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.
“They say your gonna die.”
Without some good reasons, I call bull.
ha ha, good one
She was in the ICU for two days, she’s not dead, her insurance is paying, sounds like a bargain to me.
And THAT is what is wrong with out healthcare system.
Where does the insurance get the money?
The bill is outrageous. The most appalling part of it is that she had no earthly idea what the cost would be until after the services were rendered? Would ever hire anybody under those circumstances for anything else? Well, education works that way to. And it too costs a crazy amount of money.
Diane Nelson says she was wearing rubber gloves and working in her yard when she came across a Copperhead with a short temper.
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I hate it when they presume to know the snake’s motives.
Remind me not to shop with you!
Kimo Sabe
A **very** expensive to make and store drug was available to save this woman's life. She was released from the ICU in only 2 days due to the availability of the world's most advanced and highly skilled care. Her insurance is covering the expense. That is why we have insurance. To **insure** against the catastrophic event.
I don't see any thing wrong. In fact, I see everything right about our health care system.
“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”.
They have to use very tiny midgets with excellent eyesight to milk the little udders. They get paid premium wages!
I’ve had one dog and three friends bitten, all seperate occurrences. Two of the friends had to be medevaced to Tucson for treatment, and one was lucky in that his bite was a dry bite. Very expensive, but they didn’t die. (The dog pulled through too!) The doctors wanted to amputate two fingers and a thumb on the one friend, but he wouldn’t let them. Instead he kept wrapping the bite site in split prickly pear cactus for a few weeks until the necrosis stopped and the healing took over.
Within hours she was rushed? Well did she sit around to see if it would get better on its own?
Dry bite?
Copperheads, you generally don't see them until after you're bit.
I'm an EMT and current protocol is "Transport to the hospital" only.
All well and good if it can be done but if you're in the woods and it's going to be a long while I'm going to keep the bite lower than the heart, use a constriction band and use ice or cold water.
That's just me.
I know people that have been bitten by both and it's no picnic.
Probably a good idea to carry a bottle of snakebite medicine, preferably made in Kentucky.
Dry bite= no Envenomation
Didn’t inject venom.
Seems like more to the story. A $200K bill for treating a bite from a snake that is rarely fatal?
I have friends in the Cuyahoga Valley Park management. Rangers. They told me there were no Copperheads in North Ohio. I took one of them to an abandoned well head. There were 5 Copperheads in it. They were stunned!
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