In fact, most bites are a result of people or animals provoking the snake or trying to capture or kill them. Rattlesnakes only attack in self-defense, so the best defense is for humans to leave them alone reports Carol Rock for KHTS Radio.
A Topanga toddler is home recovering now after eight days in the pediatric intensive-care unit at Providence Tarzana MedicalCenter where he was treated for a severe rattlesnake bite.
The 2 ½-year-old boy was in critical condition May 4 when he arrived at Providence Tarzana, transferred from West Hills MedicalCenter, with a snake bite to his ankle and in need of pediatric specialists.
“He took a tumble on the stairs outdoors and there was a rattlesnake under the lowest step,” said Cesar Chavarria, M.D., who specializes in pediatric critical care medicine at Providence Tarzana. “When the rattlesnake saw the commotion, it just jumped. Normally, adult rattlesnakes are wise and don’t waste all their venom on one prey, but it must have been really, really startled. The amount of venom was huge.”
The youngster was lethargic, and swelling spread from his ankle to his upper thigh. Blood tests showed the venom caused abnormalities in his blood, liver and muscle, Chavarria said.
Two orthopedic surgeons at Tarzana, who also are on staff at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, performed surgery to relieve the swelling, normally a controversial procedure, but necessary in this case.
Over the course of boy’s hospitalization, physicians used 40 vials – about $90,000 worth – of antivenin to combat the poison. Normally, Southern California hospitals keep one or two vials on hand and, in this case, Tarzana worked with some 25 hospitals to collect the necessary medication.
Read more here: Toddler Undergoes Extraordinary Treatment for Rattlesnake Bite