serpent in his mouth. He was soon near death with a swollen tongue that blocked his throat. Trauma doctors at the Oregon Health and Science University saved his life.

<snip>

Wilkinson, 23, had downed a six-pack and his ex-girlfriend asked him for a beer. He handed her one, not realizing the snake was also in his hand. "She said, 'Get that thing out of my face,"' Wilkinson said. "I told her it was a nice snake. 'Nothing can happen. Watch."'

So he stuck the snake in his mouth. "It got a hold of my tongue," he said.

He was having breathing problems when his ex-girlfriend drove him to the hospital. "She was the only one sober," Wilkinson said.

En route, they spotted a police car and asked for help. His next memory, he said, was waking up at the hospital.

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/9875437.html

Just found this while looking for updates on the fires:

Man Bitten by Rattlesnake at SoCal Cemetery

BALDWIN PARK -- A 40 year old man is hospitalized in serious condition after being bitten by a rattlesnake at a Southland cemetery, according to officials.

Dean Maddox was visiting a gravesite at the Rose Hills Cemetery in Whittier Thursday afternoon when he and his family noticed a snake in the grass. Maddox tried to protect his family from the snake by scaring the creature away. But, that's when the snake bit him on the hand.

Maddox immediately began to experience symptoms of a snake bite. His wife called 911 and he was taken to Kaiser Permanente Hospital in Baldwin Park for treatment.

Doctors say Maddox is being treated with anti-venom. His wife, Patty, says her husband is in a "fight for his life". The couple has a son in Iraq. Doctors told her to find a way to get him home so he could be with his father. She says she had no idea a snake bite could be so serious.

More: http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-rattlesnake-victim,0,2012423.story