Baby bit by venomous snake

[caters]

I do believe I will have children in the future. While there aren't very many venomous snakes or snakes at all in Franklin County, I won't necessarily live there when I move with my parents. Unlike most parents my parents know that I will never be able to be fully independent and will help me if possible during the pains of pregnancy and labor and depression just from being sleep deprived after birth.

And what if my future husband has living relatives in places where there are lots of venomous snakes or there is some kind of natural disaster?

The only thing I can find on treating snakebites is adults and children, no infants.

But if I do have children they might get bit by a venomous snake when they are infants.

I am pretty sure that treating snakebites in infants is much different than in children or adults, especially if the snakebite was from a venomous snake. The reason is that infant first aid is usually much different than child or adult first aid.

I know that snake venom can be deadly to anyone. I also know that snake antivenom can be deadly to infants.

So I know that I would have to go to the hospital asap if my baby has a snakebite. But what else should I do? I mean babies don't have much muscle control when it comes to their arms and legs and they have a faster heart rate to begin with so those 2 combined + the pain of the bite would make the venom spread very fast which is exactly what I don't want.

[RangerXanatos]

First off I don't know the answer to your question.

But something you said really bothers me:

...I will never be able to be fully independent...

Then do you really think having children is a good course of action? If you can't take care of yourself, how can you expect to take care of a child?

[madmax]

I just can't wait to see the rest of the responses to this thread.

[caters]

First off I don't know the answer to your question.

But something you said really bothers me:



Then do you really think having children is a good course of action? If you can't take care of yourself, how can you expect to take care of a child?

Well for 1 thing I read books on child care(mainly the infant section) and watch videos on pregnancy and infants. I also have dolls that I pretend are real children so I learn the basics of how to breastfeed, change diapers, etc. Also my parents will be living with me until they die and they will help me take care of my children. Friends and other relatives might help me as well. I am also learning how to do things like braid my hair because my hair is so long it gets tangled easily unless it is braided.

But even with me learning how to take care of myself I still won't be able to take care of a child all by myself partly because of my slow reaction time. Of course if me or somebody else I know gets attacked by an animal or a person that changes to being fast but it is generally slow.

[madmax]

caters.
Have you pulled up paracord work on line? Fun stuff that might help you with the hair braiding too. That may be a good place to start and don't worry about infant snake bites right now.

[Rick]

It would be helpful to know your age range. Pre-teen, teen, etc. That way we can tailor our answer more specifically to you.

An adult has almost 0 chance of dying from a snake bite in the U.S. You are 9 times more likely to die from being struck by lightening than to die from a venomous snake bite. Since infants are normally carried while hiking or just out in the woods the odds of an infant being bitten, just bitten, are astronomically less likely than an adult.

http://ufwildlife.ifas.ufl.edu/venom...ake_faqs.shtml

[caters]

I am a teen and yes infants are less likely to be bitten but what if the adult carrying the baby gets bitten first? The adult might drop the baby due to the pain of the bite and then the baby might get bitten(depends on several things like the age of the snake and the species). However the baby wouldn't likely suffer any injuries from the fall except maybe bruises since cartilage is much less likely to break than bone is.

And there is always the possibility that there is a venomous snake near your house and the baby plays outside and doesn't realize the snake is there until it gets bitten.

Both of these things could happen. And what if I were to administer antivenom into the baby to stop the venom from doing further damage? The antivenom itself might do more harm than good acting like a venom itself by attacking any proteins that are similar to the venom proteins as well as stopping the venom from doing further damage.

[madmax]

Snake antivenom costs BIG. Nobody I've ever heard of carries it in their pack.. You could get into 6 figures.

[TXyakr]

I strongly agree with Rick it is extremely unlikely that a young child or especially an infant will get bit by a venomous snake. And especially in the USA. Look at the statistics posted by CDC and NIH etc.

I do know of one toddler (friends of our family when I as a kid) but it was under very unusual circumstances. I hope the story does not frighten you. I think I posted it several months ago. Basically the parents let their son play with a dead coral snake, he put his tiny fingers in its tiny mouth. The coloring in South America does not adhere to the rhyme about "red touch yellow" versus "red touch black" in fact in SE Asia there are blue coral snakes. I.e. don't let your toddlers and babies play with dead venomous snakes to cure them of "snake fear" and you should be fine. Also avoid allowing them to crawl under the porch in rattle snake country or crawl along the water's edge at sundown where cottonmouths hang out and common sense things like that. Most people just lose limbs and don't die. I know several people who lost fingers and one lost a leg due to a Fer-de-Lance bite but he lived in remote part of the Amazon.

So be more concerned that the kids are buckled up before you go driving.

[TXyakr]

And what if I were to administer antivenom into the baby to stop the venom from doing further damage? The antivenom itself might do more harm than good acting like a venom itself by attacking any proteins that are similar to the venom proteins as well as stopping the venom from doing further damage.

First of all I and many others strongly recommend that you take a First Aid, CPR, AED class (usually certified by American Heart Association), then get your recertification every 2 years. Ask at church, community center, your parents work etc. More advanced medical instruction and certification is possible but start with that, great for teens, every lifeguard has it.

Then most of these instructors strongly recommend that you DO NOT attempt to administer anti-venom. I should look it up again but typically call 911 FIRST, then head for an urgent care facility or hospital ASAP (or pay $500 -1000 for a "bus") and if possible wash the bite area with soap and water. NOTHING ELSE!!

http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/snakes/

from CDC but read everything they have written there, I trust them more than wikiHow and most other websites...

"Seek medical attention as soon as possible (dial 911 or call local Emergency Medical Services.)
Try to remember the color and shape of the snake, which can help with treatment of the snake bite.
Keep still and calm. This can slow down the spread of venom.
Inform your supervisor.
Apply first aid if you cannot get to the hospital right away.
Lay or sit down with the bite below the level of the heart.
Wash the bite with soap and water.
Cover the bite with a clean, dry dressing."

So basically the same for a 10 pound infant or a 300 pound adult. I thought best to put cold on it but was wrong. Don't do that! Gently wash with soap and water perhaps but keep victim calm and get them to a Doctor.

[caters]

I have read that you should not wash the bite because if you do it is harder for the doctor to know what bit you than if you leave traces of the venom on your skin.

And I have heard of antivenom as being part of a first aid kit if you are likely to be bit by a venomous snake.

[TXyakr]

National Institute of Health still recommends suction pump over soap and water, but I am fairly sure that is outdated advice that the most up to date research does not support. But I could be wrong.

https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/...cle/000031.htm

Less than 10 people typically die of snake bites in the USA every year but thousands in other parts of the world for a variety of reasons. Compare that to 10s of thousands from vehicle accidents.

[hunter63]

I do believe I will have children in the future. While there aren't very many venomous snakes or snakes at all in Franklin County, I won't necessarily live there when I move with my parents. Unlike most parents my parents know that I will never be able to be fully independent and will help me if possible during the pains of pregnancy and labor and depression just from being sleep deprived after birth.
Is it possible to elaborate on this?...nothing personnel but why would you expect to have children and not be able to take care of them?

And what if my future husband has living relatives in places where there are lots of venomous snakes or there is some kind of natural disaster?
Any one in mind?

The only thing I can find on treating snakebites is adults and children, no infants.

But if I do have children they might get bit by a venomous snake when they are infants.
What makes you think this?

I am pretty sure that treating snakebites in infants is much different than in children or adults, especially if the snakebite was from a venomous snake. The reason is that infant first aid is usually much different than child or adult first aid.

I know that snake venom can be deadly to anyone. I also know that snake antivenom can be deadly to infants.

So I know that I would have to go to the hospital asap if my baby has a snakebite. But what else should I do? I mean babies don't have much muscle control when it comes to their arms and legs and they have a faster heart rate to begin with so those 2 combined + the pain of the bite would make the venom spread very fast which is exactly what I don't want.

Not trying to be mean...but this whole post seems very odd to me.....turn up exactly in another forum as well.

http://absolutewrite.com/forums/show...venomous-snake

In all the things to worry about.....Having a healthy baby, care for that child ...way to support it....money shelter, food, clothes, and health concerns, education .....?
Snake bit seem to be the last thing I would worry about.....?

[TXyakr]

I have read that you should not wash the bite because if you do it is harder for the doctor to know what bit you than if you leave traces of the venom on your skin.

And I have heard of antivenom as being part of a first aid kit if you are likely to be bit by a venomous snake.

Where did you read this? Probably not from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or from a Hospital with decades of experience. Perhaps Uncle Billy Bob's Blog?

I take dozens of people down rivers on each trip all year round, we see many cottonmouths and occasionally copperheads. They all sign waivers, but if I cannot get them basic First Aid and to a urgent care facility they will sue the heck out of me for negligence. I trust CDC over Uncle Billy Bob and his friends on the internet and old paper backs in the library etc.

Mostly I tell them that is non-venomous but still leave it alone its bite could get infected. That is a cottonmouth it can be very aggressive back the heck away!

Edit: Had to do some work, back now. If possible please call some local doctors and ERs and ask them if they have a quick test kit to ID the venom of snakes left on victim's skin. Please record these conversations and post transcripts. Those may be some very interesting conversations... I could learn a lot from them.

[caters]

No. It is from the red cross. The red cross recommends that you leave traces of the venom on your skin and have antivenom as part of your first aid kit.

I will be able to take care of my children because my parents will help me.

As to why I think my children might be bit by a venomous snake as infants it is because there could be a venomous snake anywhere in the US and my children might not realize that a snake is coming towards them until they are bit by the snake.

This not realizing that the snake is coming until they are bit is especially problematic with rattlesnakes(which live anywhere from southern Canada to northern Mexico) because they might think "That rattle, it must be my rattle" when really it is the rattlesnake's rattle making that sound

[TXyakr]

Not trying to be mean...but this whole post seems very odd to me.....turn up exactly in another forum as well.

http://absolutewrite.com/forums/show...venomous-snake

In all the things to worry about.....Having a healthy baby, care for that child ...way to support it....money shelter, food, clothes, and health concerns, education .....?
Snake bit seem to be the last thing I would worry about.....?

I detected a hint of snarkyness in that other forum. Thankfully there is absolutely none here at this forum. Only solid research based advice. More people are injured by falling trees on my wilderness trips than by venomous snake bites but that is purely anecdotal. So I tell them don't set your infant's play pen under a tree that is infested with wood boring beetles or widow maker branches without any live leaves or that has its bark peeling off. So far no crushed or bitten babies, knock on solid green wood, avoiding dead wood piles infested with copperheads. I hope that was just solid good advice totally snark free.

[hunter63]

I detected a hint of snarkyness in that other forum. Thankfully there is absolutely none here at this forum. Only solid research based advice. More people are injured by falling trees on my wilderness trips than by venomous snake bites but that is purely anecdotal. So I tell them don't set your infant's play pen under a tree that is infested with wood boring beetles or widow maker branches without any live leaves or that has its bark peeling off. So far no crushed or bitten babies, knock on solid green wood, avoiding dead wood piles infested with copperheads. I hope that was just solid good advice totally snark free.

I agree, and am trying real hard to get a handle on this thread, in a reasonable fashion.

Caters.....You seem to have a unusual fear of snakes and infants....and I do not believe there is anything I can add to relieve your fears.

I would suggest you talk to your parents about all your concerns,....... snakes, children and future care.....They will not be around forever.
They may have some feeling on the subject as well.

Other than that....and my personnel opinion that children are the most important part of your life...(I think you would agree)...and to bring a child into the world with out the ability to care for him/her yourself, is not the responsible thing to do.
Snakes are the least of your worries.

Good luck.

[Team Taylor]

Franklin County Tn?

[caters]

Franklin County Tn?

No. Franklin county OH. The only venomous snakes here besides pet snakes are eastern massasuga rattlesnakes and northern copperheads.

[Sarge47]

Cater, you seem to have an unrealistic fear of venomous snakes. Yes, they can be harmful, even deadly, but then so can a bee sting. I don't know anybody who'd let their child play outside without keeping them in a safe location and always in sight. Today child abductions are on the rise and they outnumber snake attacks. You need to educate yourself on snake habitats, different varieties of venomous snakes, and proper child care. Next take a proper course in 1st aid and CPR, it's invaluable! We recently had a new member come on here with an unrealistic fear of black bears. Most of the time the fear is worse than the actual threat....