"Anne Lurie" wrote in message
...
Lance, I assume you're joking -- I've had compost piles nigh on 25
years at various houses, and the benefit of the compost *far* outweighs
the "pejorative" of my having seen a couple of little bitty snakes in
the latest pile.

No, I wasn't joking!

However...I'm still thinking about starting a compost pile. Maybe you and
someone else could answer a few questions for me?

I was planning on using it just to "recycle" it in the soil in garden areas.
What other uses are there for compost?

Also - what about the smell? Will it offend my neighbors?

Lance

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

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.

"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
|

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
|

"Jacqueline Davidson" wrote in message
hlink.net...
| Did the doctor explain why no antivenom?

Ummm, it's been awhile. As I remember, oftentimes it's not
needed because of the body's natural defenses to the poison. It
depends on where you're bitten, too. I remember that if Mom's
swelling had progressed up to her chest they would have to look
at other options...
Jw

Elliot may be entirely right in his assessment of his dogs' reaction to
bites from copperheads, but we were, after all, talking about human
beings!

Check out: http://pulm.imed.missouri.edu/ER/art..._38_1_p055.pdf

Lastly, I'd rather "err on the side of caution," myself. And most of
what I found on the subject of copperhead bites mentioned necrosis.

Anne Lurie
_________________


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