Posted on 07/30/2015 9:26:59 PM PDT by nickcarraway
A metro woman was shocked when she received a $200,000 hospital bill after being bitten by a snake.
Diane Nelson says she was wearing rubber gloves and working in her yard when she came across a Copperhead with a short temper.
Diane had been pulling grass from around her bushes when she felt a sting.
“When I pulled my glove off, I had two marks on my finger,” she said.
It was a bite from a Copperhead snake.
Within hours, Nelson’s entire arm was swollen and she was rushed to the ICU in need of anti-venom.
“I was in ICU for about two days, 48 hours,” Nelson said.
Two days and 18 vials of anti-venom later, Nelson was able to go home. She later received her bill, which was nearly $200,000 just for the anti-venom.
“The anti-venom is actually an anti-body that is specific for the type of snakes we have here in Oklahoma,” said Scott Schaeffer, with the Oklahoma Center For Poison and Drug Information.“It’s a very expensive anti-venom to make.”
Schaffer says the anti-venom is expensive for several reasons.
“The snakes have to be milked and several types are milked to create a pool of venom,” he said.
It then goes through an extensive process to create the drug, which is all done in Australia.
It is then shipped to hospitals here.
Another reason is there is a low demand for the drug and most hospitals do not keep much of it on hand.
“The shelf life compared to other drugs is relatively short. So if it doesn’t get used, it has to be discarded,” Schaeffer said.
“I was shocked. I knew it would be expensive but not that expensive,” Nelson said.
Fortunately, Nelson found out her insurance will cover the cost.
“It saved my life so I can’t complain,” she said.
If you are bitten by a snake, there are things you should not do.
Experts say you should never try to suck the venom out. In fact, Schaeffer says that could actually make it worse.
Also, don’t use ice on the bite and don’t use a tourniquet to keep the venom from spreading.
Instead, go immediately to the hospital.
Officials say while July has been a busy month for snake bites, they’re actually seeing a pretty average number for the year.
Why would you get chased by or run from a water snake? They are harmless as the day is long.
Interesting. Never heard of them. Will do some research and stay out of their way.
Hard to tell from a copperhead at a quick glance, similar markings.
That's what concerned me about the article. I had read Copperhead venom can kill small children, but it only makes adults sick.
>> Would 18 doses of CroFab have been avail in a single payer system?
If Hillary wins, we’ll find out.
They are not common—really only found in a small area of California, and they aren’t aggressive. We used to catch them for the local antivenin program since they were pretty rare, but that was before Crofab was developed.
If anything is wrong with our country it’s that people can’t comprehend basic math any longer...
You really think the emergency room is a place to comparison shop? You're kind of a captive customer.
No, it's not.
Right, and sometimes it even works.
That is similar to soviet Red Hampshire...authorities say there are NO mountain lions here, even though one has been spotted on several occasions over the past couple of months.
Copperhead bites almost never kill.
Would you want to take the chance that you won't be one of the minority?
They has some idiot here in Missouri a few months ago who was bitten by a copperhead. He took your approach and figured he'd be pretty sick but wouldn't die so he went home, went to bed, and was found dead the next morning.
Sucking the venom out is ineffective in most cases because it was injected further in than what most will be able to apply suction to and many have had complications from the cuts some try to use after watching the old movies.
Putting a tourniquet on will only exacerbate the biggest problem from most snake bites - swelling has been known to cut off blood supply to the point where amputation is necessary - the tourniquet only speeds up the process by limiting flow earlier in the game - most snake bites are highly survivable and unless the person has a bad heart or other problems, swelling is the biggest threat.
Got that info while attending rattlesnake roundups while stationed in Oklahoma - they taste like dry chicken....
Google is your friend. Copperhead venom is not deadly for most people unless there is an allergy.
The smell of melons is a good warning sign. (I don’t know why)
My neighbor was working in her back yard when she smelled melons. The sweet smell of melons. She knew she had a copperhead nest with newly hatched snakes.
She killed every last one of them. It surprised us because this is a girl that never steps out without her hair, makeup and nails done. But she’s got grit.
Yep. pygmy rattlers are nasty little things.
Rattlers here in Nevada are not as noisy as they used to be. The theory is that all of the noisy ones were killed off and the ones left are not as willing or able to rattle. Also, there are Mojave Green’s they will literally pursue a human.
So where do you draw the financial line between what is cost effective and what is not?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.