Did the doctor explain why no antivenom?
Jackie
"Raleighgirl" wrote in message
m...

"Ellen Dagenhart" wrote in message
...
|
|
| Elliot Cramer wrote:
|
| Tom Gauldin wrote:
|
| : What I was told was that while the bite would probably not
be fatal, it
| : could easily cause the loss of a finger or toe due to
necrosis from the
| : poison, swelling and restriction of blood supply to the
extremity.
|
| That seems unlikely. I give my dogs some ampicillin and
antihistamine and
| they do fine
|
|
| They are more fortunate than was my husband. Several years ago
he was
| bitten on the little toe by a very small copperhead (6-8
inches) long.
| He described the pain as that of a red hot poker. He was given
antivenom
| and hospitalized for several days. His leg swelled up more than
double
| size, up to the groin, and he was out of work a week and on
crutches for
| a month. All the skin peeled off the leg and the itching was
intense for
| a long time. The surgeon told us that he would not die, but
that it was
| possible he might lose all or a part of his leg. Thankfully, he
did not,
| but he has plenty of respect for snakes now.

O my Ellen, sounds dreadful! My mother was bitten on the hand by
an adult copperhead several years ago. The plastic surgeon
(that's the answer to the question btw) chose not to give her
anti-venom. In the ER they marked/measured her arm every 15
minutes as the swelling moved up her arm. The swelling stoppped
just before it hit her chest. She had similar peeling, itching,
etc. afterwards. Also, because of the damage to muscles in her
hand, she had physical therapy for several months. Dreadful
experience.
Jw
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